I've put off writing about John Cole. It's not because I don't like him, but because he is so confusing. Is he one man, or two men, or three? Which set of parents are really his? And there are other questions. So I'm going to proceed here with caution. Please understand that this may not be entirely correct, and it could be entirely wrong. I am following primarily (when I have a question) the work of Robert Barnes, who is a noted genealogist and who is relatively error free. He is also an expert in Baltimore County, Maryland, genealogy. I'm not.
John Cole was born in or about 1669, based on various court testimonies he gave. All the records I have seen list his birth place as Anne Arundel County, Maryland, which was formed from St. Mary's County prior to the time of John's birth. (So his parents may have been found in St Mary's County prior to the division). I've seen several listings for John's parents, some with a bit of reason to them and some not. But Robert Barnes lists his parents as John Cole and Mary Beedle, so we'll go with that while acknowledging that further analysis or new records could result in a different understanding.
We are reasonably sure that John Cole married Johanna Garrett, daughter of Dennis and Barbara (last name not found) Garrett about 1690. He was a witness to and therefore testified in the trial of John Oldton (who is our distant relation as he was married to a Gorsuch), who was charged with the murder of Dennis Garrett.
Sometime within the next 10 years, John moved his family to Baltimore County, in the area of the Gunpowder Meeting, where he owned at least two pieces of land and probably more. There are indications that John was or became a Quaker, or at least that other members of his family were members of the Society of Friends. I haven't been able to verity that. However, it does show that they were in the area and he would have possibly been influenced by their beliefs, even if he did stay a member of the Church of England.
John and Johanna had at least seven and possibly as many as ten children. Barnes lists seven. Johanna died probably about 1715 and John next married Dinah Hawkins, in 1716. He had at least three children with her, so Dinah must have been at least a few years younger than John.
John was a planter. His crops would have included tobacco, so that likely means that he owned slaves, or at the least, had indentured servants. I haven't located records yet that indicate the status of his farm laborers, but he would have needed help and most if not all families had either slaves or indentured servants, or both. Yes, in this time period some Quakers had slaves, too.
John wrote his will in 1745 and it was presented on November 3, 1746. It named his wife, Dinah, and their three, or three surviving, children. His children with Johanna were all adults and presumably he had given them land or other assets earlier, since the will was not contested. The value of his inventory was just short of 100 pounds.
It's a pretty scanty sketch of a man in our ancestry and in our genes, but it is what we have, at the moment. I think it's important to at least mention these men and women who built America, especially since so many of our ancestors were from New England. We have Southern and almost Southern roots, too.
The line of descent is
John Cole-Johanna Garrett
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Gorsuch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gorsuch. Show all posts
Friday, June 5, 2020
Friday, January 3, 2020
Holbrook line: Charles Gorsuch Jr. 1687-1747
A funny thing happens on the way to writing a blog post sometimes. I find that I don't trust the information I have, and a little bit of digging shows the reason why. I find conflicting information, or proof that my information is wrong, and sometimes I find a bit of drama in the genealogy world.
I found what I now believe is an error in my information about Charles Gorsuch Jr's marriage(s). But let's start at the beginning. Charles Gorsuch was born in 1686 or 1687 in Baltimore County, Maryland, to Charles and Sarah Cole Gorusch. He was one of at least four children, and he grew up pretty much where Baltimore is now situated. In fact, his father is credited with helping found the town of Baltimore. At the time, of course, it was just a very small village, but the harbor was growing in response to the need of planters to ship their goods, especially tobacco.
Charles grew up and married, possibly about 1712, to a woman associated with the name of Rogers. She may have died in childbirth, leaving Charles with three young children;s John, William and Hannah probably would not remember their mother.
Charles soon married his second wife, Sarah Cole, who was his mother's niece. They had eight children together, so the family was approaching "good-sized", even for that day. Charles seems to have been a planter, also, although there is not a lot of evidence to support that statement. His first seven children with Sarah were baptized at St Paul's Parish, Baltimore County. The last daughter, Rachel, was likely born after Charles and Sarah had moved to Western Run.
Charles died before June 17, 1748, when an inventory was filed by Sarah, showing a personal estate of 314 pounds, 12 shillings, and 6 pence. There is a note in the estate papers that John, William, and Hannah, wife of Thomas Stansbury, had received their share in the life time of the deceased, so this final estate was to be divided between the eight children, after (I'm assuming here, I haven't found the papers to read them myself) taking care of Sarah. His inventory includes one Negro man, one Negro woman, and immediately after that, "a parcel of new goods", all valued about the same. Most of the inventory is for farm animals, implements, and crops. There is one entry for "gunns" but I found nothing for books. The feeling I have is that this was not a rich household, but that there was enough to go around, as far as dishes and furniture go. He had quite a bit of wool and woolen goods, and some tobacco, so this was a working farm.
I need to do some more digging, to figure out what land he still owned when he died, and where it came from. I'd like to verify that he was not a Quaker-there seems to be some confusion about that in the records. His children by Sarah were baptized at St Paul's. She was not a Quaker, then, so it seems that Charles would not have been, either, or he would have been disowned. I'd also like to know whether Charles ever served in the militia, and whether he went on any military expeditions. If he could summarize his life in just two or three sentences, what would he have thought was remarkable about his life? And most of all, I'd like to know who his first wife was. She is our ancestor, after all!
The line of descent is
Charles Gorsuch-unknown
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
I found what I now believe is an error in my information about Charles Gorsuch Jr's marriage(s). But let's start at the beginning. Charles Gorsuch was born in 1686 or 1687 in Baltimore County, Maryland, to Charles and Sarah Cole Gorusch. He was one of at least four children, and he grew up pretty much where Baltimore is now situated. In fact, his father is credited with helping found the town of Baltimore. At the time, of course, it was just a very small village, but the harbor was growing in response to the need of planters to ship their goods, especially tobacco.
Charles grew up and married, possibly about 1712, to a woman associated with the name of Rogers. She may have died in childbirth, leaving Charles with three young children;s John, William and Hannah probably would not remember their mother.
Charles soon married his second wife, Sarah Cole, who was his mother's niece. They had eight children together, so the family was approaching "good-sized", even for that day. Charles seems to have been a planter, also, although there is not a lot of evidence to support that statement. His first seven children with Sarah were baptized at St Paul's Parish, Baltimore County. The last daughter, Rachel, was likely born after Charles and Sarah had moved to Western Run.
Charles died before June 17, 1748, when an inventory was filed by Sarah, showing a personal estate of 314 pounds, 12 shillings, and 6 pence. There is a note in the estate papers that John, William, and Hannah, wife of Thomas Stansbury, had received their share in the life time of the deceased, so this final estate was to be divided between the eight children, after (I'm assuming here, I haven't found the papers to read them myself) taking care of Sarah. His inventory includes one Negro man, one Negro woman, and immediately after that, "a parcel of new goods", all valued about the same. Most of the inventory is for farm animals, implements, and crops. There is one entry for "gunns" but I found nothing for books. The feeling I have is that this was not a rich household, but that there was enough to go around, as far as dishes and furniture go. He had quite a bit of wool and woolen goods, and some tobacco, so this was a working farm.
