Harshbarger line: The family of Johannes/John Buchtel 1732-1809

John Buchtel is the immigrant ancestor in a line of three male Buchtels who tie into the Harshbarger family downstream.  He was born in 1732 in Linsenhofen, Esslingen, Baden-Wurttemburg, Germany, a son of Johannes and Lucia Ehhalt Buchtel. He arrived in Philadelphia in 1753, and married Catherine Scheler, sometimes seen as Seyler, whose parents are not currently known, in 1760, possibly after completing an indentureship.  He died in 1809 near Rebersburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania, and Catherine died in 1813.   John and Catherine had at least ten children together, and about 72 grandchildren.  (Please note that almost all the surnames in this post are of German origin and have multiple spellings.  Good luck with that!)

John (he seems to have gone by John, rather than Johannes) was born in 1762 and died in 1818 in Bethlehem, Stark County, Ohio.  He married Catherine Snyder, the daughter of Peter and Maria Catherine Stentz Schneider.  Their children are Henry, John, Hannah, Catherine, Julia and Herman.  

Elizabeth was born in 1764 and died in 1801 in Freesburg, Snyder County, Pennsylvania.  She married George Meyer or Mayer, the son of Jacob and Susanna Ream Meyer.  Their children are Barbara, Lizzie, Julia, Susan, Mary, and George.  There may also be a child, Margaret, whose birthdate is given as four months after her mother's death date.  However, it's possible that this is a baptism date for Margaret; I have not seen the documentation on this.

Agnes was born next, in 1766.  She died in 1862 in Lake Township, Stark County, Ohio, the wife of Michael Myers, who was another son of Jacob and Susanna Ream Meyer.  Siblings of one family married siblings of another family more than once in this family.  Their children are Henry, Sophia, Michael, Elizabeth, Jacob, Barbara, Christopher, Joshua, John, Mary, Philip, Susan, and George.   

They named their first son, born in 1770, Martin.  He married Eva Walter, the daughter of Jacob and Catherine Scott Walter.  Their children are Sarah, Catherine, Elizabeth, John, Susan, Fannie Ann, and Michael.  Martin died in 1853 in Uniontown, Stark County, Ohio.  

Peter was born in 1771 and died in 1812 in Sandusky, Erie County, Ohio.  He was killed at some point during the War of 1812, and his body was never recovered.  He married Anna Margaret Cramer, the daughter of Daniel and Anna Maria Geis Cramer. (The Cramers are also ancestors in another Harshbarger-related line, and we will see their names again in this post.)  Their children are Solomon, John, Mary Catherine, Margaret, Peter, Michael, Elizabeth, Susannah, Rosanah, Sarah, and Maria, so his widow certainly had her hands full.  Fortunately, there was family nearby.

Catherine was born in 1772 and died in 1852 in Hamilton, Ohio. She married Simon Bickel (also seen as Pickle), the son of Tobias and Catherine Moser Bickel.  Their children are Thomas, Simon, John, Rosina, Andrew, and John.  

Solomon was born (baptized?) in 1776 and died in 1838 in Millheim, Summit County, Ohio.  He married Mary Margaret Reber, the daughter of Conrad and Maria Margrete Pontius Reber.  Their children are Benjamin, Joseph, Solomon, William, Thomas, Henry, Jonathan and finally!-a girl, Hannah.  I will write more of this family in my next blog post.

Margaret was also born in 1776, and died in 1863 in Madison, Franklin County, Ohio.  She married Ludwig Kramer, the son of Adam and Christine Dubbs Kramer.  (I haven't found a connection between Adam Kramer and Daniel Cramer, but there may be one.)  Their children are Jacob, George, Philip, Sarah, Adam, Margaret, Christina, and Lewis. Please note that I've not located documents for Margaret's birth, and not all trees are listing her.  It is possible that she belongs to another Buchtel family, but I didn't locate a "likely suspect" so am including her here.  

Maria was born in 1777 and died in 1810 in Miles, Centre County, Pennsylvania.  She married Abraham Cramer, the son of Daniel and Anna Maria Geis Cramer, and was the second of this nuclear family to marry into the Cramer family.  Their children are Solomon, Elizabeth, Philip, Daniel, and John.  

Lutzann, known as Lucy, was the last known child of this couple.  She married Nicholas Bierly, the son of Johann Anthony and Anna Maria Warner Bierly, and died in 1851 at Rebersburg, Centre County, Pennsylvania.  Their children are Nicholas, Hannah, Michael, John, David, Anthony, Reuben, Peter, Simon, and George.  

As we can see, most of the Buchtel children moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio.  Two of the women died before the families moved, and one, Lutzann, stayed on or near the family homestead.  The family knew the grief of losing a member in the War of 1812, and it is possible, even probably, that more of the men served in that war also.  This was a generation approaching greatness.

The family of Thomas Moon 1756-1828

 Thomas Moon is the subject of this last post about the Moon family.  He was born in 1756 in Arden, Berkeley County, Virginia (later West Virginia), a very short distance south from Pennsylvania and Maryland, and a very short distance north from Virginia.  He is the son of Jacob and Jane Rees Moon, and he certainly saw a lot of history in his day.  Most of his siblings stayed in the general area of the homestead, but Thomas had a bit of adventure in him.  He died in 1824 in Green Township, Fayette County, Ohio, which is about 400 miles from "home".  Two of his sons were also there in the 1820 census.  

Thomas married Jean Gray, the daughter of John and Jean Wardrop Gray and they had at least 9 children together, all apparently born in Berkeley County, Virginia/West Virginia.  As usual, I've found that some of the children are researched more thoroughly than others, and the "others" have pretty gaping holes in their stories.  

James was the first born, in 1779, which presents a bit of a problem because Thomas and Jean were not married until 1780.  I am accepting the information as given, with a bit of hesitancy on the date of James's birth.  There is of course a possibility that one or the other of his parents had a previous relationship or marriage, but no evidence to support that, that I know of.  James married Elizabeth Pine the daughter of James and Martha Gatliff Pine.  I have located just two children for them, George and James.  James died in 1841 in Highland County, Ohio.

Jacob was next, born in 1781.   He married Leah Rees, the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Bowen Rees (we will see this couple mentioned more than once in this blog post.  Three Moon children married three Rees children.)  Their children include Albert, Jane, Thomas, Reese, and Margaret.  Jacob died in 1852 in Livingston, Madison County, Illinois, so he was also a bit of a traveling man.  

John is one of those who are giving me a research headache.  I have a birth year of 1784 for him, and a death date of 1871, with no location found.  There is a John Moon who was a prisoner of war in the War of 1812, but I've not been able to determine whether or not this is our John Moon.  Any help would be most gratefully appreciated.  

Christian or Christy Ann is giving me another headache.  Which is her name?  She seems to have been born about 1785, and there is a will in Fayette County for someone by that name in 1843. It is Christian Moon in the will, which gives her residence as Green Township, Fayette County, Ohio, and Christiana Moon in the appraisal of her estate.  The only fly in the ointment here is that trees that list her at all show her as having married a Mr. Jones.  If she married him, there must have been a divorce, for her to be using her maiden name.  The marriage information, such as it is, may be totally incorrect, or may apply to another Christian Moon.  

We are on slightly firmer ground with Martha, born in 1786.  She married Daniel Rees, the son of Thomas and Margaret Bowen Rees (second marriage of Moon sibling to Rees sibling).  Their children are Margaret and Christiann.  Daniel seems to have died in 1817 and in 1822, Martha Moon is recorded as being married to John Draper, the son of David Draper.  Was it a simple mistake that she was referred to as Martha Moon and not Martha Rees? Perhaps.  If this is the correct Martha, her children with John are Wesley, Martha, and John.  After John's death, Martha went west to Tipton County, Indiana, where Rees and Moon family members lived, and died in 1869 near Kempton.  

David was born in 1788 and died in 1871 in Greenfield, Highland County, Ohio.  He married Mary Ellen Ellis, , known as Polly. the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Rees Ellis.  (Margaret was the daughter of Morris and Sarah Rees, and a cousin to other Rees family members mentioned in this post.) Their children are Eliza, Margaret, Thomas, Jane, James, and Mary.  

