Andreas or Andrew Raub was actually an immigrant ancestor, having arrived with his parents in 1732. However, since he was two years old at the time, he likely had no memory of the "Old Country" or of the journey to America. He was the son of Philip and Maria Sarah Schoffel Raub and was born February 13, 1730 at Hagsfeld, Stadt Karlsruhe, Baden-Wuerttemburg, now part of Germany. He was one of at least six children born to the couple, and Philip was almost 50 when Andreas was born.
Andreas was about 23 when his father died and he was fortunate enough to inherit the family farm in Springfield Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. A few months before his father's death, he married Maria Charlotte Weber, daughter of Johan Jacob and Maria Charlotte Reichard Weber. Andrew, at the age of 23, had a wife and a farm and responsibilities. These may have kept him too busy to participate in either the French and Indian War or the Revolutionary War, or his work as a farmer may have made him too valuable to serve. There is also the slight possibility that he was a Loyalist. I haven't exhausted all the records I would need to search to determine whether he was a soldier, a farmer, or a Loyalist during the Revolutionary War, so that is on my to do list.
It appears that Andreas and family were in New Jersey by the time of the Revolution, and he had bought his first farm there, "about halfway between Walnut Valley and Jacksonville". It was located in Knowlton Township, Sussex (now Warren) County. This, incidentally, would have been a horrible place to be during the Revolutionary War, as many battles were fought in New Jersey and troops would have been marching, pillaging, and possibly worse at any of several different times during the war. I haven't yet located specific information regarding this particular area, as to whether there were actual battles here, but skirmishes, at least, seem likely.
Andreas acquired several other properties over his lifetime, all in the same general area. He needed land not only to support his family, but because he wanted to pass land along to each of his sons. In this, he was successful. The Raubs had at least three sons and seven daughters, living at the time Andreas wrote his will in 1806. The will was proved May 25, 1809, one day after the inventory was taken. The estate was modest, about $325, but that wouldn't have included the land and buildings. Two of his sons were responsible for making the payments he requested to his daughters. I sure would like to find that inventory!
Maria Charlotte had died in 1791. There is one reference that says he later married a Katherine, but if so, she must have died also as there is no mention of her in the will.
Andreas is more interesting than I thought he would be, simply because of the times he lived in and the choice he made to move from Bucks County to Sussex County. I would like to figure out why he made that change. Also, his children were baptized Lutherans; why is he buried in the Knowlton Presbyterian Cemetery? And what were his war experiences? Did any of his sons fight? There are always more questions than answers.
The line of descent is:
Andreas Raub-Maria Charlotte Weber
Charlotte Raub-Johan Jacob Weis (Wise)
Andrew Wire-Mary Serfass
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Martin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martin. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Holbrook line: Samuel Morris 1670-1745
Oh dear. I have been guilty of perpetuating an error in my blog posts, I fear. That of course is one reason I write these blog posts, to prove to my own satisfaction that I have the correct ancestry for each of the people I write about. Now I find that I must strike names from my tree, and go back to update a few of my earlier posts. At least through this line, we are not connected to the Mayo or the John Graves lines. So those posts are now "alternate facts", but I will leave the posts up, just adding an update, so that if someone else is researching those lines, they might be helped.
Now, let's turn to Samuel Morris. He was born in March, 1670, in Roxbury, Massachusetts to Edward and Grace Bett Morris. He lived there with his parents and seven siblings, until his father moved to Woodstock, Connecticut in 1685. His father was a man of considerable wealth and standing in both towns, so when his father died in 1689, Samuel inherited some lands, even though he was "only" a fourth son. The narrative gets a little confusing here, as Woodstock was originally known as "New Roxbury" and some of the records are not clear as to which Roxbury is being discussed.