I need to do some more digging, to figure out what land he still owned when he died, and where it came from. I'd like to verify that he was not a Quaker-there seems to be some confusion about that in the records. His children by Sarah were baptized at St Paul's. She was not a Quaker, then, so it seems that Charles would not have been, either, or he would have been disowned. I'd also like to know whether Charles ever served in the militia, and whether he went on any military expeditions. If he could summarize his life in just two or three sentences, what would he have thought was remarkable about his life? And most of all, I'd like to know who his first wife was. She is our ancestor, after all!
The line of descent is
Charles Gorsuch-unknown
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, November 22, 2019
Holbrook line: Thomas Stansbury 1714-1798
Thomas Stansbury is especially important to this family because of the woman he chose to marry. She is a descendant of a gateway ancestor, one of several who connect us in a long line back to royalty, history, and fun. (I love gateway ancestors, only because there are paper trails and it's relatively easy to learn about the connections. I love my plain Jane (or Joe) ancestors, too, but many of them I will never even have names for.)
Thomas is sometimes known as Thomas Stansbury Jr., because his parents were Thomas and Jane Dixon Hayes Stansbury. He was born in Saint Paul's Parish, Baltimore County, Maryland on April 24, 1714, which is now part of the Baltimore Historic District. At the time of the church's founding in 192, it was in a more rural setting, close to the Patapsco River. He was one of at least six children.
Thomas married Hannah Gorsuch, daughter of Charles and Sarah Cole Gorsuch and descendant of Anne Lovelace Gorsuch, the gateway ancestor, on March 2, 1734/35 in St. Paul's, Baltimore. The couple had at least twelve children together, ten of whom are mentioned in Thomas's will. He left nothing to daughter Jane, apparently because she was already wealthy, and one child had died early.
Although Thomas is listed as a patriot on the DAR website, he apparently had some difficulty in making an early decision about which side of the Revolutionary War to support. He was called before a "Committee" on May 19, 1776, because he had been reported as making comments favorable to the British. He was cleared of that suspicion and thanked for his zeal in supporting his country (which would become, but was not yet, the USA). The church the Stansbury family attended was Anglican and these families, as a whole, were more likely to support the British side than, say, our New England ancestors who descended from Puritans. By 1778, Thomas had definitely made up his mind when he took the oath of fidelity and support required by the state of Maryland of all voters and of all office holders.
Thomas was a plantation owner, and had a few slaves listed in his "personal property" inventory. It appears that at one time he had owned a great deal of land but I've not found a will to see whether he distributed the land in his will, or land records to see whether he had disposed of it earlier. Land that he may have owned at one time included "Dixon's Neck" of 450 acres, "Stansbury's Good Luck" of 90 acres, "Father's Care" of 100 acres, "Jerrico" of 700 acres, "Luke's Goodwill" of 111 acres, and 650 acres of "Franklin's Purchase". I haven't done the research to back this up and it's possible that some of these lands belonged to another Thomas Stansbury. Nor do I know whether he owned them all at once, or serially. It does indicate, however, that land perhaps needed to be replenished, perhaps because he was growing a crop like tobacco, which could generally be planted only three years in a row, and then the land needed to rest for ten years or so. It's also possible that he was a wealthy man.
Thomas died June 15, 1798 in Baltimore. I haven't yet found his will, but I did locate his inventory filed on August 6, 1798. Thomas was 84 years old when he died, but he still "owned" 6 Negroes, as they were called. He owned horses and swine, tools, a few crops (17 bushels of corn), and some, but not a lot, furniture and household goods. He also owned a gun, a rifle, and an old sword. Perhaps he was already downsizing and had given some of his property to children or grandchildren. Hannah lived until September of 1800 but I didn't locate her by name in the 1800 census. She was likely living with one of her children.
It's interesting to think about Thomas, about how his life was so very different from ours, and about how he came to change his political beliefs. I'd love to sit and chat with this couple, to absorb a little of their culture and to learn how he treated his slaves. I hope he was as close to being a good master as he could be, given that a master, by definition, would not fit the 21st century meaning of good.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Thomas is sometimes known as Thomas Stansbury Jr., because his parents were Thomas and Jane Dixon Hayes Stansbury. He was born in Saint Paul's Parish, Baltimore County, Maryland on April 24, 1714, which is now part of the Baltimore Historic District. At the time of the church's founding in 192, it was in a more rural setting, close to the Patapsco River. He was one of at least six children.
Thomas married Hannah Gorsuch, daughter of Charles and Sarah Cole Gorsuch and descendant of Anne Lovelace Gorsuch, the gateway ancestor, on March 2, 1734/35 in St. Paul's, Baltimore. The couple had at least twelve children together, ten of whom are mentioned in Thomas's will. He left nothing to daughter Jane, apparently because she was already wealthy, and one child had died early.
Although Thomas is listed as a patriot on the DAR website, he apparently had some difficulty in making an early decision about which side of the Revolutionary War to support. He was called before a "Committee" on May 19, 1776, because he had been reported as making comments favorable to the British. He was cleared of that suspicion and thanked for his zeal in supporting his country (which would become, but was not yet, the USA). The church the Stansbury family attended was Anglican and these families, as a whole, were more likely to support the British side than, say, our New England ancestors who descended from Puritans. By 1778, Thomas had definitely made up his mind when he took the oath of fidelity and support required by the state of Maryland of all voters and of all office holders.
Thomas was a plantation owner, and had a few slaves listed in his "personal property" inventory. It appears that at one time he had owned a great deal of land but I've not found a will to see whether he distributed the land in his will, or land records to see whether he had disposed of it earlier. Land that he may have owned at one time included "Dixon's Neck" of 450 acres, "Stansbury's Good Luck" of 90 acres, "Father's Care" of 100 acres, "Jerrico" of 700 acres, "Luke's Goodwill" of 111 acres, and 650 acres of "Franklin's Purchase". I haven't done the research to back this up and it's possible that some of these lands belonged to another Thomas Stansbury. Nor do I know whether he owned them all at once, or serially. It does indicate, however, that land perhaps needed to be replenished, perhaps because he was growing a crop like tobacco, which could generally be planted only three years in a row, and then the land needed to rest for ten years or so. It's also possible that he was a wealthy man.
Thomas died June 15, 1798 in Baltimore. I haven't yet found his will, but I did locate his inventory filed on August 6, 1798. Thomas was 84 years old when he died, but he still "owned" 6 Negroes, as they were called. He owned horses and swine, tools, a few crops (17 bushels of corn), and some, but not a lot, furniture and household goods. He also owned a gun, a rifle, and an old sword. Perhaps he was already downsizing and had given some of his property to children or grandchildren. Hannah lived until September of 1800 but I didn't locate her by name in the 1800 census. She was likely living with one of her children.
It's interesting to think about Thomas, about how his life was so very different from ours, and about how he came to change his political beliefs. I'd love to sit and chat with this couple, to absorb a little of their culture and to learn how he treated his slaves. I hope he was as close to being a good master as he could be, given that a master, by definition, would not fit the 21st century meaning of good.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, October 19, 2018
Holbrook line: Thomas Cole, Immigrant
Thomas Cole is believed to be the son of Humphrey Cole and May Mott. Humphrey must have been a person of some means because a son and a son in law were each rectors, and that would probably indicate a certain degree of schooling. Humphrey himself had a BA from Pembroke College (part of Cambridge University) in 1593 and an MA in 1598. The family was oriented toward education.