William was born about 1790 and died in 1854 in Fayette County, Ohio.  He seems to have had three wives. The first is Margaret Chew, the daughter of Colbey and Rebecca Rees Chew.  (I have not traced Rebecca Rees with any degree of certainty, but it is my very strong hunch that she is going to tie into some of these other Rees families at some point).  They had at least one child together, Herbert.  He next married Nancy Dunn, the daughter of Robert and Ann Strawbridge Dunn.  Their children are Sarah, Jane, Mary Ann, Matilda, and Lavinia.  His third marriage was to Delilah Taylor, the daughter of Zachariah and Mary Taylor Taylor (not a typo).  Their children are WIlliam, Victoria, and James.  

Margaret Ellen was born in 1794 and died in 1876 in Kempton, Tipton County, Indiana. She married Owen Traveler Rees, the son of Solomon and Ann McNeil or Neal Rees. Solomon was the son of Thomas and Margaret Bowen Rees, so we are now down a generation.  Their children are Christina, Thomas, Ann, Isabella, Andrew, Eliza Matilda, Margaret, and Albert.  I have written of this family earlier.  

Finally, Thomas was born in 1796, and died in 1871 in Fayette County, Ohio.  He married Frances Irion,. the daughter of Robert and Nancy Ballentine Irion.  Their children are Nancy, Eliza, Mary, Francis, Albert, Margaret, Christina, Elizabeth, Catherine, and Thomas.  There is a possibility there was another son, James.

William is sometimes listed as another son, but his birth year is 1805 and his purported mother would have been nearly 50 at the time. In addition, there was already a William, alive and well, in this family.  I am not including him as a son of Thomas and Jean, but he may well be a nephew.  

As noted, most of these children died in or around Fayette County, Ohio, with two in Tipton County, Indiana and one in Madison County, Illinois.  The Moon family had roots in Ohio, then Virginia, and finally Pennsylvania, but by the 1860s and beyond, the Moons were on the move, but this is as far as my study will take them.   As always, corrections and additions are welcome!

 

 

The family of Jacob Moon 1732-1804

 Jacob Moon, the son of Simon and Louretha Humphrey Moon, was born in Chester or Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1732.  He married Jane Rees, the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Bowen Rees (or Reese), and together they had at least six children.  Jacob died in 1804 in Arden, Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia). It is possible, but I haven't yet accepted the idea, that he and his family spent a few years in North Carolina.  Some trees indicate this, but I tend to think that there are two Jacob Moons of roughly the same age and their records have been mingled together.  I'm still looking for definite proof, one way or the other.  Jane outlived her husband, dying in 1817, also in Berkeley County.  

James, a Revolutionary War veteran, was born about 1750 and died in 1829 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.  He married Rachel Colburn, the daughter of Michael and Sarah Mitchell Colborn.  Their known children are Mary, John, Jacob, and Rachel. 

I have not been able to locate information about Margaret.  Varying birth years are from 1752-1757.  It is possible that she did not live to adulthood.

Mary was born about 1754, and seems to have died that same year.  I don't believe this is the Mary Moon who married Silas Moorman and William Gilbert.  There are, again, quite a few people named Mary Moon in this time period.

Thomas was born in 1756 and died in 1828 in Fayette County, Ohio.He married Jean Gray, the daughter of John and Jean Wardrop Gray, and was disowned  by his Quaker community for marrying outside of the discipline.  (Jean was not a Quaker.)  Their children are James, Jacob, John, Christy, Martha, David, William, Margaret Ellen, and Thomas.  Jean died in 1804 and he married Lydia Bond, the daughter of Richard and Mary Jarman Bond about 1815. There is also record of a Thomas in Fayette County, Ohio marrying Anny Ellis.  I wonder if this is the son Thomas, rather than our Thomas.  I will write more of this family in my next blog post.  At any rate, no wife is mentioned in his will.

Simon was born in 1761 and died in 1823 in Arden, Berkeley County, Virginia/West Virginia.  He married Deborah Newlin or Newland, the daughter of William and Hannah Bensen Newlin.  Their children are Rees, Jane, James, Simon, Hannah, Rachel, Jacob, Ann, Nancy, Hiram, and Thomas.

Nancy was born about 1768 and in 1790 married a Mr. Wright.  That is all the information I can find about her.

Note that Thomas and Simon, and between Simon and Nancy, there is plenty of room for there to have been more children, or at least pregnancies.  I have no information to provide and would love to know if other family members know what happened during those years.

There is one additional possible family member. I am not convinced he belongs in this group, but will mention him anyway.  Jacob was born before 1754 and died March 15, 1781 at the Battle of Guilford Court House in North Carolina.  He married Nancy Ammon, the daughter of Christopher and Mary Bristow Ammon.  They had one son, Christopher, and an unknown son born and died the year of this Jacob's untimely death.  I hope someone can advise which family this Jacob belongs to; he should be honored by all but especially by his family!

Jacob and Jane lived through a very difficult time in Arden.  In and after the Revolutionary War, their area was often under attack from natives supported by the British.  It is more than likely that the Moon family spent considerable time inside forts, or even leaving the area until things cooled down.  I would certainly like to know more about their stories!

 

 

 

 

The family of Simon Moon 1700 ish to 1748 ish

 I had hoped by this point in time for this family that there would be few if any unsolved mysteries, and better documentation, than I am finding.  Some lines seem well-documented, but some seem to be highly questionable.  However, in researching this I did learn that there is a good likelihood that after Simon left Bucks County, Pennsylvania, he likely traveled south and spent time in the Orange County, North Carolina area in the 1730s before settling in Frederick County, Virginia (what is now Berkeley County, West Virginia).  Some of his family seems to have stayed, or returned, to North Carolina, some headed even farther south, to Georgia, and some went west, to Ohio.  

Simon the son of James and Mary (probably Wilsford) Moon was born about 1700 and died about November, 1748 in Frederick County, Va./Berkeley County, WV.  He married Lauretha (Louretha, Lowry, other spellings) Humphrey, the daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth Lowry Humphrey, in 1721 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the couple maintained their Quaker religion throughout their marriage.  For the record, the area that they settled in, part of the Shenandoah Valley, was beautiful but was not supposed to be open to settlers.  Several indigenous tribes used the area, and King George III later tried to force all white settlers to the east side of the Appalachian mountains.  It didn't work.  

There are various lists for the children of Simon and Lauretha, with varying dates and locations.  Some were born in Bucks County, some in North Carolina, and, if we are to believe this is the same family, some in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  So, it is possible that some of the children I'm naming do not really belong to this couple, and it's also possible that I've missed some.  

Anna seems to have been the first child born, in 1722.  She married Henry Bowen, the son of Henry and Jane Carter Bowen, who are Beeks ancestors in another line.  Anna died in 1789 at "Apple Pie Ridge, Virginia", which seems to be near Winchester, Virginia.  Henry and Anna's children are Mary, Hannah, Priscilla, Rees, Margaret, Jean, Nancy, John, Henry, and Jacob.  

Richard may have been born next, about 1724.  He died in 1795 at Shoulderbone Creek, Greene County, Georgia, near where a treaty with the Creek indigenous people had been signed 9 years earlier.  He must had led an interesting life, after having been disowned by the Quakers in 1748.  (One could hope his parents did not know about this.)  He married Susanna Brown, the daughter of Thomas and Ruth Large Brown.  Their children are Simon, Richard, Mary, Lowry, Susannah, Hannah, Rachel, and Margaret.

James was probably born about 1726 and died in 1798 in Chatham County, North Carolina.  He married Anne Mendenhall, the daughter of John and Martha Wright Mendenhall.  Their children are Lurana, John, Charity, Jacob, Hannah, Rachel, Thomas, and James.  

Hannah was born in 1728 and died in 1789 in Frederick County, Virginia/Berkeley County, West Virginia.  She married William Brown, the son of Thomas and Ruth Large Brown, and thus he was Susanna's (see above) brother.  Their children are Thomas, Samuel, William, Rachel, Hannah, Richard, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, Ebenezer, Ann, Joseph, Joel, and Deborah.  