It does appear that Samuel returned to Roxbury, or possibly had stayed there, and married Mehitable Mayo, daughter of John and Hannah Graves Mayo in 1694. Samuel inherited some of his father's land there and so it makes sense that he would have returned to the scene of his youth and lived there. He was made a freeman there in 1691. Samuel and Mehitable had at least seven children together, and she died February 8, 1703. That makes it impossible for her to be the mother of Abigail Morris, who was born April 2, 1707. Samuel had married Dorotha or Dorothy Martin, the widow Howe, in Marlboro of Middlesex County, Massachusetts on May 15, 1706. Dorothy had six children, Samuel had seven, and then had two children together, Abigail and Elizabeth, before disappearing from Marlboro records. All I know about Dorothy Martin Howe Morris right now is that her father was Thomas Martin, and he died in 1701. (Another ancestor to explore!)
We know that Samuel purchased lands in Marlboro before his second marriage, and we know that he purchased 1500 acres of land in 1714 from Governor Joseph Dudley, for 500 pounds English money. This was on the east line of the Town of Woodstock. On the same day, Samuel and Dorothy gave a deed of the old homestead in Roxbury to Colonel William Dudley for 500 pounds current money. This is when the Morris's finally removed to Connecticut. Samuel built a house with "fortifications". We're not told exactly what this meant, but generally it would mean one that had thick walls, and thin slits from which guns could be fired without exposing oneself to the "enemy". Situations with some of the native Americans were still tense, although the Nipmuck tribe which lived nearby seems to have been friendly. As far as we know, the fortifications were never needed.
Samuel was a highly respected man in Woodstock, but I must say he seems to have also been a grumpy old man in his later years. He felt that he was being double taxed as far as church rates go, being forced to pay for the meeting house, minister's salary, etc. in more than one town at a time, because he was assigned to a parish that was not of his liking. He claimed great difficulty in traveling the five miles to Thompson, citing swamps, mountains, and a river he had to cross to reach the meeting house he was forced to support financially. This complaint stayed in the court and on town records for several years, until eventually he was given half rates for the church he did not wish to attend. His grumbling may not have stopped, but the annual discussions did. It's believed he attended church at a location much closer to his home, in his later years, one that he could reach without difficulty.
Samuel built and maintained at least three bridges in the area, over a river and two streams on his 1500 acres. He also kept up a road on his property, and other than the church dispute, seems to have been a good neighbor.
Dorothy died July 28, 1742, and Samuel died January 9, 1745. Sadly, we are missing all probate records for Samuel, so we don't know whether he acquired additional land other than the 1500 acres, or what value his inventory showed. The records are thought to have been destroyed in a fire, but it's always possible that they will show up somewhere. We are left with records of a man who had enough wealth to build a fortified house, to build and maintain bridges, and to raise at least nine children. He was also a man who was willing to start over, in Roxbury and then Marlboro and then near Woodstock. His official death location is Thompson, Connecticut, because town limits expanded. As far as is known, he didn't leave those 1500 acres.
The line of descent is:
Samuel Morris-Dorothy Martin
Abigail Morris-John Perrin
Benjamin Perrin=Mary
Mary Perrin-David Fay
Euzebia or Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some corrections to make!
Now, let's turn to Samuel Morris. He was born in March, 1670, in Roxbury, Massachusetts to Edward and Grace Bett Morris. He lived there with his parents and seven siblings, until his father moved to Woodstock, Connecticut in 1685. His father was a man of considerable wealth and standing in both towns, so when his father died in 1689, Samuel inherited some lands, even though he was "only" a fourth son. The narrative gets a little confusing here, as Woodstock was originally known as "New Roxbury" and some of the records are not clear as to which Roxbury is being discussed.