Thomas Cole was born about 1603 in Essex, England and had arrived in Virginia on July 4, 1635. It's possible that he came in 1632, had returned to England for some reason and then come back to Virginia. Either date would put him in Virginia early. He married a woman named Priscilla, who may or may not be Priscilla Godfrey, the daughter of John Godfrey.
Thomas and Priscilla were in Maryland by 1649, and were acknowledged Quakers a few years later. Perhaps they left Virginia because they felt persecuted there, but that is speculation. In 1666, he was voted 1000 pounds of tobacco in recompense for the loss of his stock, killed or stolen in raids by the native Americans. John owned 550 acres of land, called Cole's Harbor in 1668. This was in what is now the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, and even then may have been considered valuable. It may also have been marshy, because we don't know that Thomas and Priscilla actually lived there. He also patented 450 acres called Mayden's Choice in 1674, and a 200 acre tract called Saint Mary Borne in 1675.
They seem to have settled in what is now Anne Arundel County, then called Providence County. Thomas and Priscilla had just one known child, or at least one child who lived to adulthood. There may have been a son, John, but nothing more is known of him. Sarah and her husband, Charles Gorsuch, sold the three Baltimore County tracts on December 8, 1679, Sarah being described as the sole heiress of Thomas Cole. Priscilla therefore must have been gone by then, and Thomas also, although we don't have dates for either of them. They may well have been buried in the early Quaker fashion, which was in unmarked graves, with only a flagstone to indicate the place of burial.
I wish we knew more about Thomas. For instance, during the Indian attack when his stock was stolen, where was he and where was his family? Did the family suffer other losses, or was this a one time thing? As a Quaker, he probably wasn't part of the militia but I'd like to confirm that. Was he a slave owner? Was he educated, or at least literate? (I think yes, because his father and brother were educated, and because his daughter married into an influential family, but I'd like to know for sure). What words of wisdom could he share with us, if we could talk face to face?
The line of descent is :
Thomas Cole-Priscilla
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Charles Gorsuch Jr-Sarah Cole (it appears that these two were cousins)
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Thomas Cole was born about 1603 in Essex, England and had arrived in Virginia on July 4, 1635. It's possible that he came in 1632, had returned to England for some reason and then come back to Virginia. Either date would put him in Virginia early. He married a woman named Priscilla, who may or may not be Priscilla Godfrey, the daughter of John Godfrey.
Thomas and Priscilla were in Maryland by 1649, and were acknowledged Quakers a few years later. Perhaps they left Virginia because they felt persecuted there, but that is speculation. In 1666, he was voted 1000 pounds of tobacco in recompense for the loss of his stock, killed or stolen in raids by the native Americans. John owned 550 acres of land, called Cole's Harbor in 1668. This was in what is now the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, and even then may have been considered valuable. It may also have been marshy, because we don't know that Thomas and Priscilla actually lived there. He also patented 450 acres called Mayden's Choice in 1674, and a 200 acre tract called Saint Mary Borne in 1675.
They seem to have settled in what is now Anne Arundel County, then called Providence County. Thomas and Priscilla had just one known child, or at least one child who lived to adulthood. There may have been a son, John, but nothing more is known of him. Sarah and her husband, Charles Gorsuch, sold the three Baltimore County tracts on December 8, 1679, Sarah being described as the sole heiress of Thomas Cole. Priscilla therefore must have been gone by then, and Thomas also, although we don't have dates for either of them. They may well have been buried in the early Quaker fashion, which was in unmarked graves, with only a flagstone to indicate the place of burial.
I wish we knew more about Thomas. For instance, during the Indian attack when his stock was stolen, where was he and where was his family? Did the family suffer other losses, or was this a one time thing? As a Quaker, he probably wasn't part of the militia but I'd like to confirm that. Was he a slave owner? Was he educated, or at least literate? (I think yes, because his father and brother were educated, and because his daughter married into an influential family, but I'd like to know for sure). What words of wisdom could he share with us, if we could talk face to face?
The line of descent is :
Thomas Cole-Priscilla
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Charles Gorsuch Jr-Sarah Cole (it appears that these two were cousins)
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Holbrook line: Dethmarus Sternberg, Immigrant
I've been waiting for several years for the facts about this ancestor to come out. I think I've waited in vain, and it will be some time, if ever, before the origins of this man are determined. We know where he was baptized, and we know his parents' names and when and where they were baptized. But after that, it gets confusing. Was Detmar's father a German count, or a Dutch count, or an Englishman named Stansbury who decided to stay in the area of the Low countries after spending time there during one or another of the many wars those countries had? Was his mother some relation to William of Orange? All these theories are mentioned on various internet sites but no one seems to really have documents that show anything for sure. The one exception is a crude drawing of heraldry, with a 1609 date, and the name Sternberg written on it. It's written in a foreign language so I have no idea what the sketch actually says.
Detmar was the son of Dethmarus and Catherine Morske Sternberge, and was baptized in the Protestant church honoring St. Rainaldi in Dortmund, Prussia in 1628. He was probably born shortly before that. He married Catherine (Renske was her nickname but we don't know her given name) probably about 1650. Their first and perhaps only son was named Tobias. The three of them came to Maryland in 1658 according to Detmar's claim for headrights, and he had also transported a man by the name of John Dowlin. So he had 200 acres, or at least the right to 200 acres.
I wish I knew more about Detmar. He arrived in 1658 and was in 1663 selling land. Why? Did he acquire other land? Did he originally acquire unsuitable land? What crop was he trying to raise? Did he actually work the land, or was that done by servants and slaves? Did he have another trade or way to support himself? What was his religion? We know he was living in 1678 but we don't know when after that he died. And most certainly, I'd love to know more about his origins. Did he find fellow Germans in the area, or Dutch, or English? What was his relationship with his neighbors? Could he speak English at all? Since we don't know the answers to these questions, this post is not a story of his life but just a beginning, hoping to point us toward a fuller understanding of our ancestor with the strange sounding name.
Two generations after Detmar arrived, the family, or at least some of it, changed its name to Stansbury, and that is the name our line is using today.
Here's the line of descent:
Detmar Sternberg-Catherine (renske)
Tobias Starnborough-Sarah Raven
Thomas Stansbury-Jean Dixon Hayes
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansubry-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Detmar was the son of Dethmarus and Catherine Morske Sternberge, and was baptized in the Protestant church honoring St. Rainaldi in Dortmund, Prussia in 1628. He was probably born shortly before that. He married Catherine (Renske was her nickname but we don't know her given name) probably about 1650. Their first and perhaps only son was named Tobias. The three of them came to Maryland in 1658 according to Detmar's claim for headrights, and he had also transported a man by the name of John Dowlin. So he had 200 acres, or at least the right to 200 acres.
I wish I knew more about Detmar. He arrived in 1658 and was in 1663 selling land. Why? Did he acquire other land? Did he originally acquire unsuitable land? What crop was he trying to raise? Did he actually work the land, or was that done by servants and slaves? Did he have another trade or way to support himself? What was his religion? We know he was living in 1678 but we don't know when after that he died. And most certainly, I'd love to know more about his origins. Did he find fellow Germans in the area, or Dutch, or English? What was his relationship with his neighbors? Could he speak English at all? Since we don't know the answers to these questions, this post is not a story of his life but just a beginning, hoping to point us toward a fuller understanding of our ancestor with the strange sounding name.
Two generations after Detmar arrived, the family, or at least some of it, changed its name to Stansbury, and that is the name our line is using today.