Margaret's birth date is given as "about 1728".  Either she was born late in the year, or the date is wrong.  Perhaps her birth occurred closer to 1730.  She married Thomas Brown, also the son of Thomas and Ruth Large Brown.  It is said that they had 13 children but I've located only 11 names as of now.  They are Joseph, Elizabeth, William, Thomas, Jacob, Samuel, Richard, Ruth, Moses, Rachel, and Jean.  Margaret died in 1799 in Orange County, North Carolina.  Some sites show that she died in 1838, but I think that's a case of mistaken identity.  I could be wrong about that.

I'm not sure when Jacob was born.  I've seen 1732 as a date but if that is accurate, he was just 16 years old when he married Jane Rees, the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Bowen Rees.  (Margaret is a descendant of Henry and Jane Carter Bowen, who are the parents of Henry who married Anna Moon). Their children are Jacob, James, Thomas, Simon, Nancy, Mary, and Margaret.  Jacob died in 1804 near Arden in what is now Berkeley County, West Virginia.  I will follow this family in my next blog post.  

Rachel was born January 10, 1732/33 in Deep River, Guilford County, North Carolina.  She married Henry Thornburgh, son of Walter and Margaret Beeson Thornburgh.  and died in 1804 in Lost Creek, Tennessee.  Their children are Margaret, Hannah, Walter, Mary, Richard, Jane, Ann, Henry, Louretha, Charity, Sophia, Richard, a second Hannah, Jessie, and Jonathan.  

Mary was born in 1733 in North Carolina and is believed to have died in 1750, although I have seen a death date as late as 1804.  I've found no documentation for either of these dates.  

Malachi was mentioned in his father's will> He was born about 1738 in Deep River, Guilford County, North Carolina and is seen in a census in 1782.  That is as much as I know about him.  

Then there are two mysteries.  Simon may have had a son John or Jonathan.  However, he was supposedly born in 1717, 4 years before the marriage of Simon and Lauretha.   Simon would have been only about 17 at the time, so if there is a son John, I am not convinced it was the 1717 one.  I have also seen a Susanna mentioned as Simon's child, but find nothing to support that.  I am mentioning these two names in the hopes that someone has additional information that will prove or disprove them as children of Simon and Lauretha.  

I would love to have the time to research the many (over 70, if this listing is correct and complete) grandchildren of Simon and Lauretha.  They lived in interesting times.  Some of them likely served in the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, and the later wars against the Creeks and the Cherokees that continued after the Revolutionary War had ended.  It would be interesting to know how many of these families stayed in the Quaker faith, and how they responded to the call to war. 

 

 

The family of James Moon 1668-1755

 James Moon, the son of James and Joan Burgess Moon, was born in 1669 in England, exact location not verified.  He was a teenager when he and his family emigrated to Pennsylvania, and settled in Bucks County.  He was a Quaker who married twice.  His first wife is Mary, commonly believed to be Mary Wilsford, the daughter of John and Alice Towle Wilsford.  I have found no documentation for this and the older Wilsfords lived in Burlington County, New Jersey, which would have been quite a distance away.  If this is his first wife, how did they meet?  His second wife is Agnes Priestly, the daughter of John and Agnes Carne Priestly.  James died in 1755 in Falls Township, Bucks County.

James and Mary had several children but the exact number is still up for discussion.  There was at least one other Moon family in Bucks County and it is possible that some of the children have been assigned to the wrong family.  And as I'm finding so often, information is lacking on some of them.

Their first child was John born in 1698 and died in 1700, mourned by his parents and paternal grandparents.

Simon was born next, in 1700.  He married Louretha Humphrey, the daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth Lowry Humphrey.  Their children are Anna, Richard, Jacob, John, Mary, Margaret, Hannah, Malachi, James, and Rachel.  Simon died in 1748 in what is now Franklin County, Virginia, although it was Lunenburg County at the time, and Brunswick County when he likely arrived there.  I will write more of this family in my next blog post.

Thomas was born in 1701 and may have died as early as 1731.  He is said to have married Elizabeth in 1714, although clearly a thirteen year old boy would not have married that early.  He married Mary H Cowan about 1725.  Thomas had at least three children, possibly all of them with Mary, but perhaps the son Thomas was born to Elizabeth.  His birthdate is shown on some trees as 1720, and Thomas didn't marry Mary until 1725.  The children he had with Mary are John and Mary.  I'd like to find records showing Thomas married Elizabeth, either before or after his marriage to Mary!

I have seen Jacob and James assigned to this family, each with a death date of 1717.  I do not know whether there is any kind of record to indicate that these are James's children, nor do I know where the death date comes from.  Consider them only as possibilities.

Lastly, there is Sarah, born in 1709,  I have seen a death date of 1755 for her but I haven't been able to pin that down.  The only supposed husband I've seen wasn't born until 1775 so clearly that is not the right man.  Was there an earlier Daniel Burgess that she married, and was he in any way related to Sarah's grandmother Joan Burgess?  Maybe there is someone out there with the answer to these questions.  

Mary probably died sometime between 1709 and 1717.  James had married Agnes Priestly, and they had one known son, John, born in 1717.  He married Mary Farmer, the daughter of Henry and Sarah Ward Farmer. Their children are Thomas, Joseph, John, James, Elizabeth, Jemmy (was he the same as James?), Johnney, (identified as a female, and Rachel.   

Undoubtedly there are stories here waiting to be found and told, dramas that we no nothing about, and tragedies, too.  I hope there are also some good tales of joyful survival and good times with family members.  We are grateful for this Moon family, glad to know this little bit about them, and hoping for more information.

Beeks line: The family of James Moon 1639-1713

 I am bravely and foolishly starting here to collect the somewhat limited information we have about the Moon family, which I will be writing about for several weeks.  We know a little about James and his wife Joan, who came to Pennsylvania in the 1680s and settled in Bucks County.  Many believe that James's parents are Edmund and Catherine King Burgess, and that Joan is the daughter of Samuel and Eleanor Peers (various spellings).  Others assign different parents to James, and others yet believe that Samuel Burgess is more likely a brother than a father to Joan.  As far as I can tell, there is not a good paper trail to prove or disprove any of these ideas.  

James and Joan are thought to have married in about 1665, but I don't know if they were of the Quaker belief at the point, or not.  They seem to have been a member of the Society of Friends in Bucks County, where they settled, and some, probably most, of their children remained Quakers in good standing.  Once again, the same names were used over and over in the family and it is not easy to determine which "James" or "John" or "Simon" or "Mary", for instance, we are talking about.  So with the caution that some of these families may be confused, or intermingled, or otherwise identified wrongly, here's what seems to be the outline of their children.

There may have been a daughter, Sarah, born in 1667, or in 1673.  She is reported to have died in Bucks County in 1725, but I've found no record of the birth or the death.  I do not know whether she married and had children.  Most trees don't mention her so this may be a case of mistaken identity.

James was born in 1668 and died in 1755 in Falls Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  He married Mary Wilsford, thought but not proven to be the daughter of John and Alice Towle Wilsford.  Their children are John, Simon, and Thomas, and possibly Sarah.  After Mary died, he married Agnes Priestly, the daughter of John and Agnes (maiden name unknown) Priestly.  They had a son, John.  Other lists include the names of James, Jacob, Joseph, Martha, Roger, Sarah, and Thomas.  I am not convinced but am mentioning this possibility in case someone has information to verify this and is willing to share it.  I'll follow this family in my next blog post.

Jonas was born in 1671 and died in December 1732 in Bucks County.  He married Alice "Chissum" or Chisom, the daughter of Robert and Margaret Scott Chisom. They had at least two children, Sarah and Alice.  

Jasper was born about 1675 and died in 1728 in (take your pick) Burlington, New Jersey; Bucks County, Pennsylvania, or Randolph County, North Carolina.  I can't tie any of the death locations given to this Jasper with any degree of certainty.  His wife's name may have been Susannah, and his children are Jasper, Simon, and Joseph.

Mary is a mystery.  She was born about 1676, and married a man by the name of Curtis, possibly Joseph Curtis.  She had at least one daughter, Sarah.  That is all that I've been able to locate for her.  

The last known child is Roger.  He was born about 1680 and died in 1759 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  He was married twice.  His first wife was Ann Nutt, the daughter of Jonathan and Ann Waite Nutt.  Their children are Elizabeth, James, John, Elizabeth again, Roger, Isaac, William, and Ann.  After Ann died, he married Elizabeth Price, the daughter of Reese and Mary (maiden name unknown) Price.  They also had a large family, including, John, Mary, Sarah, Timothy, Samuel, Hannah, and Jasper.  