It does appear that Samuel returned to Roxbury, or possibly had stayed there, and married Mehitable Mayo, daughter of John and Hannah Graves Mayo in 1694. Samuel inherited some of his father's land there and so it makes sense that he would have returned to the scene of his youth and lived there. He was made a freeman there in 1691. Samuel and Mehitable had at least seven children together, and she died February 8, 1703. That makes it impossible for her to be the mother of Abigail Morris, who was born April 2, 1707. Samuel had married Dorotha or Dorothy Martin, the widow Howe, in Marlboro of Middlesex County, Massachusetts on May 15, 1706. Dorothy had six children, Samuel had seven, and then had two children together, Abigail and Elizabeth, before disappearing from Marlboro records. All I know about Dorothy Martin Howe Morris right now is that her father was Thomas Martin, and he died in 1701. (Another ancestor to explore!)
We know that Samuel purchased lands in Marlboro before his second marriage, and we know that he purchased 1500 acres of land in 1714 from Governor Joseph Dudley, for 500 pounds English money. This was on the east line of the Town of Woodstock. On the same day, Samuel and Dorothy gave a deed of the old homestead in Roxbury to Colonel William Dudley for 500 pounds current money. This is when the Morris's finally removed to Connecticut. Samuel built a house with "fortifications". We're not told exactly what this meant, but generally it would mean one that had thick walls, and thin slits from which guns could be fired without exposing oneself to the "enemy". Situations with some of the native Americans were still tense, although the Nipmuck tribe which lived nearby seems to have been friendly. As far as we know, the fortifications were never needed.
Samuel was a highly respected man in Woodstock, but I must say he seems to have also been a grumpy old man in his later years. He felt that he was being double taxed as far as church rates go, being forced to pay for the meeting house, minister's salary, etc. in more than one town at a time, because he was assigned to a parish that was not of his liking. He claimed great difficulty in traveling the five miles to Thompson, citing swamps, mountains, and a river he had to cross to reach the meeting house he was forced to support financially. This complaint stayed in the court and on town records for several years, until eventually he was given half rates for the church he did not wish to attend. His grumbling may not have stopped, but the annual discussions did. It's believed he attended church at a location much closer to his home, in his later years, one that he could reach without difficulty.
Samuel built and maintained at least three bridges in the area, over a river and two streams on his 1500 acres. He also kept up a road on his property, and other than the church dispute, seems to have been a good neighbor.
Dorothy died July 28, 1742, and Samuel died January 9, 1745. Sadly, we are missing all probate records for Samuel, so we don't know whether he acquired additional land other than the 1500 acres, or what value his inventory showed. The records are thought to have been destroyed in a fire, but it's always possible that they will show up somewhere. We are left with records of a man who had enough wealth to build a fortified house, to build and maintain bridges, and to raise at least nine children. He was also a man who was willing to start over, in Roxbury and then Marlboro and then near Woodstock. His official death location is Thompson, Connecticut, because town limits expanded. As far as is known, he didn't leave those 1500 acres.
The line of descent is:
Samuel Morris-Dorothy Martin
Abigail Morris-John Perrin
Benjamin Perrin=Mary
Mary Perrin-David Fay
Euzebia or Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some corrections to make!
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Beeks line: Felix Weiss, Immigrant
Much of this post will be speculation, especially regarding his early years. I am throwing this out for amy historians who may recognize Felix and say "I know this man!" and be able to help correct whatever inaccuracies are in this blog post. Some of it I am quite sure about but the early years are very murky indeed. There is at least one story that needs to be told now, and if we never get answers to our questions then at least we know this much.
First, entirelyl speculative, is the possibility that Felix came from Switzerland. There is a record of Felix Wyss, carpenter, and also Conrad Wyss, cooper, leaving the Parish of Affoltern, Mt. Albis (also seen as Affoltern arm Albis), which was about 8 miles southwest of Zurich. Felix came with his wife, Anna Huber and five little children, Anna, Hans Heinrich, Hans Jacob, Johannes, and Heinrich, and he was listed as a carpenter. Conrad, who may have been likely a relation of some sort, came on the same ship with his wife Barbara Dupa and four young children.
If this was our Felix, then more of his tree is available to us and we can likely go back several generations. .