Here's the line of descent:
Detmar Sternberg-Catherine (renske)
Tobias Starnborough-Sarah Raven
Thomas Stansbury-Jean Dixon Hayes
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansubry-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, June 8, 2018
Holbrook line: Charles Gorsuch, Immigrant
I've written before of Charles's mother, Anne Lovelace Gorsuch, and a bit about his father, John Gorsuch. I wrote about Anne because after all, she is a "gateway" ancestor with ties that go way back into history, and I mentioned John because, even though he didn't live to come to America (killed just after England's Civil War "ended"), he of course had great influence on his family's life.
Now I'd like to look at the life of one of their children, Charles. He was born about August 25, 1642, in Walkern, Hertfordshire, England, where his father was the rector. He was just a wee lad, about five years old, when his father was killed. How unsettling that must have been! Fortunately, his parents were better off financially than many in the area, and there was enough money that the family could immigrate to Virginia. They arrived about 1652, and it may have been that his transportation was paid for by Thomas Hoane, as he claimed headrights, and Charles may actually have served as an indentured servant, unless Thomas paid for the transportation out of the goodness of his heart. At any rate, at age 15 in 1657, he appointed his older brother, Richard, as his guardian, which was legally required for an "infant".
Some of Charles's siblings moved to Maryland but Charles remained in Virginia until about 1660 (note the choosing of his brother as guardian in 1657.) He may have had to stay, if he was indentured, or it may have been his choice. However, he was in Maryland by 1661 when land was surveyed for him in what later became part of Baltimore, Md. In fact, the land makes up part of Fort McHenry, but before the Fort, there was a town called Whetstone Point, founded in 1706, and this is Charles's original land.
Charles was a Quaker, likely converted in Virginia and left for Maryland when the Colony cracked down on religious freedom there. We may be missing records, or Charles may have worked for a long time to both start his home and find a wife. Neither was an easy task in early Maryland. He eventually married Sarah Cole, daughter of Thomas (William?) Cole and Priscilla, who were his neighbors.
There are five more entries in "Settlers of Maryland" by Peter Wilson Coldham, that also appear to be our Charles Gorsuch, all in Baltimore County. If he owned all of these at the same time, he owned about 825 acres at the time of his death. The acquisition of so many acres indicates that he likely was growing tobacco.
Charles and Sarah had four sons together-John, Robert, Thomas, and Charles Jr, not necessarily in that order. Sarah died about 1690 and Charles on June 27, 1716 (may be a court record date?). I found a court record showing an inventory but it is not available on line that I have found. I would certainly love to see it. It might answer some questions, or prove my assumption about tobacco farming to be incorrect. I wonder if he was still a Quaker when he died? And I wonder a lot of other things, too. How educated was he? Did he hold any kind of political office? If he was a Quaker, what was his relation with native Americans? Oh, the mysteries!
The line of descend it:
Charles Gorsuch-Sarah Cole
Charles Gorsuch-Sarah Cole (two different Sarah Cole's, but they may be related)
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Now I'd like to look at the life of one of their children, Charles. He was born about August 25, 1642, in Walkern, Hertfordshire, England, where his father was the rector. He was just a wee lad, about five years old, when his father was killed. How unsettling that must have been! Fortunately, his parents were better off financially than many in the area, and there was enough money that the family could immigrate to Virginia. They arrived about 1652, and it may have been that his transportation was paid for by Thomas Hoane, as he claimed headrights, and Charles may actually have served as an indentured servant, unless Thomas paid for the transportation out of the goodness of his heart. At any rate, at age 15 in 1657, he appointed his older brother, Richard, as his guardian, which was legally required for an "infant".
Some of Charles's siblings moved to Maryland but Charles remained in Virginia until about 1660 (note the choosing of his brother as guardian in 1657.) He may have had to stay, if he was indentured, or it may have been his choice. However, he was in Maryland by 1661 when land was surveyed for him in what later became part of Baltimore, Md. In fact, the land makes up part of Fort McHenry, but before the Fort, there was a town called Whetstone Point, founded in 1706, and this is Charles's original land.
Charles was a Quaker, likely converted in Virginia and left for Maryland when the Colony cracked down on religious freedom there. We may be missing records, or Charles may have worked for a long time to both start his home and find a wife. Neither was an easy task in early Maryland. He eventually married Sarah Cole, daughter of Thomas (William?) Cole and Priscilla, who were his neighbors.
There are five more entries in "Settlers of Maryland" by Peter Wilson Coldham, that also appear to be our Charles Gorsuch, all in Baltimore County. If he owned all of these at the same time, he owned about 825 acres at the time of his death. The acquisition of so many acres indicates that he likely was growing tobacco.
Charles and Sarah had four sons together-John, Robert, Thomas, and Charles Jr, not necessarily in that order. Sarah died about 1690 and Charles on June 27, 1716 (may be a court record date?). I found a court record showing an inventory but it is not available on line that I have found. I would certainly love to see it. It might answer some questions, or prove my assumption about tobacco farming to be incorrect. I wonder if he was still a Quaker when he died? And I wonder a lot of other things, too. How educated was he? Did he hold any kind of political office? If he was a Quaker, what was his relation with native Americans? Oh, the mysteries!
The line of descend it:
Charles Gorsuch-Sarah Cole
Charles Gorsuch-Sarah Cole (two different Sarah Cole's, but they may be related)
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Holbrook post: Captain Peter Hayes, born about 1571, Immigrant
Folks, we have an adventurer in the family! Not a farmer, at least not at first, not a pastor, not even a merchant, but a real live (at the time) adventurer. He was called Captain for a reason, and it wasn't just to differentiate himself from his son Peter Hayes, "the Envoy". It's always interesting to find someone with a story different from those of most of our ancestors, and Captain Peter Hayes is our man.
The frustrating thing about Peter isn't the lack of knowledge about him, because we actually know quite a bit. The frustrating thing is that I don't know who I should credit for this information. It is freely available on the web, but the closest I got to a source was page 168 and following of an unnamed journal, repeated on many web sites.
Peter was born about 1571 in Great Budworth, CHeshire, England. I've seen his father referred to as "Sir" John Hayes, and his mother was Elizabeth Starkey Hayes. He has a christening date of July 28, 1578 so I wonder if maybe he wasn't the second Peter Hayes in the family. It was not usual to delay a christening for that long. At any rate, he had six brothers and sisters. As the third son, he was not given an inheritance but the family did give him an education, and he eventually apprenticed for his cousin, Edward Hayes, who was a ship captain and owned a ship called "The Golden Hind". (I don't believe this was the ship of Sir Francis Drake, but the ship may have been named in honor of the famous vessel that sailed around the world).
When Peter finished the apprenticeship with his cousin, he married Margaret Davyes Howse, a widow, on September 18, 1591 in London (date supports the 1571 birthdate). Known children are Peter, Elizabeth and Ann, all of whom outlived their father. Shortly after James I came to the throne, he sold the nation's navy, leaving the merchant marines open to piracy from France and Spain, particularly. Soon after that, most British seamen were either unemployed or were working for a foreign country. Peter chose to work for the Dutch. His route was to go from Texel Island (in the Netherlands) to Greenland, where the Dutch had established a colony. His home base was at the town of Edam, not far from Amsterdam.
In 1630 the Dutch West India Company ordered Peter to take a group of Puritans to the Caribbean island of Tortugas. From there he went to Delaware Bay, where again the Dutch wished to establish a colony. Peter liked what he saw in America and when he returned the ship to the company, he terminated his employment also.