I would of course like to know more about this family, particularly the year of their immigration, and whether they had friends or relatives who had gone ahead of them.  I'd like to know the missing information for the children, and whether Sarah belongs to this family, and whether we've missed some of James's grandchildren.  But it is interesting to think of this Quaker family, settling down in very early Pennsylvania days, and raising a family in what would have been a strange land.  I'm glad they arrived!

The family of Lambert Lane 1737-1804

Lambert Lane was born about 1737, in either Baltimore County, Maryland, or in England.  Family tradition says his parents, Samuel and Jane Corbin Lane, were in England when he was born, but it seems no one has located documents for this birth in England, or for that matter, in Maryland.  He married Nancy Ann Anderson, the daughter of James and Ann Downing Anderson, about 1762, in either Maryland or Pennsylvania.  From Pennsylvania (Bedford County), he lived in Virginia and in Tennessee before finally settling in Shelby County, Kentucky, where he died in 1804.  He was a Revolutionary War veteran, being part of the group that fought against members of the Cherokee tribe (they were fighting under the instigation of the British, but it's very complicated).  After his death, Ann married Henry Johns, and died in 1826 in Boone County, Indiana.  

Lambert and Nancy (sometimes referred to as Ann) had at least a dozen children, and the family multiplied.  Some of the same family names were used over and over, and some first names are new to the family. (It seems a little odd, but none of the grandchildren were named Lambert, despite naming patterns that had included the father's name for generations before him.)  Several of the men fought in the War of 1812.  They died anywhere from Baltimore County, Maryland, to Alabama to Texas to Indiana, so the children picked up some of Lambert's onward-moving ways.  They are an interesting, if frustrating, family to investigate.

Thomas was the first born son, in 1763.  He died in Harrison County, Indiana, where several of his siblings also died, in 1832.  He married Anna Ellis, the daughter of Isaac and Nancy Ann Downing Ellis.  (I have not yet determined what family relationship there is between Ann Downing Anderson and this Nancy Downing Ellis, but I consider it likely that there was one.)  Their children are Nancy, Isaac, Sarah, Craven, Malinda, William, Eleanor, Fielding, Elizabeth, Ellis, John, Pleasant, Anna, Davis, and Nelson.  I have also seen a Thomas listed as their son, which would make sense, but I am not sure that he belongs to this family.

John was next, born about 1765.  He also died in Harrison County, Indiana, in 1842.  He married Elizabeth Maddox, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Compton Maddox.  Their children are John, Jesse, Edward, and Samuel.  After Elizabeth's death, he married Charity Standage, but I've not found any children noted as theirs.

James would be one of these Lanes that I could term "frustrating".  He was born about 1768, and he seems to have had children named Samuel, Anne, and James.  I have been unable to identify a wife, and there may or may not be more children.  I don't know where or when he died, either.  

Sarah, known as Sally, was born in 1772 and died in 1863 in Harrison County, Indiana.  She married John Ross, the son of John and Mary Duer Ross.  Their children are Nancy, William, Ezekiel, Jesse, and probably John.  

Elijah has been a challenge because if I listed all his supposed wives, they would number at least 5.  His records seem to have been confused with those of other Elijah Lanes, and I hope I have picked my way through this minefield of information and mis-information.  His first wife was Nancy Hawkins, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Barker Hawkins.  Their children are Elizabeth, Mary, John, and Nancy.  After Nancy's death, he married Susannah Hawkins, a sister to Nancy.  Their children are Susan and Lawson.  Other names mentioned as wives include Hannah Dewhurst and Elizabeth Wells.  I don't discount those entirely because the Elijah who married Nancy and Susannah was not born until 1791, when his supposed mother would have been nearly 50 years old.  That's not impossible, but I'm not sure that this Elijah belongs to this family.  The  birth date I've found for Elijah would be closer to 1775.  I am still working on this and I'd be delighted to know that someone else has figured it out!  This Elijah of 1791 died in 1863 in Missouri and is buried in Petersburg, Pike County, Indiana with Nancy.  

Mary, or Mary Martha, was born in 1775 and died in 1849 in Panola County, Texas.  That alone makes her a fascinating woman, as Texas became a state in 1845, so this was still an unsettled area early in the state's history.  She had lived in Alabama prior to that, as the wife of Hugh Gentry, the son of John and Mary Green Gentry.  Their children are Sally, Mary, John, William, Nancy, Elizabeth, Margaret, Ruth, Barbara, Hugh, Lydia, Joseph, Samuel, and Camden.  

Rebecca was born in 1780 and died after 1860 in Lawrence County, Alabama, so she also led a different life than most of our family.  I believe she is the first of our collateral relatives to have lived in the South during the run up to the Civil War, and possibly during and even after that sad event.  She married William Gregory, the son of Richard and Mary Ward Gregory.  Their children are William, Susanna, Nancy, William, Jonathan, Sarah, John, Jesse, Carroll, Merrison, Carrie, James, Edward, and Basil.  

William was born in 1781 and died in 1863 in Meade County, Kentucky.  He married Nancy Ann Prewitt, the daughter of James and Elizabeth Street Prewitt.  Their children are Burton, Craven, Elizabeth, America, Charlotte, Harriet, Nancy, and William.  There is a possibility that he later married Rebecca Marvin, but I am not sure about that.

Nancy was born in 1784 and married James McCoy, of the "preaching McCoys" family.  He is the son of William and Elizabeth Royse McCoy.  Their children are Sarah, Elizabeth, Priscilla, Lewis, Vincent, Rebecca, Milton, another Priscilla, Isaac, John, and Thomas.  Nancy and James, and at least one of their children, died in the cholera epidemic of 1833 in Salem, Washington County, Indiana.  

Jesse was born in 1785 and died in 1832 in Boone County, Indiana.  He married Elizabeth Johns, the daughter of Henry and Nancy Duncan Johns.  (I have not traced Henry to determine whether he is related to the Henry Johns that Nancy Anderson Lane married, but there is at least the possibility there.)  Their children are Nancy Ann, Sarah, William, Anna, Elizabeth, Jesse, and Rebecca.  

Elizabeth, known as Betsey, was born about 1786 and I could find very little information about her.  She married Jacob Roberts, parents unknown, and had at least one child, Mary.  She died in 1812, probably in Kentucky.  That is the extent of my knowledge, and it is not based upon satisfactory documents.  Again, I'd like help with her if someone knows more.

Samuel may be the last son, if the Elijah born in 1791 doesn't belong here.  He was born in 1787 and died in 1842 in or near Whitestown, Boone County, Indiana.  He married Margaret McCarty, the daughter of Cornelius and Susanna Hardwick McCarty.  Their children are Susan, Nancy, Cornelia, Eleanor, Margaret, Thomas, Mary, Martha, Samuel, James, and Maria.   

The Lanes are a large family, coming from large families.  Their blessings were in their children, rather than in material wealth, and in their values, which included defending their country during the various wars we endured.  From England to the Caribbean to Maryland, and then on through Pennsylvania and Tennessee to Kentucky and all the different places noted in this post, they were part of the wonderful story of American growth, and part of some of the things we wish would not have happened. 

 

 

The family of Samuel Lane 1700-1779, approximately

 We have no firm, documented birth or death dates for Samuel Lane, the son of Dutton and Pretotia Tydings Lane.  Nor do we have specific dates for his children, which, depending on what record or tree you look at, are all over the calendar.  Sometimes even the decades are "fluid".  Yet, there is much that is known or thought to be accurate about the family of Samuel and Jane Corbin (daughter of Edward and Jane Wilkinson Corbin).  And there are a totally ridiculous number of Samuels, and Duttons, and even Richards, who carry the last name.  I've tried here to winnow out the obvious errors and I hope I haven't allowed any new ones to creep in.  I'd be delighted to receive any additional information that is available, but once again, here is a not necessarily correct post which I hope will at least contain clues to help us get this family straight.