I'll get the cart ahead of the horse here for a little bit and say that the records showing Felix as having died in 1779 in Monroe County, Pa are a bit misleading. Monroe County wasn't formed until 1836. At the time our Felix lived there, it was Northampton County, and it was very much frontier country. So most of our records are found in Northampton County, and as always, we wish for more.
Felix apparently led a hard life as I have not yet found him on tax rolls for Northumberland County. He may have been devastated by the French and Indian War and subsequent harassment (a kind word) by native Americans. The one record I've found with his name on it is from September of 1763. In it, he was a petitioner to the government, asking for help against the native Americans. It was written from Brinker's Mill to Mr. Horsfield and the petiotioners were 18 men , "the neighbors that are now living or rather staying here at this present time". The petitioners asked for soldiers to be placed at Jacob Brinker's Mill, "the people have been driven from their houses, their livelihoods destroyed by savages; they gladly returned to their homes , their desolate habitations, so they coudl use the mill and almost forgot their woes but now, every day, they were 'exposed to the unmerciful hands of these savages just at our backs". Only half the men had even one chrge of powder or lead, God was their only protection, "Please place soldiers at the mill." We have no idea of the stresses and fears that our families lived under. These fears were very real, as several families from this area were massacred before the area was truly settled.
The mill is located on McMichaels creek in what is now Hamilton Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, so this gives us a general location of where Felix and his family lived. The current stone building was actually built about 1800, but there was a log mill there for 50 years prior to the "new" construction, and this would have been the location where Jacob, along with 17 others, signed the petition. Most of the names on the petition are either German or Swiss.
Felix died in 1779 in what is now Hamilton Township, Monroe County.
Here's another problem with this man. Our Felix is given an approximate birth date of 1720, but other records show a Felix born in 1703. Were there two Felix Weiss's? Were they related? Confounding the mystery is that our Felix's wife is shown as Anna Maria Van Buskirk, but...someone with the same purported birth date is shown on Find a Grave, which is somewhat unreliable or at least incomplete, as actually being a Weiss first and then a Van Buskirk. Was this Anna Huber, then Weiss, then van Buskirk? The dates are a problem, or were the names a pure coincidence? These Felixes, and Annas, have me confused, so don't take this as written in stone. It's written in sand, waiting for the complete facts to emerge.
The possible line of descent is:
Felix Weiss-Anna
Johan Jacob Wise-Charlotte Raub
Andrew Wise-Mary Serfass
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
First, entirelyl speculative, is the possibility that Felix came from Switzerland. There is a record of Felix Wyss, carpenter, and also Conrad Wyss, cooper, leaving the Parish of Affoltern, Mt. Albis (also seen as Affoltern arm Albis), which was about 8 miles southwest of Zurich. Felix came with his wife, Anna Huber and five little children, Anna, Hans Heinrich, Hans Jacob, Johannes, and Heinrich, and he was listed as a carpenter. Conrad, who may have been likely a relation of some sort, came on the same ship with his wife Barbara Dupa and four young children.
If this was our Felix, then more of his tree is available to us and we can likely go back several generations. .
I'll get the cart ahead of the horse here for a little bit and say that the records showing Felix as having died in 1779 in Monroe County, Pa are a bit misleading. Monroe County wasn't formed until 1836. At the time our Felix lived there, it was Northampton County, and it was very much frontier country. So most of our records are found in Northampton County, and as always, we wish for more.