He was in Virginia by 1635 and settled on Pagan Point, now called James Creek. He purchased land that was recorded in 1636, 350 acres, although he had likely made the purchase several years before that. He was growing old, though, and in 1641 petitioned the Virginia Assembly to have his taxes abated due to his advanced age. He was successful in this, although he still had to pay the church tithe. This is the last we hear of Peter. His death date is generally given as 1641-1650, but there is no proof ofa specific date.
It's hard to imagine that Peter had an easy life. 350 acres was just the wrong size of land-a little too much for one man to handle, and a little too small to attract tenant workers. It is possible, even probable, that he had native American slaves, given the time period he was living in Virginia. One wonders whether he was glad he'd gone to America, or if he ever wished he had stayed on, sailing for the Dutch.
The line of descent is:
Peter Hayes-Margaret Davyes
Peter Hayes,-Ann possibly Hudson
John Hayes-Abigail Dixon
Jane Dixon Hayes-Thomas Stansbury
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
The frustrating thing about Peter isn't the lack of knowledge about him, because we actually know quite a bit. The frustrating thing is that I don't know who I should credit for this information. It is freely available on the web, but the closest I got to a source was page 168 and following of an unnamed journal, repeated on many web sites.
Peter was born about 1571 in Great Budworth, CHeshire, England. I've seen his father referred to as "Sir" John Hayes, and his mother was Elizabeth Starkey Hayes. He has a christening date of July 28, 1578 so I wonder if maybe he wasn't the second Peter Hayes in the family. It was not usual to delay a christening for that long. At any rate, he had six brothers and sisters. As the third son, he was not given an inheritance but the family did give him an education, and he eventually apprenticed for his cousin, Edward Hayes, who was a ship captain and owned a ship called "The Golden Hind". (I don't believe this was the ship of Sir Francis Drake, but the ship may have been named in honor of the famous vessel that sailed around the world).
When Peter finished the apprenticeship with his cousin, he married Margaret Davyes Howse, a widow, on September 18, 1591 in London (date supports the 1571 birthdate). Known children are Peter, Elizabeth and Ann, all of whom outlived their father. Shortly after James I came to the throne, he sold the nation's navy, leaving the merchant marines open to piracy from France and Spain, particularly. Soon after that, most British seamen were either unemployed or were working for a foreign country. Peter chose to work for the Dutch. His route was to go from Texel Island (in the Netherlands) to Greenland, where the Dutch had established a colony. His home base was at the town of Edam, not far from Amsterdam.
In 1630 the Dutch West India Company ordered Peter to take a group of Puritans to the Caribbean island of Tortugas. From there he went to Delaware Bay, where again the Dutch wished to establish a colony. Peter liked what he saw in America and when he returned the ship to the company, he terminated his employment also.
He was in Virginia by 1635 and settled on Pagan Point, now called James Creek. He purchased land that was recorded in 1636, 350 acres, although he had likely made the purchase several years before that. He was growing old, though, and in 1641 petitioned the Virginia Assembly to have his taxes abated due to his advanced age. He was successful in this, although he still had to pay the church tithe. This is the last we hear of Peter. His death date is generally given as 1641-1650, but there is no proof ofa specific date.
It's hard to imagine that Peter had an easy life. 350 acres was just the wrong size of land-a little too much for one man to handle, and a little too small to attract tenant workers. It is possible, even probable, that he had native American slaves, given the time period he was living in Virginia. One wonders whether he was glad he'd gone to America, or if he ever wished he had stayed on, sailing for the Dutch.
The line of descent is:
Peter Hayes-Margaret Davyes
Peter Hayes,-Ann possibly Hudson
John Hayes-Abigail Dixon
Jane Dixon Hayes-Thomas Stansbury
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, June 9, 2017
Holbrook line: William Stone, 1603-1660, Immigrant
First, a disclaimer: I am not 100% confident with this ancestor because our connecting link is not listed as his son in some of the trees I've looked at. Also, there are few cources to refer to, which makes sense if you consider the turbulent times of frontier Maryland. But wouldn't someone know for sure who the goernor's children were? Yes, this man was the third governor of Maryland, and his life is intriguing. Most of our Maryland ancestors were not men of "consequence", except to their descendants, so it's fun to find this one.
Well, perhaps "find" is a bit too strong beabeth cause there doesn't seem to be a consensus, or documentation, for exactly when he was born, or for the identification of his parents. He is likely to have been born in or around the London, England area, however, based on the odds. Many of the early settlers of Virginia and Maryland were from the London area. The most common christening date I've seen is October 7,1603 at Twiston, Clitheroe, Lancashire, England. Doubtless a William Stone was baptized there on that day. But was it this William Stone? I need more than this to be reasonably sure of his early years.
I'm also not sure on whether he had one wife, or two. A William Stone married Elizabeth Sprigg, probably in England and probably about the year 1625. The William Stone we are discussing had a wife, Verlinda Cotton, but the approximate wedding date for this couple is 1628-1630. It's believed our ancestor, Thomas, was born about 1628 so I tend to think, at the moment, that he would be the child of William and Elizabeth. I honestly don't think anyone knows for sure, at this moment in time.
What we do know is that he was a man of some substance, or consequence. A daughter married William Calvert, son of Leonard Calvert, first proprietary governor of Maryland, and he would not have married just anyone. The Stone family were "people of quality".
William Stone was in Virginia by 1628, and latter went to Maryland. He had two residences by 1648, one in Charles County and one in St Mary's County. He served Accomack County, Virginia as justice of the piece for several years, was a vestryman, a shefiff, a burgess, and then governor of Maryland. He was later on the governor's Council, a Provincial court justice, and was also a military captain. At his death, he owned 3000 acres of land, indicating that he most likely raised tobacco. Perhaps the thing I like best about him is that he is described as an advocate for religious freedom.
He probably had 6 children and perhaps more. He wrote his will on December 3,1659. It was proved on January 15, 1660, and probated December 21,1660. His will is said to have mentioned his eldest son, Thomas, his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, and other children. I have not yet seen a copy of the will myself, and I would love to find a copy on line.
So this is our ancestor-mysterious, important, protector of religious freedom, and governor of Maryland. I need to learn more about him!
The line of descent is:
William Stone-Elizabeth Sprigg (possibly)
Thomas Stone-Christiana Parrish
Barbara Stone-Dennis Garrett
Johanna Garrett-John Cole
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Well, perhaps "find" is a bit too strong beabeth cause there doesn't seem to be a consensus, or documentation, for exactly when he was born, or for the identification of his parents. He is likely to have been born in or around the London, England area, however, based on the odds. Many of the early settlers of Virginia and Maryland were from the London area. The most common christening date I've seen is October 7,1603 at Twiston, Clitheroe, Lancashire, England. Doubtless a William Stone was baptized there on that day. But was it this William Stone? I need more than this to be reasonably sure of his early years.
I'm also not sure on whether he had one wife, or two. A William Stone married Elizabeth Sprigg, probably in England and probably about the year 1625. The William Stone we are discussing had a wife, Verlinda Cotton, but the approximate wedding date for this couple is 1628-1630. It's believed our ancestor, Thomas, was born about 1628 so I tend to think, at the moment, that he would be the child of William and Elizabeth. I honestly don't think anyone knows for sure, at this moment in time.