Samuel was born about 1700 in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and died sometime after his will was written in 1779, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania.  He married Jane Corbin about 1735, and didn't go to Pennsylvania until after her death.  It's thought that he lived with one of his sons there.  We should note that by order of King George, there were to be no settlers west of the Appalachians, but that was ignored by more than one early family of settlers.  Tension between the native Americans allied to Britain during the Revolutionary War, and the settlers who needed more land, were tight, and this may not have been the best part of Samuel's life.

Samuel and Jane had at least eleven children together.  Tracking down their grandchildren has been hit or miss, but it seems that they had many, who ended up scattered over Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky, and perhaps Virginia and North Carolina.   Please keep in mind that the birth years given here may not be correct, but I do believe these were all Samuel and Jane's children, regardless of the birth order.

Samuel seems to be the first born, in February of 1735/36.  He married first Mary Corbin, who fits into the Corbin family somewhere,  and their children are Richard, Mary, Ruth, Elizabeth, Abraham, Pretosia, Jane, Dutton, and Samuel.  He then married Keziah Sias, the daughter of John and Mary Chambers Sias, and they are the parents of James, Elilah, Caleb, Joshua, John, Jacob, George, Pheobe, Sarah, Eleanor, and Abner.  Samuel was the first of several Lane sons to serve in the Revolutionary War.  He was in the militia, and it seems more than possible that he would have spent at least part of his time at Fort Pitt.  

Samuel and Jane seem to have gone to England for a few years after young Samuel was born, because the next two children are said to have been born in England.  It's a strong family tradition, but again, proof has not been found.  Lambert was born about 1737 and died in 1804 in Shelby County, Kentucky.  He was a Revolutionary War veteran, having participated in battles that we might wish he hadn't, against the Cherokee tribe.  (At the time, he lived in Greene County, Tennessee.) He married Nancy or Ann Anderson, the daughter of James and Ann Downing Anderson.  Their children are Mary, Thomas, John, James, Elijah, Rebecca, Wilkinson, William, Nancy Ann, Elizabeth, Jesse, and Sarah or Sally.  I will write more of this family in my next post.  

Charity was probably the first daughter, born about 1738 and died after 1798, likely in Baltimore County, Maryland..  She married Greenberry Baxter, the son of John and Mary Brown Baxter.  Their children are Samuel, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, Delia, Charlotte, and possibly Jesse.  

Richard was born in November of 1740 and died in Muskingum County, Ohio in 1813.  This would have made him an early settler there.  He married Catherine Groom, the daughter of John and Mary Gristwood Groom.  Their children are Richard, Dutton, Samuel, Elizabeth, Charity, Nancy, Jemima, and Catherine.  

Wilkinson was born in 1743 and died in 1814 in Fairfield County, Ohio.  He married Jane Plowman, the daughter of John and Sarah Chambers Plowman.  Their children are John, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Mary, and Rachel.  It is possible that they are also the parents of Wilkinson, Jacob, Richard, Jane, Dutton, and Mary Jane, but not everyone is in agreement on that.  Like Samuel, Dutton, and Richard, there was more than one Wilkinson Lane and it's possible that not all of these children belonged to the Fairfield County Wilkinson.

Dutton was born about 1745 and died after 1828 in Greene County, Tennessee.  He is said to have had two wives, Mary and Keziah.  However, see the paragraph about Samuel, noted above.  Would two sons in the same family have married two women, in the same order, with the same first names?  Perhaps Mary Corbin and Keziah Sias should be listed as Dutton's wives, but I've found nothing that convinces me at this point.  Regardless, Dutton did have children.  Joseph, Samuel, Nancy, Dutton, Benjamin, John, Abraham, Kezia, Catherine, and Mary appear to be his, and there is a possibility that there was also a Soloman.  I'm not convinced about the Soloman, either, but am showing him here as a possibility.

Sarah was born in November of 1746 and died after 1800 in Greene County, Tennessee.  She married Joseph Hays, who may be the son of Samuel and Jane Corbin Hays.  (I don't know who the Jane Corbin belongs to but she is likely related to Edward Corbin in some manner.) Their children are May, Ann, Sarah, Joseph, John, Ruth, William, and Samuel.

Corbin was born about 1747 and died after December 8, 1816 in Scott County, Virginia.  He married Frances Prock (various spellings such as Brock and Frock), the daughter of Paul and Margaret DeHart Prock, who were German immigrants.  Their children are Mary, Catherine, William, Rachel, Samuel, Abraham, Thomas, Benjamin, Rebecca, Ruth, Temperance and Frances.   

Ruth was born about 1750 and died after 1840 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania.  She married Vincent Stevens, the son of Giles Stephens and his unidentified first wife.  I show only four children for this couple, but given the number of children that the other siblings have, I may be missing some.  The known children are Vincent, Benjamin, David and Vianna.

Abraham was born about 1754 and died probably in 1810 in Baltimore County, Maryland.  Other death dates show March 1847.  There was more than one Abraham Lane so likely the later date belongs to one of the later generation, but I am leaving the date in this post in case it helps someone figure this out.  Abraham married Rachel Mannon, the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Mannon.  I show only three children for this couple-Rachel, John, and Jane.  There may be more.

Lastly, there is John,  born perhaps as late as 1757 or possibly in 1748.  It is also possible that there was a son born in 1748 and who did not survive, and his name was used again in 1757.  There is a good deal of controversy regarding his wife.  She was named Rebecca, and I tend to think it was Rebecca Dorsey, the daughter of John and Frances Watkins Dorsey.  They married in 1768, which would mean the 1748 date for John would be the correct one.  The other possibility is that his wife was Rebecca Loveall, the daughter of Zebulon and Mary Margaret West Loveall.  Perhaps he was married to both women, in which case the Loveall marriage would be the second one.  John's children are William, Thomas, Rebecca, and Mary, and possibly more.

I mentioned John "lastly", but there is one other possibility.  There may or may not have been a daughter, Achseh, born about 1753.  There is no proof of her existence, nor of her death.  It is of course possible that she was stillborn, or lived for just a few hours or days, but still was named.

Once again, we are left with questions, but also with admiration for this family.  They experienced tough times, and survived, and left a legacy of children, and of service to our country.  If all the granchildren I've mentioned are correct, and none are missing (both of which are distinct possibilities), then this Lane family had just short of 100 grandchildren, a significant contribution to the growth of America.  

I would of course love to hear from anyone who can give us more information about the family of Samuel Lane.

 

 

The family of Dutton Lane (1670ish to after 1716)

 Other than the "minor" fact that we don't have facts specifying the dates of his birth and his death, there is more information about Dutton than there is about many of our ancestors.  One question I still have is "Where did his name come from?"  As of now, I can't trace it back through his father's family, and his potential mother's families are not yet well explored.  His father's name is Samuel Lane, and his mother's name may be Margaret Mauldin.  Margaret's family is not documented well, and perhaps there is a "Dutton" in that line.  I would like to know! 

Dutton was born sometime about 1670, in Anne Arundel County because his father was there by 1663.  He was either a Quaker or a friend of the Quakers located there.  He married Pretitia (many various spellings) Tydings, the daughter of Richard and Charity Sparrow Tydings, about 1693.  There are five children mentioned in his will, and two others who were apparently born after the will was written.  We don't know when Dutton died, whether it was shortly after the 1716 will was written, or closer to the 1725 date it was executed.  However, we do know this about his children"

The first born was Samuel, born about 1693.  He married Mary Jane Corbin, the daughter of Edward and Jane Wilkinson Corbin.  Their children are Samuel, Lambert, Charity, Richard, Wilkinson, Dutton, Sarah, John, Corbin, Ruth, Abraham, and Achsah, an even dozen.  I will follow this line in my next post, when I hope to figure out when Samuel died,

Dutton was born next, about 1695.  He died in 1783 in Baltimore County, Maryland.  His wife is Dinah Boring, the daughter of John and Mary Kemp Boring.  Their known children are Dutton, Daniel, Mary, and Dinah.   

Richard was born in 1702 and died in 1770 in what is now Halifax County, Virginia.  He married Sarah Fuller, the daughter of John and Sarah Nicholls Fuller.  Their children are Tidence, John, Silence, Dutton, Samuel, Jemima, and Richard.  