Felix apparently led a hard life as I have not yet found him on tax rolls for Northumberland County. He may have been devastated by the French and Indian War and subsequent harassment (a kind word) by native Americans. The one record I've found with his name on it is from September of 1763. In it, he was a petitioner to the government, asking for help against the native Americans. It was written from Brinker's Mill to Mr. Horsfield and the petiotioners were 18 men , "the neighbors that are now living or rather staying here at this present time". The petitioners asked for soldiers to be placed at Jacob Brinker's Mill, "the people have been driven from their houses, their livelihoods destroyed by savages; they gladly returned to their homes , their desolate habitations, so they coudl use the mill and almost forgot their woes but now, every day, they were 'exposed to the unmerciful hands of these savages just at our backs". Only half the men had even one chrge of powder or lead, God was their only protection, "Please place soldiers at the mill." We have no idea of the stresses and fears that our families lived under. These fears were very real, as several families from this area were massacred before the area was truly settled.
The mill is located on McMichaels creek in what is now Hamilton Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, so this gives us a general location of where Felix and his family lived. The current stone building was actually built about 1800, but there was a log mill there for 50 years prior to the "new" construction, and this would have been the location where Jacob, along with 17 others, signed the petition. Most of the names on the petition are either German or Swiss.
Felix died in 1779 in what is now Hamilton Township, Monroe County.
Here's another problem with this man. Our Felix is given an approximate birth date of 1720, but other records show a Felix born in 1703. Were there two Felix Weiss's? Were they related? Confounding the mystery is that our Felix's wife is shown as Anna Maria Van Buskirk, but...someone with the same purported birth date is shown on Find a Grave, which is somewhat unreliable or at least incomplete, as actually being a Weiss first and then a Van Buskirk. Was this Anna Huber, then Weiss, then van Buskirk? The dates are a problem, or were the names a pure coincidence? These Felixes, and Annas, have me confused, so don't take this as written in stone. It's written in sand, waiting for the complete facts to emerge.
The possible line of descent is:
Felix Weiss-Anna
Johan Jacob Wise-Charlotte Raub
Andrew Wise-Mary Serfass
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Beeks line: Done with the Beeks line?
Of course, I'll never be done writing about this family, or at least learning about them. However, I've come to a stopping point and any posts I write now will either be of things I've learned from the Huntington newspaper, or I'll post when I find the story of a new Beeks ancestor. Since some of these people right now are first names only, I don't hold out a lot of hope for locating them, but certainly stranger things have happened. My criteria for including people on this list is that they at least died in this country. Some were probably immigrants and some may have been here for several generations, but I just can't trace them.
Here are the names I'm looking for:
Timothy Martin, born about 1798 died before 1870; married in 1833 in Shelby County, Ohio to
Hannah Tilberry or Tilbury, born about 1810. They may have died in Wabash County, Indiana.
possibly Eva, the wife of George Philip Serfass. She would have been born about 1783, maybe.
Sabina, wife of Frederick Serfass, born about 1760.
Felix Weiss about 1720-1779 died in Hamilton Township, Monroe County, Pa.
Anna Maria van Buskirk, his wife, born about 1726
George Featheringill 1710-1767-died in Frederick County, Va.
possibly Elizabeth Marie Settlemire, his wife
Hannah, wife of William Lehew about 1745-1810, died in wythe County, Va.
Tabitha, widow Underwood, wife of William Hunt, early Virginia
Elizabeth, wife of Hugh Donaghe
Isabel Hamilton, wife of John Donaghe
Thomas Hicklin, 1689-1772
Richard Bodkin 1710-1773
Elizabeth, wife of Richard Bodkin
Barbara, wife of Johan Jacob Bentz
Rebecca Caroline, wife of Christian Funk
Polly Carter 1805-1880, Lagro, Wabash County, Indiana, wife of John Beeks
Elizabeth, wife of Johann Gottfried Neimrich
Johann Gottfired Neimrich
possibly John Barnes and his possible wife Elizabeth, parents of Catherine Barnes
As you can see, for most of these people I have little to go on. However, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. They also ask for help, which is what I'm doing now. Can you help me learn the stories of any of these people, and possibly their parents?