What we do know is that he was a man of some substance, or consequence. A daughter married William Calvert, son of Leonard Calvert, first proprietary governor of Maryland, and he would not have married just anyone. The Stone family were "people of quality".
William Stone was in Virginia by 1628, and latter went to Maryland. He had two residences by 1648, one in Charles County and one in St Mary's County. He served Accomack County, Virginia as justice of the piece for several years, was a vestryman, a shefiff, a burgess, and then governor of Maryland. He was later on the governor's Council, a Provincial court justice, and was also a military captain. At his death, he owned 3000 acres of land, indicating that he most likely raised tobacco. Perhaps the thing I like best about him is that he is described as an advocate for religious freedom.
He probably had 6 children and perhaps more. He wrote his will on December 3,1659. It was proved on January 15, 1660, and probated December 21,1660. His will is said to have mentioned his eldest son, Thomas, his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, and other children. I have not yet seen a copy of the will myself, and I would love to find a copy on line.
So this is our ancestor-mysterious, important, protector of religious freedom, and governor of Maryland. I need to learn more about him!
The line of descent is:
William Stone-Elizabeth Sprigg (possibly)
Thomas Stone-Christiana Parrish
Barbara Stone-Dennis Garrett
Johanna Garrett-John Cole
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, April 28, 2017
Holbrook line: Francis Garrett 1610-1691, Immigrant
Francis Garrett is a fun ancestor because he came to Virginia early, in 1635 in the "Thomas and John". He apparently was the son of John Garrett, and possibly Bridget unknown, but documentation is lacking. Some have tied him to the Gerard line that goes back decades is not centuries further, but I wonder if that is just wishful thinking. I consider that unproven at this point-but wouldn't it be fun if it were true? Francis's birthplace is listed as Graesend, Kent, England, and there is a John Garrett who died at Deptford, Kent in 1655, who may be Francis's father, but that is as far as I'm willing to go at this point.
So Francis arrived in 1635 in Virginia and may have married Mary in Northumberland County, Virginia in 1649. His two sons, William and Dennis, were born 1650-1652. Mary's maiden name is often given as Dennis but there is some question, since a single Mary Dennis gave livestock to her daughter in 1664. If this was the same Mary, then she couldn't have been married to Francis since approximately 1668. If there was a divorce and that is why she was single in 1664, no one seems to have found records for that yet. Since some give the birthplace of their children as Baltimore County, Md, maybe they married and went "north" soon after, and the Mary Dennis who gave livestock to her daughter is someone else entirely.
I'm still looking for documentation about his life in either Virginia or Maryland. He seems to have died in 1691, about the time his son Dennis was killed by a neighbor. (Lots of websites call this a murder but it may have been an accident, manslaughter, in our legal terms, but not murder). I hope Francis wasn't alive to see his son wounded and then die a month later from his injuries.
I hope to locate land and probate records for Francis. Perhaps he owned no land and was a merchant, tradesman or sailor, since he's not listed in Peter Wilson Coldham's "Settlers of Maryland 1679-1783. Or perhaps he acquired land earlier than that. I will keep looking for these records, because we have two or three lines of descent from this ancestor. I guess what we know now is that his life was probably different than our New England ancestors, in economics, military history, religion, and government. That's enough to make me want to learn more!
The line of descent is
Francis Garrett-Mary possibly Dennis
Dennis Garrett-Barbara Stone
Joanna Garrett-John Cole
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
So Francis arrived in 1635 in Virginia and may have married Mary in Northumberland County, Virginia in 1649. His two sons, William and Dennis, were born 1650-1652. Mary's maiden name is often given as Dennis but there is some question, since a single Mary Dennis gave livestock to her daughter in 1664. If this was the same Mary, then she couldn't have been married to Francis since approximately 1668. If there was a divorce and that is why she was single in 1664, no one seems to have found records for that yet. Since some give the birthplace of their children as Baltimore County, Md, maybe they married and went "north" soon after, and the Mary Dennis who gave livestock to her daughter is someone else entirely.
I'm still looking for documentation about his life in either Virginia or Maryland. He seems to have died in 1691, about the time his son Dennis was killed by a neighbor. (Lots of websites call this a murder but it may have been an accident, manslaughter, in our legal terms, but not murder). I hope Francis wasn't alive to see his son wounded and then die a month later from his injuries.
I hope to locate land and probate records for Francis. Perhaps he owned no land and was a merchant, tradesman or sailor, since he's not listed in Peter Wilson Coldham's "Settlers of Maryland 1679-1783. Or perhaps he acquired land earlier than that. I will keep looking for these records, because we have two or three lines of descent from this ancestor. I guess what we know now is that his life was probably different than our New England ancestors, in economics, military history, religion, and government. That's enough to make me want to learn more!
The line of descent is
Francis Garrett-Mary possibly Dennis
Dennis Garrett-Barbara Stone
Joanna Garrett-John Cole
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, November 4, 2016
Holbrook line: Luke Raven, Immigrant-but when?
It's fun sometimes to pull my head out of New England and go south to our ancestors who came early to Virginia and Maryland. Their stories were different than our New England ancestors, if only because their worship was different. In Virginia, you were a member of the state church, or else. In Maryland, you could be almost anything as long as you were Protestant (except for brief periods when Catholics were in control). So far, I've not learned which religion Luke followed, and there are a lot of other details I don't know, also.
Luke was born about 1630 somewhere in England. John Washington, an ancestor of President George Washington, paid for his passage here in 1662, for which John received 50 acres headright, as well as the services of Luke, either personally or sold to another, as an indentured servant for some period of time. Records showing what happened with Luke are lacking, or at least I haven't found them yet. I found a reference in "Genealogy of some of the descendants of Thomas Dew, to the fact that "Both Robert Gorsuch and Luke Raven of the last two records above were early colonists around Jamestown, who migrated to Northern Neck and after a stay there for a few years migrated again (they and their offspring) to Baltimore County, Maryland". From this, it's not clear whether the author thinks that Raven was here prior to 1662 or not. But we know he was here in 1664, when he was a witness for Thomas Browne of Piankatank River on January 4.
Luke may have married Elizabeth, possibly the daughter of Thomas and Mary Hughes, probably in Virginia. They are believed to have had three children together, Luke, Sarah, and Avarilla. By 1671 and for whatever reason, Luke had moved to what is now Baltimore County, Maryland. There he purchased land and continued practicing his trade of blacksmith. (Smiths were quite needed in the New World and probably had a higher status, and a higher income, than we would think, looking back through our wrong-colored glasses. That may explain how Luke was able to acquire several pieces of land.)
He is believed to have died in 1687, which means he was in Maryland for at least 16 years, long enough to call it home. It seems that his wife, possibly Elizabeth, must have been sick or died early with only three children in the family, but there seems to be no information about her.
I need to keep researching this man, to try to figure out who his parents were (John and Joan Raven, of Northumberland County, have been suggested but there's no proof as far as I know) and to learn more about his story. I'd love to know where he came from, why he decided to come to Virginia, and whether he was glad he'd made that decision. I'd like to know his religion, and whether he had slaves, and so much more about him. That's why genealogy is never done-we always ask more questions!