Margaret was born in possibly 1703, or perhaps a year or two later, and died sometime after May 5, 1750.  She married William Merryman (Merriman), the son of Charles and Jane Long Merryman (Charles was a "Junior", and he can be traced back to the Charles Merryman who was a grandfather of the Martha Merryman who married Alexis Lemmon.  I believe William and Martha were first cousins, but I haven't verified that yet.)  Margaret's children are Jemima, Margaret, William, George, Joanna, and Chloe.

Sarah is the last of the children to be mentioned in the will.  She may have been born as late as 1710, and died in 1778 in Wilkes County, North Carolina.  She married Robert Sweeting, the son of Edward and Mary Pearl Sweeting.  Their children are Edward, Dutton, Elizabeth, Sarah and Nancy.  

John was not mentioned in the will, so he was born sometime after 1716.  He died in 1769 in Baltimore County, Maryland.  His wife is Avarilla Bosley, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Dimmett Bosley.  Their children are William, Elizabeth, Dinah, and John.

Lastly, it's been proposed that John had a twin sister, Charity.  Those who think she existed usually say that she died within a year, but what the basis is for her birth or her death I do not know.  It's a possibility.

This makes 38 grandchildren for Dutton and Pretitia.  They were rich in family, even though they had financial stressors that forced Dutton to live in North Carolina for a time.  He did return to Maryland and was able to leave land to some of his children. Some of this land is now included in the Hampton National Historic Site, a legacy for all of us.

 

The family of Samuel Lane 1628-1681

 In just a few years, it will be the 400th anniversary of this ancestor's birth, and in ensuing years, much of his history has been lost.  Court records were burned, church records apparently are gone, and even in London, his records have not been located, or at least not made easily available.  This post will merely lay out possibilities for the mother (possibly plural) of his children, and speculation about one of the children.  We are on fairly solid ground for two of the children, anyway.  

Samuel was born about 1628 in England, possibly London, and went with his family to Providence Island in the Bahamas until sometime later.  He was a Puritan and returned to England, possibly under the Cromwell rule, and became a pastor there.  His first marriage was to Barbara Roddam, the daughter of Edmund Roddam, who was also a pastor.  Then things get murky.  Samuel was in Anne Arundel County, Maryland by 1663, when there are a few records available.  The Maryland records show that his wife was Margaret, the daughter of Frances and Katherine (possibly Dudley) Mauldin.  But the dates are all over the place.  Barbara died in 1664, or 1671, or some other date.  He married Margaret in either 1669 or 1679.  So it is theoretically possible that he was a bigamist, although given that this was a man of some social standing, that seems unlikely to me.  It's possible that the children's birth dates (all in the 1670s) are incorrect, and that they were born earlier, to Barbara.  It's possible that there was a second wife between Barbara and Margaret, who is yet unknown.  Or it's possible that the date of 1669 for his marriage to Margaret is correct, and that the children are hers.  Samuel died in 1681, probably in Lord Baltimore's War,  It has been suggested that he died in a skirmish with members of the Seneca tribe, but I've not been able to verify that.

At any rate, there are three children listed in Samuel's will.  

Dutton was probably the first born son, born about 1670..  I have been unable to find an earlier "Dutton" in the family of Lane, Roddam, or Mauldin, so I am uncertain where this name came from.  He married Pretitia (various spellings; I chose the easiest one) Tydings, the daughter of Richard and Charity Sparrow Tydings.  Their children are Samuel, Dutton, Richard, Margaret, and Sarah.  Dutton died in 1726 in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, and I will follow this family further in my next post.  

Samuel was born about 1672.  He married Sarah Harrison, the daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Smith Harrison.  Their children are Richard, Joseph, Nathan, Samuel, Benjamin, Thomas, Elizabeth, Harrison, and Sarah.  He died in 1719 in Anne Arundel County.

There was also a daughter, Sarah, mentioned in her father's will.  I am not sure what happened to her.  Some say she married a Thomas Hooker in New Jersey, but I am not convinced this is the same Sarah.  Her story still needs to be found and told.

I should mention that some trees also show him as a father to Elizabeth and Grace.  I think it's more likely that these were step-children, so I've not attempted to learn more of their stories.

I mentioned that Samuel was a man of some social standing.  He apparently did not have a congregation in Maryland; perhaps his first wife's death had something to do with that.  He was referred to as a gentleman, chirurgeon (surgeon, but not trained to our understanding of the word), doctor, doctor of physics, justice of the peace, gentleman of the quorum, and a military major, as well as a planter.  I just wish we knew more about his wives and children, however many there were. 

Allen line: The family of Richard Lane 1696-1957

 When I started to prepare for this post, I thought I had nothing much to say about the family of Richard and his wife, Alice Carter, the daughter of Humphrey and Annis Bliss Carter.  I learned so much writing this post, and find him to be an utterly fascinating person, although again, not without controversies both in his own life and in trying to trace his family.  Richard is the son of Roger and Beatrice (controversy as to her maiden name) Lane, and was a Puritan who emigrated from London to the island of Providence, in the Bahamas, where he was a merchant tailor.  At one time, he was on the council of the island, and a slave owner (although the records refer to them as servants; this was the common terminology at the time).  As a Puritan, he was caught up in the investigations by Bishop Laud and forced to return to London for examination.  Fortunately for our family, by the time he arrived the bishop was no longer in power, and he was allowed to return to Providence with the blessings of the government.  

When he and Alice migrated to Providence Island, there were three children with them, and a fourth was apparently born in Providence although there don't seem to be records there.  Richard and a son (below) drowned in 1657, either at the island of Eleuthra or en route there.  Alice returned to London and died there in 1674.  There is much more I could write of Richard, because there is a good account in volume II of Maryland Genealogies (found on Ancestry), but this post is mainly about their children.

Samuel was the first son, born about 1628 in London.  He first married Barbara Roddam, the daughter of Edmund Roddam, and then Margaret Mauldin, the daughter of Francis and Katherine (possibly Dudley) Mauldin.  His three children were all born in the 1670s and that is a problem because Barbara died before the children were married and Margaret's marriage is sometimes recorded as 1649, although some say it was 1669.  At this point, I'm not sure who was the mother of Samuel's three children-Dutton, Samuel, and Sarah.  Samuel settled in Maryland, and I will write further of this family in my next post.  

John, whom I have seen referred to as Jonathan and as Joseph, was born about 1631.  I think the problem is that the original document lists him as "Jo", which can be interpreted in different ways.  However, as John Lane he is best known.  He married first Mary, the daughter of Timothy and Mary Neville Lucas, and had four children-John, Mary Anna, Robert, and Joseph.  He married secondly Elizabeth the widow Howell, and their children are Thomas, Elinor, William, and James.  It is thought that Elizabeth may have been a Saltonstall, with ties to the Boston family of that name, but that as far as I know is still speculation.   

Oziel was born in 1632 and was the youngest child when the family emigrated in 1635.  I have not found any records that he married, and he is the son who drowned along with his father in 1657.

There is also a daughter, Mary, born about 1642.  She married a William Denne and they had at least five children, Elizabeth, Alice, another Elizabeth, Thomas, and Richard.  I have not located the parents of William but I think that someone by the name of Thomas would be a likely candidate, and Elizabeth may be the name of his mother, based solely on naming patterns.

I find Richard fascinating because although he emigrated, it was not to what became the thirteen colonies, but to another British colony entirely.  He was caught up in the politics of religion, he apparently held slaves, he tried to grow madder, and he seems to have been relatively prosperous.  And of course, Richard and Alice are part of the reason I'm here today!

 

The family of Levi Rockwood 1751-1806

This is the last of my posts on the Rockwood family.  It has been really interesting to me to look at them, as so many stayed in basically the same location for entire generations, and then in the early 1800s, mostly, moved on from Bellingham to western Massachusetts and then many to Erie County, New York.  It would be interesting to know whether those who went to Erie went with the hope of finding work on the canal, and how successful, or not, they were at that.  I'm sure there are a lot of stories hidden in the names shown below.  

Levi Rockwood was born in 1751 in Bellingham, Massachusetts, the son of Joseph and Alice Thomson Rockwood.  (Following up on my last blog post, this was yet another loss for Alice, for she outlived him by a few years.)  He married Deborah Lazell (Leazell, lots of other spellings), the daughter of Isaac and Deborah Marsh Lazell.  Levi served in the Revolutionary War for several brief periods of time, including responding to the Lexington-Concord "shots heard 'round the world".  He died in Bellingham in 1806.  