Here are the names I'm looking for:
Timothy Martin, born about 1798 died before 1870; married in 1833 in Shelby County, Ohio to
Hannah Tilberry or Tilbury, born about 1810. They may have died in Wabash County, Indiana.
possibly Eva, the wife of George Philip Serfass. She would have been born about 1783, maybe.
Sabina, wife of Frederick Serfass, born about 1760.
Felix Weiss about 1720-1779 died in Hamilton Township, Monroe County, Pa.
Anna Maria van Buskirk, his wife, born about 1726
George Featheringill 1710-1767-died in Frederick County, Va.
possibly Elizabeth Marie Settlemire, his wife
Hannah, wife of William Lehew about 1745-1810, died in wythe County, Va.
Tabitha, widow Underwood, wife of William Hunt, early Virginia
Elizabeth, wife of Hugh Donaghe
Isabel Hamilton, wife of John Donaghe
Thomas Hicklin, 1689-1772
Richard Bodkin 1710-1773
Elizabeth, wife of Richard Bodkin
Barbara, wife of Johan Jacob Bentz
Rebecca Caroline, wife of Christian Funk
Polly Carter 1805-1880, Lagro, Wabash County, Indiana, wife of John Beeks
Elizabeth, wife of Johann Gottfried Neimrich
Johann Gottfired Neimrich
possibly John Barnes and his possible wife Elizabeth, parents of Catherine Barnes
As you can see, for most of these people I have little to go on. However, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. They also ask for help, which is what I'm doing now. Can you help me learn the stories of any of these people, and possibly their parents?
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Beeks lines: "Bits and Pieces from my Andrews research"
Most of my very few readers know that I am currently reading newspapers for a possible second book about Andrews history. I am fortunate in that while I am reading Huntington, Indiana newspapers I occasionally come across some articles that "fill in the blanks", or at least a few of them, about the Beeks family. Maybe everyone(!) who reads this post will already know this information, but it was all news to me.
First, a little on the light hearted side, Wilbur Beeks seemed to get called for jury duty with great regularity. I don't know what happened, but in May of 1941, when he was again called for grand jury duty, he apparently asked to be excused. I don't know whether this was the first time, or what the reason was, but here's what the Huntington Herald Press said on May 18,1941:
"TWO GRAND JURORS EXCUSED BY JUDGE
Remaining Xis Expected to meet Thursday, 9 A.M.
William E Norris, Jackson township farmer and Wilbur Beeks, of Andrews, members of the Huntington county grand jury, have been excused from serving in the session set to begin Thursday, 9 a.m. (cdwt) according to entries made on the court record by Judge Otto H. Krieg.
The entries set out that the men presented "good and sufficient reason" and accordingly were excused.
The riding bailiff has summoned Ora Baker, Jefferson township, to take Beeks place.
Beeks, seventh man drawn for the April term grand jury, was summoned when Norris was excused. When Beeks was excused the eighth and last man was summoned..." So, what was the good and sufficient reason, I wonder?
Now, to information that was to me both interesting and sad, besides being new to me. The first was an article from the same Newspaper of November 7,1941 headed "John Wise Dies at Home of Nephew in Andrews." Briefly, it told the story of John Wise who had died at the home of Wilbur Beeks, with whom he had lived for some time. I've never heard of this man, other than that he was the son of David and Matilda Martin Wise, so I had to go out looking for information. He was not to be found in the 1900 census, at least not that I recognized, but in 1910, 1920, and 1930 he was listed as a farm worker. In 1910 and 1920 he apparently worked on the farm of two sisters (not his) in Lagro Township, wabash County, and in 1930 he was a laborer already living with Wilbur (and Cleo) Beeks. Perhaps the two women he worked for had died, as they were considerably older than he was. He lived with the Beeks family for at least 10 years and possibly longer, until his death at age 69. The only other named relatives were his nephew Chester Beeks of Chicago, and his niece Mrs. Charity Carpenter, also of Chicago. I learned from the census that he had a seventh grade education and could read and write.