The line of descent is
Luke Raven-Elizabeth
Sarah Raven-Tobias Stansbury
Thomas Stansbury-Jane Dixon Hayes
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Luke was born about 1630 somewhere in England. John Washington, an ancestor of President George Washington, paid for his passage here in 1662, for which John received 50 acres headright, as well as the services of Luke, either personally or sold to another, as an indentured servant for some period of time. Records showing what happened with Luke are lacking, or at least I haven't found them yet. I found a reference in "Genealogy of some of the descendants of Thomas Dew, to the fact that "Both Robert Gorsuch and Luke Raven of the last two records above were early colonists around Jamestown, who migrated to Northern Neck and after a stay there for a few years migrated again (they and their offspring) to Baltimore County, Maryland". From this, it's not clear whether the author thinks that Raven was here prior to 1662 or not. But we know he was here in 1664, when he was a witness for Thomas Browne of Piankatank River on January 4.
Luke may have married Elizabeth, possibly the daughter of Thomas and Mary Hughes, probably in Virginia. They are believed to have had three children together, Luke, Sarah, and Avarilla. By 1671 and for whatever reason, Luke had moved to what is now Baltimore County, Maryland. There he purchased land and continued practicing his trade of blacksmith. (Smiths were quite needed in the New World and probably had a higher status, and a higher income, than we would think, looking back through our wrong-colored glasses. That may explain how Luke was able to acquire several pieces of land.)
He is believed to have died in 1687, which means he was in Maryland for at least 16 years, long enough to call it home. It seems that his wife, possibly Elizabeth, must have been sick or died early with only three children in the family, but there seems to be no information about her.
I need to keep researching this man, to try to figure out who his parents were (John and Joan Raven, of Northumberland County, have been suggested but there's no proof as far as I know) and to learn more about his story. I'd love to know where he came from, why he decided to come to Virginia, and whether he was glad he'd made that decision. I'd like to know his religion, and whether he had slaves, and so much more about him. That's why genealogy is never done-we always ask more questions!
The line of descent is
Luke Raven-Elizabeth
Sarah Raven-Tobias Stansbury
Thomas Stansbury-Jane Dixon Hayes
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, April 29, 2016
Holbrook line: John Dixon, Immigrant
John Dixon is one of our Maryland ancestors. His name needs to be mentioned and known in our family tree, even though I haven't found a lot of information about him yet. I've found two plausible sets of parents for him in England but am currently unable to prove or disprove either, so at this point his family is unknown.
He arrived in Virginia in 1664 (or possibly earlier) with his wife Jane (possibly Jane Carey) and 10 other persons, and received 600 acres of land as headright (meaning he paid for the transportation of each person and received 50 acres of land in return.) He quickly acquired other lands also, purchasing 420 acres in August of 1664. He sold 300 acres of land in 1668/69 and still had 870 acres of land to dispose of in his will, so there must be other acquisitions that we don't know of.
We know that he was a justice of the Baltimore County Court in 1665, which leads one to the idea that he was probably educated and was respected in his community. The fact that he was able to pay for the passage of 12 people from England indicates that he also had some financial means. With these clues, why hasn't someone been able to pin down his ancestry? Surely there is a Dixon family in England who is missing one of their family members!
Most sources say that he died in 1667 but Robert Barnes, in his Baltimore County Families 1659-1769, says that he disposed of land in March of 1668/69 and wrote his will October 12, 1669. Administrative bond was posted March 28, 1670 so it seems likely that his death occurred sometime in early 1670. Jane, who had been married before she married John, went on to marry Thomas Long and to have at least three children with him.
There are so many questions about John. Why did he come to American, and where did the money come from to make the trip? What was his religion? Did he own slaves to help cultivate his land? As a respected citizen and a justice, did he ever make a trip back to England? And finally, he was only about 45 years old when he died. What was his cause of death?
If someone has answers or more information, I'd love to hear from you!
The line of descent is:
John Dixon-Jane possibly Carey
Abigail Dixon-John Hayes
Jane Dixon Hayes-Thomas Stansbury
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansberry-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis E Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
He arrived in Virginia in 1664 (or possibly earlier) with his wife Jane (possibly Jane Carey) and 10 other persons, and received 600 acres of land as headright (meaning he paid for the transportation of each person and received 50 acres of land in return.) He quickly acquired other lands also, purchasing 420 acres in August of 1664. He sold 300 acres of land in 1668/69 and still had 870 acres of land to dispose of in his will, so there must be other acquisitions that we don't know of.
We know that he was a justice of the Baltimore County Court in 1665, which leads one to the idea that he was probably educated and was respected in his community. The fact that he was able to pay for the passage of 12 people from England indicates that he also had some financial means. With these clues, why hasn't someone been able to pin down his ancestry? Surely there is a Dixon family in England who is missing one of their family members!
Most sources say that he died in 1667 but Robert Barnes, in his Baltimore County Families 1659-1769, says that he disposed of land in March of 1668/69 and wrote his will October 12, 1669. Administrative bond was posted March 28, 1670 so it seems likely that his death occurred sometime in early 1670. Jane, who had been married before she married John, went on to marry Thomas Long and to have at least three children with him.
There are so many questions about John. Why did he come to American, and where did the money come from to make the trip? What was his religion? Did he own slaves to help cultivate his land? As a respected citizen and a justice, did he ever make a trip back to England? And finally, he was only about 45 years old when he died. What was his cause of death?
If someone has answers or more information, I'd love to hear from you!
The line of descent is:
John Dixon-Jane possibly Carey
Abigail Dixon-John Hayes
Jane Dixon Hayes-Thomas Stansbury
Thomas Stansbury-Hannah Gorsuch
Rachel Stansberry-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis E Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, February 19, 2016
Holbrook line: John Dennis 1587-1679 or 1652, Immigrant
It's going to be fun to write about a Virginia ancestor in the Holbrook line. So many of this line were New England people that it's interesting when someone outside that geographic area pops up. Of course, it's difficult, too, because I know far less about early Virginia history. But I love a challenge, and good people who are also part of this family have done so much research it's almost a matter of just putting my slant on his life.
Just knowing that John Dennis went to Virginia instead of New England tells us a couple of things. He was not a Puritan, and he may very well have come to Virginia for economic reasons. He came here prior to 1634, for records are found in 1634 in which he was ordered to pay Mr. Obedience Robins 24 lbs tobacco, and Goodwife Haynie 166 pounds tobacco. There was a John Dennis who was admitted to the Shareholders of the Virginia Company in 1621-22, but we don't know that it was this John Dennis, or even a relation. A John Dennis was transported in 1635 on the "Merchant's Hope" but it is unclear whether this was John Dennis son of the first immigrant, or whether the immigrant had returned to England for some reason and was now on his second voyage to the colony. .
We don't know for sure who John Dennis Junior was, either. It is believed that he was not the child of John Sr and his second wife, Barbary, but he may have been John Sr's son by an earlier wife, or possibly the result of an "indiscretion."
John Jr. died in 1652 and we find varying dates of John Sr's death, either in 1652, after John Jr.s death, or in 1678-79. If John Senior died in 1652 then he was 65 when he died, which was a reasonable age to die in Virginia at that time period (many, many men died much younger than 65). If he lived till 1678-1679, then he was over 90 years old, a venerable age indeed considering all the hardships that he would have endured.