Levi and Deborah had 8 children together, and were more fortunate than Levi's mother had been.  One child lived only a few months, but the rest all had respectable life spans, and at least five children.  This family has several ties to Thomson and Holbrook names, so that it truly goes from being a tree to a tangled forest, as I try to sort these out.  

Their first child was Rachel, born in 1774 and died in 1852 in Lockport, New York.  She married Levi Thompson, the son of Nathan and Dorothy Coles Thompson.  (Nathan is the son of Joseph and Mary Holbrook Thomson, Mary being a descendant of Peter and Alice Godfrey Holbrook.  Joseph is believed to be a descendant of David and Amyas Colle Thomson, who are also our ancestors.) The children of Rachel and Levi include Rachel, Levi, Hiram, Demmon, Orrin, Lucy, Byron, Joseph, and Cephas.

Next came Susannah, in 1776.  She married Nahum Holbrook, the son of Amariah and Molly Wright Holbrook, and died in 1840 in Adamsville, Washington County, New York.  Nahum was a veteran of the war of 1812 in New York, so they had moved prior to that time.  And yes, Nahum is a descendant of Peter and Alice Godfrey Holbrook.  Susannah and Nahum's children are Lucinda, Amariah, Deborah, Nahum, Susan, Joseph (our line) and Mary.  

Hannah's brief life began in 1778 and ended just a few months later. She was the last daughter born to the couple. 

Joseph, the first son, was born in 1780 and died in 1854 in Bellingham.  He married Anne Chilson, the daughter of John and Abigail Draper Chilson.  Their children are Lucena, Preston, Artman/Artemas, Susan, Maria, Joseph, John, Emily and Abbie (possibly Abigail?).  

Levi was born in 1782 and died in 1837 in Boston, Erie County, New York.  He married Tryphena Holbrook, the daughter of Amariah and Molly Wright Holbrook.  And yes, Amariah is also a descendant of Peter and Alice Godfrey Holbrook. So Susannah and Levi each married children of Amariah and Molly Wright Holbrook, which isn't surprising given the population of the town at that time.  Levi's children are John, Amos, Levi, Orrin, and Lyman.  

Nathan was born in 1784 and died in 1879 in Hamburg, Erie County, New York.  He married Ann Ferguson, the daughter of Samuel and Jemima Abbe Ferguson.  Their children are William, Lovena, Sarah, Eliza, Helen, and Harriette.  He was also a veteran of the War of 1812.

Martin was born in 1787 and died in 1864 in Boston, Erie County, New York.  He married Abigail Bates, the daughter of Ezekiel and Abigail Legg Bates.  Their children are Horace, Caoline, Martin, Abigail, Sena, Elizabeth, Varnum, and Calvin.  After Abigail's death, he married Lois Hitchcock, a descendant of Luke and Elizabeth Hitchcock, who are our ancestors on the Allen side of the family. Martin and Lois had no known children.  

Finally, Reuben was born in 1790 and died in 1865 in Eden, Erie County, New York.  He married Polly Albee, the daughter of Alphaeus and Susannah Phillips Albee.  Their children are Valentine, Reuben, Asiel, Urial, and Mary.   

These male children would have grown up hearing stories from the Revolutionary War.  Several of them, perhaps more than I've noted here, served during the War of 1812.  And some lived to see the end of the Civil War.  There is a lot of history woven into the lives of this Rockwood family,

The family of Joseph Rockwood 1722-1778

Joseph Rockwood, the son of John and Deborah Thayer Rockwood, was born in Mendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts in 1722.  He married Alice Thomson (Thompson), the daughter of Joseph and Mary Holbrook Thomson in 1750 in Bellingham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts.  We have already seen Holbrook names mentioned in connection with the Rockwoods and there are more connections to come.  Mendon and Bellingham, where many of the children lived, were small towns and families frequently intermarried.  To re-set the stage, Mary Holbrook Thomson was a daughter of Peter and Alice Godfrey Holbrook.  Joseph died in 1778, just a month after his father's death.

Joseph and Alice (seen often as Elce) had at least eight children.  The eight survived childhood, but four of them died when they were in their twenties or thirties, so there are not as many grandchildren for this couple as one would think.  So while there was great joy in watching the children grow, their would later be the sorrow for the empty homes in the village and in their own hearts. 

The first born child was Levi, born in 1751 and died in 1806, both in Bellingham.  He married Deborah Lazell, the daughter of Isaac and Deborah Marsh Lazell.  Their children include Rachel, Susannah, Hannah, Joseph, Levi, Nathan, Martin and Reuben.  I will write more of this family in my next post.

Deborah was born next, in 1754. She married Silvanus Batte or Battey, the son of Nicholas and Hannah Davis Battey.  Their children are Robert, Amasa, and Amos.  Deborah died in 1779, already a widow at the age of just 25.  I haven't further traced the children, but perhaps Alice, or one of the surviving aunts and uncles, was able to help raise them.

John was born in 1756 and died in 1786.  He married Eunice Smith, the daughter of Matthew and Sarah Adams Smith.  Their children are John and Cephas.  The sad story of John and his brother Cephas (below) is that they for some reason were on a ship returning from Damariscotta, Maine, when their ship overturned near Lovell's Island, in Boston Harbor.  The returning passengers struggled to shore on the island but this was in December, in the middle of a blizzard, and 11 of the thirteen passengers, including our two Rockwoods, froze to death in their wet clothing, with no shelter available.  

Alice was born in 1758 and died in 1842 in Bellingham.  She married John Cook, the son of Daniel and Elizabeth Scott Cook.  That is the full extent of what I've found for her.  If she stayed her entire life in Bellingham, there are no children recorded there.  It's possible that she and John had left the area and that she came home to Bellingham after living elsewhere, but I've not found anything to reflect that.  There is a 1790 census in Maine that might possibly be this John Cook, which does indicate the possibility of children.  

Joseph was born in 1760 and died on October 6, 1778, just four days before his grandfather John and 35 days before his father Joseph. As mentioned in my last post, it seems possible that there was an epidemic of some sort in town, whether smallpox or something else, but I've not found anything further about that.  At any rate, Alice lost her son, husband, and father in law in very short order, and then the following year her daughter.  She must have been, or become, a very strong woman!

Melatiah was born in 1762 and died in 1848 or 1849 in Bellingham.  Her first marriage was to Asa Holbrook, the son of Asahel and Anna Puffer Holbrook.  Yes, Asa was a descendant of Peter and Alice Godfrey Holbrook, so there was a cousin relationship here, although not a first cousin.  Their children are Deborah, Sylvanus, Cephas, and Anna.  After Asa died, she married Caleb Adams, who may or may not be the son of Moses and Abigail Stone Adams.  Their children are Abigail, Caleb, Melatiah, and Alice.  I have not yet found a relationship between Caleb Adams and Sarah Adams Smith, but there may be one.  

Cephas I have mentioned above, as being one of those who froze to death on Lovell's Island.  He was born in 1766 and was not yet 21 years old at the time of this death.  

The final child was Daniel, born in 1768.  He seems to be the only one who left Bellingham, settling first on Oswego, New York, and dying in 1853 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.  He married Lovica (various spellings) Pond, the daughter of Eliezer and Huldah Hill Pond.  Their children are John, Daniel, Samuel, Alice, Marinda, and Lovice.  It is interesting to speculate why Daniel went to Chicago.  Our ancestor Joseph Holbrook was already there.  Did he go to visit, or had he gone there to start a new life after Lovica's 1843 death?  He was pretty old to be starting over.  Daniel Rockwood, who may be the son of our Daniel, was living in Vermilion, Livingston County, Illinois in the 1850 census.

As usual, there are still questions to clear up with this family, particularly about Alice Rockwood Cook.  Did she or did she not have children?  Did she live in Maine for part of her life?  More research needs to be done, but at least we have this much information.  Joseph and Alice, despite their sorrows, raised their family, and at least one, Levi, was a veteran of the Revolutionary War.  We can be grateful for their sacrifices.