It's not know how many children John Senior may have had, or whether John Junior may have been an only child. We do know that he had land, 350 acres, on a branch of the great Wicocomoco River called Dennis Creek, bordering land of Thomas Gascoigne and William Spicer in Northumbrland County. We can wonder if he had slaves, since, he was ordered to pay fines in tobacco. We can wonder how he felt about the Lord, since not all Virginians worshipped on a regular basis. And we can certainly wonder who his parents were, and what connection, if any, he had with "Sir Thomas Dennis", who was a member of the Virginia Company of Bicton and Holcombe. We can also wonder what sort of relationship he had with the native Americans, and whether he was called upon to fight at any time.
I know there are Dennis researchers because I've found these bits and pieces on line, but I am responsible for the conclusions and questions I've written. I'd love to hear from these folks, our distant cousins, about our common ancestor and their search for the details of his life.
Our line of descent is:
John Dennis-
John Dennis Jr-Barbary
Mary Dennis-Frances Garrett
Dennis Garrett-Barbara Stone
Johanna Garrett-John Cole
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Updated to correct date in title, and a spelling error
Just knowing that John Dennis went to Virginia instead of New England tells us a couple of things. He was not a Puritan, and he may very well have come to Virginia for economic reasons. He came here prior to 1634, for records are found in 1634 in which he was ordered to pay Mr. Obedience Robins 24 lbs tobacco, and Goodwife Haynie 166 pounds tobacco. There was a John Dennis who was admitted to the Shareholders of the Virginia Company in 1621-22, but we don't know that it was this John Dennis, or even a relation. A John Dennis was transported in 1635 on the "Merchant's Hope" but it is unclear whether this was John Dennis son of the first immigrant, or whether the immigrant had returned to England for some reason and was now on his second voyage to the colony. .
We don't know for sure who John Dennis Junior was, either. It is believed that he was not the child of John Sr and his second wife, Barbary, but he may have been John Sr's son by an earlier wife, or possibly the result of an "indiscretion."
John Jr. died in 1652 and we find varying dates of John Sr's death, either in 1652, after John Jr.s death, or in 1678-79. If John Senior died in 1652 then he was 65 when he died, which was a reasonable age to die in Virginia at that time period (many, many men died much younger than 65). If he lived till 1678-1679, then he was over 90 years old, a venerable age indeed considering all the hardships that he would have endured.
It's not know how many children John Senior may have had, or whether John Junior may have been an only child. We do know that he had land, 350 acres, on a branch of the great Wicocomoco River called Dennis Creek, bordering land of Thomas Gascoigne and William Spicer in Northumbrland County. We can wonder if he had slaves, since, he was ordered to pay fines in tobacco. We can wonder how he felt about the Lord, since not all Virginians worshipped on a regular basis. And we can certainly wonder who his parents were, and what connection, if any, he had with "Sir Thomas Dennis", who was a member of the Virginia Company of Bicton and Holcombe. We can also wonder what sort of relationship he had with the native Americans, and whether he was called upon to fight at any time.
I know there are Dennis researchers because I've found these bits and pieces on line, but I am responsible for the conclusions and questions I've written. I'd love to hear from these folks, our distant cousins, about our common ancestor and their search for the details of his life.
Our line of descent is:
John Dennis-
John Dennis Jr-Barbary
Mary Dennis-Frances Garrett
Dennis Garrett-Barbara Stone
Johanna Garrett-John Cole
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Updated to correct date in title, and a spelling error
Friday, September 13, 2013
Holbrook Line: Anne Lovelace, "gateway" immigrant and heroine
Gateway immigrants are precious jewels in the world of genealogy. These are people who immigrated to America before the year 1700 and have proven ancestors back to one or another line of royalty. Anne Lovelace Gorsuch fits this definition. We have to go back 11 generations to get to Anne, born about 1610, and then another 15 generations to get to royalty through at least one of her lines, but there he is, King Edward I, married to Eleanor of Castile, who was the daughter of King Ferdinand III of Castile, and through those two gentlemen there is royalty all the way back to Alfred the Great, Charlemagne, and most of the other royal lines of Europe. So, we now have reason to be termed "royal pains", I guess.
Anne Lovelace has always fascinated me. Her brother was a famous poet, some were governors here in the colonies, her parents were important people ("Sir William"), and she married an educated minister, John Gorsuch. Her parents were William Lovelace, who was a member of the Virginia Company that founded the Jamestown colony, and Anne Barne, who was also of a famous family. She was the granddaughter of the Archbishop of York. Reverend John Gorsuch was a Royalist, and during the English Civil War, in 1647, he was killed by opponents. His name is still listed in the English Book of Common Prayers, as being a martyr.
At that time, Anne was the mother of as many as 11 children.With her husband gone and extremely difficult and uncertain times in England, she came to America with three of her children about 1650, and four more followed shortly. Anne died in 1652 in Lancaster County, Virginia, so she did not enjoy life in America for long. It was difficult to leave England during this time period (Civil War still in progress), so she must have had some help in making her escape, if that is what it was. I sometimes think about what she must have gone through, in making the decision to leave, in taking only part of her family with her, and in starting life anew in America. It surprises me that she didn't remarry, because widows typically remarried quickly, so she must have had steel in her backbone.
There is an excellent article posted on line from the Carolina Journal, called "They Were Cavalier About It", by John Hood, and this is worth Googling if you're at all interested in this family. There is much more information available on the web, too, but this is a blog, not a book, so I've tried to keep it short.
This is our line of descent:
John Gorsuch/Anne Lovelace
Charles Gorsuch/Sarah Cole
Charles Gorsuch/Sarah Cole (it looks like they were first cousins)
Hannah Gorsuch/Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury/Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon/Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick/Louis E Stanard
Etta Stanard/Loren Holbrook (my grandparents)
Anne is one of my most interesting ancestors. I'd love to sit down to English tea with her, wouldn't you?
Anne Lovelace has always fascinated me. Her brother was a famous poet, some were governors here in the colonies, her parents were important people ("Sir William"), and she married an educated minister, John Gorsuch. Her parents were William Lovelace, who was a member of the Virginia Company that founded the Jamestown colony, and Anne Barne, who was also of a famous family. She was the granddaughter of the Archbishop of York. Reverend John Gorsuch was a Royalist, and during the English Civil War, in 1647, he was killed by opponents. His name is still listed in the English Book of Common Prayers, as being a martyr.
At that time, Anne was the mother of as many as 11 children.With her husband gone and extremely difficult and uncertain times in England, she came to America with three of her children about 1650, and four more followed shortly. Anne died in 1652 in Lancaster County, Virginia, so she did not enjoy life in America for long. It was difficult to leave England during this time period (Civil War still in progress), so she must have had some help in making her escape, if that is what it was. I sometimes think about what she must have gone through, in making the decision to leave, in taking only part of her family with her, and in starting life anew in America. It surprises me that she didn't remarry, because widows typically remarried quickly, so she must have had steel in her backbone.
There is an excellent article posted on line from the Carolina Journal, called "They Were Cavalier About It", by John Hood, and this is worth Googling if you're at all interested in this family. There is much more information available on the web, too, but this is a blog, not a book, so I've tried to keep it short.
This is our line of descent:
John Gorsuch/Anne Lovelace
Charles Gorsuch/Sarah Cole
Charles Gorsuch/Sarah Cole (it looks like they were first cousins)
Hannah Gorsuch/Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury/Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon/Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick/Louis E Stanard
Etta Stanard/Loren Holbrook (my grandparents)
Anne is one of my most interesting ancestors. I'd love to sit down to English tea with her, wouldn't you?
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