The family of John Rockwood 1696-1778

We come to John Rockwood, the son of Joseph and Mary Hayward Rockwood, born in 1696 in Mendon, Massachusetts and died there in 1778.  There were a lot of "small" wars during his lifespan, including the not so small French and Indian War of 1754-1763, but so far I've found no records that show him as a soldier during any of the conflicts.  This doesn't rule out the probability that he was at least in the militia, so there is at least the possibility that more research would turn up something.

John married Deborah Thayer, the daughter of Ebenezer and Martha Thompson Thayer, in 1716 in Mendon.  As far as I can tell, they stayed in Mendon their entire lives, so I'm a bit puzzled that three children claimed for them are not listed in the Mendon birth records.  Of course, by this time there were other John Rockwoods and it's possible that the three children should be attributed to one of those men.  The three in question are Simeon, supposedly born in 1722, Abigail, in 1724, and Mary, in 1725.  I would certainly love to hear from anyone who has knowledge of these three.  They fit nicely into John and Deborah's time line, but they apparently weren't born in Mendon, or records were lost for those years.  I am unable to trace any of them further, so perhaps they died very early, if they belonged to this family.

There are six children who seem to be documented.  Ebenezer was the first son, born in 1718.  He lived long enough to marry Sarah, who is possibly Sarah Hayward, the daughter of Jonathan Hayward.  Their son, and apparently their only child, is Ebenezer.  Sadly, Ebenezer (Sr.) died in 1742, at the young age of 26.

John was the next son born in 1721.  This gets pretty confusing because this John, the son of John and Deborah Thayer Rockwood, also married Deborah Thayer, except she was the daughter of Jonathan and Bethiah Chapin Thayer.  Both Thayers trace back to Ferdinando Thayer, the Thayer immigrant, so there was some kind of family relationship involved.  They have at least two children, Molly (Molle) and Simeon.  I have seen trees that list additional children, but if so, they don't seem to have been born in Mendon.  John died in 1753, based on the bond issued to his wife Deborah, and two male Thayers, in August of that year.

Joseph was the next son, born in 1722.  He married Alice Thompson, the daughter of Joseph and Mary Holbrook Thompson.  They have eight children-Deborah, John, Alice, Joseph, Melatiah, Cephas, and Daniel.  Joseph died in 1778 in Bellingham, just a month after the death of his father.  (Bellingham was a daughter city to Mendon so if he had moved at all, it wasn't far.)  I will write more of this family in my next post.

Then there is a break of 8 years, which may be when Simeon, Abigail, and Mary were born and lived what may have been short lives.  There is always the possibility that John and Deborah had moved to another town or village and that these three children were simply born elsewhere, but I've not found any likely locations yet, so let's leave them as questionable at this point.

Reuben (Rubin) was born in 1730.  He may have been the first of the family to really strike out away from home, as he died in 1803 in Tyringham, Berkshire, Massachusetts.  His wife is Lydia Green, the daughter of Joshua and Phebe Rawson Green.  Their children are Hannah, Lydia, Ebenezer, Abigail, Joshua, Jason, Margery, Deborah, Beulah, Asenath, and Phebe.  Reuben was a veteran of the Revolutionary War.

Margery or Margaret was born in 1732 and died in 1758 in Wrentham, Worcester, Massachusetts.  She married Edward Gay, the son of Edward and Rebecca Fisher Gray.  Their children are Hannah, Thomas, Rachel, and Margery or Margaret.  

Deborah (I wonder why that name wasn't used earlier?) was born in 1734 and died in 1811 in Upton, Worcester, Massachusetts.  She married Benjamin Farrar, the son of Joseph and Mary Hoskins Farrar.  Their children are Deborah, Abigail, Ruth, Sarah, Benjamin, Esther, and possibly three others, unnamed and perhaps died as infants.  

This summary of the family of John and Deborah Thayer Rockwood of course leaves questions, not least about the missing child-bearing years of Deborah.  We can at least know that John and Deborah left at least 32 children, and their descendants probably have a tangled tree and stories to tell, too.

The family of Joseph Rockwood 1671-1718

We are on a bit firmer ground when it comes to Joseph Rockwood and his family.  He was born in Mendon, Massachusetts, and died there, and all of his children seem to have stayed in the area.  Some are shown as Bellingham residents, but Bellingham was formed from Mendon so it may be that no one had really moved; they may have lived on their original lands.  This is an interesting family because we see other connections to some of our other lines as we explore the data for the children.  And, as usual, there are still some unanswered questions.

Joseph was born in 1671 in Mendon to John and Joanna (or Johannah) Ford Rockwood/Rockett.  The spelling of the last name didn't stabilize until this next generation, and even then there are some usages of the old Rockett spelling.  He married Mary, sometimes seen as Mary Ann, Hayward, the daughter of Samuel and Mehitable Thompson Hayward, and together they had at least 10 children.  Joseph was 47 years old when he died in 1718, and Mary died just four years later, so some of the children were still minors and needed guardians.

Mary was the first born, in 1690.  Some give her a birthdate of 1704, but that was a different Mary, because our Mary married in 1717/18, so a 1704 birthdate is too late to fit.  Her husband is Samuel Wheaton, the son of Benjamin and Margaret Ide Wheaton.  Although Mary lived until 1777, it appears that they had only one child, a daughter also named Mary.  I haven't found an accurate date of death for Samuel, but perhaps he died early, and that would be a reason for no additional children.

Joanna was born in 1792 and died before 1779 in Bellingham.  Her husband is Eliphalet Holbrook, the son of Peter and Alice Godfrey Holbrook, who are our ancestors in another line.  Their children are Eliphalet, Ebenezer, Elisha, Seth, Noah, Naaman, Caleb, Elijah, and Johanna.  

John was the first born son, in 1696.  He married Deborah Thayer, the daughter of Ebenezer and Martha Thompson Thayer.  Their children are Ebenezer, John, Joseph, Simeon, Abigail, Mary, Reuben, Margery, and Deborah.  John died in 1778.  I will follow this family in my next blog post.

Margaret is a mystery.  She was born in 1698, but I have not located anything further about her.  She may have died as an infant or a young child, but I've not yet found proof.  

Samuel was born in 1700 and may have died in 1761 in Somers, Tolland County, Connecticut.  I am not positive this is our man; this may be a different Samuel Rockwood.  Our Samuel's wife was Elizabeth Wood, daughter of Josiah and Mary Felt Wood.  Their children are Josiah, Elizabeth, Olive, Samuel, and Chloe.

Josiah is another mystery.  He was born in 1702 and died in 1764 in Ashfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts.  That is all that I know of his life.  I've found nothing about a marriage, or children, but of course the records could be lost.  

Trial (Tryal) was born in 1704 and died in 1730.  She married Samuel White, the son of Thomas and Mehitable Thornton White.  Their children are Samuel, Hanna, and Joanna.  It appears that Trial may have died as a result of child birth.  

Richard was born in 1706 and died in 1786.  He married Sarah Thayer, the daughter of Jonathan and Sarah Allen Thayer.  (Yes, Jonathan is a descendant of Ferdinando and Huldah Hayward Thayer, as is Deborah Thayer, who married John Rockwood, above.)  Their children are Josiah, Joseph, and Nehemiah.

Susanna was born in 1709 and died in 1736.  She married Moses Tenney, the son of Thomas and Sarah Tenney Tenney (not a typo; they were first cousins).  I only know of one child for them, Josiah.  After Susannah's death, which may have been related to childbirth, Moses remarried and had several more children.  

Benjamin Rockwood was the last known child of Joseph and Mary.  He was born in 1711, and married Margaret Greet, the daughter of John and Lydia Lineford Green.  Their children are Joannah, Benjamin, and Samuel.  After Margaret's death, Benjamin married an as yet unidentified Mehetabel, and had at least two more children, Silence and Seth.  I do not have a death date for Benjamin.

I'm sure if we knew their stories, there would be interesting life experiences for some of the Rockwoods.  There were several wars that may show Rockwoods as soldiers, and if not as soldiers, then in the militia.  The list of soldiers and sailors from Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War lists quite a few Rockwoods with the same names as are shown here, who were from Bellingham or Mendon, and others whose hometown was not designated.  This was a patriotic family.