There are those living who could tell more of John's story. I'd like to know more about him. For instance, I didn't find him in a WW I draft registration index. Was he simply too old to be drafted? What about the Spanish American War? I have no reason to think he served in the military, but it's possible. Did he have some physical handicap that kept him from living a more expansive life, or was he simply a happy go lucky man who didn't have a lot of ambition? And what was he like? There will soon be no one left to remember him, and I'd like to know his story.
Finally, there was another obituary, which had some surprising information. Printed in the November 29, 1940 Huntington Herald Press there was an obituary for Mrs. Dorothy O. Huston. She was the daughter of Harvey and Margaret Aldridge, and the sister of Cleo Beeks, among others. She died at the age of 46 after having been in failing health for several sears, and being bedfast for two years.
Survivors included her husband, Frank, four daughters, four sons, four grandchildren, two brothers and two sisters. Three sons preceded her in death. What surprised me was the number of children, and also the fact that I think I knew some of them. Mrs. Doris Reynold of Lagro and Roy Huston were the two who appear to have established their own households. Vivian, Bernetta, Lois, Alven, Marvin and Walter all lived at home. Brother Frank Aldridge lived in Wabash and Samuel Aldridge in Midland, Michigan. Sisters were Mrs. Cleo Beeks of Andrews and Mrs. Stella (should be Della) Harrell of Lancaster township.
I'm coming to the conclusion that there are a lot more cousins out there than I knew about. I know a Beeks reunion would be very large, but an Aldridge reunion would be awesome!! And all this news was because I read some newspapers.
First, a little on the light hearted side, Wilbur Beeks seemed to get called for jury duty with great regularity. I don't know what happened, but in May of 1941, when he was again called for grand jury duty, he apparently asked to be excused. I don't know whether this was the first time, or what the reason was, but here's what the Huntington Herald Press said on May 18,1941:
"TWO GRAND JURORS EXCUSED BY JUDGE
Remaining Xis Expected to meet Thursday, 9 A.M.
William E Norris, Jackson township farmer and Wilbur Beeks, of Andrews, members of the Huntington county grand jury, have been excused from serving in the session set to begin Thursday, 9 a.m. (cdwt) according to entries made on the court record by Judge Otto H. Krieg.
The entries set out that the men presented "good and sufficient reason" and accordingly were excused.
The riding bailiff has summoned Ora Baker, Jefferson township, to take Beeks place.
Beeks, seventh man drawn for the April term grand jury, was summoned when Norris was excused. When Beeks was excused the eighth and last man was summoned..." So, what was the good and sufficient reason, I wonder?
Now, to information that was to me both interesting and sad, besides being new to me. The first was an article from the same Newspaper of November 7,1941 headed "John Wise Dies at Home of Nephew in Andrews." Briefly, it told the story of John Wise who had died at the home of Wilbur Beeks, with whom he had lived for some time. I've never heard of this man, other than that he was the son of David and Matilda Martin Wise, so I had to go out looking for information. He was not to be found in the 1900 census, at least not that I recognized, but in 1910, 1920, and 1930 he was listed as a farm worker. In 1910 and 1920 he apparently worked on the farm of two sisters (not his) in Lagro Township, wabash County, and in 1930 he was a laborer already living with Wilbur (and Cleo) Beeks. Perhaps the two women he worked for had died, as they were considerably older than he was. He lived with the Beeks family for at least 10 years and possibly longer, until his death at age 69. The only other named relatives were his nephew Chester Beeks of Chicago, and his niece Mrs. Charity Carpenter, also of Chicago. I learned from the census that he had a seventh grade education and could read and write.
There are those living who could tell more of John's story. I'd like to know more about him. For instance, I didn't find him in a WW I draft registration index. Was he simply too old to be drafted? What about the Spanish American War? I have no reason to think he served in the military, but it's possible. Did he have some physical handicap that kept him from living a more expansive life, or was he simply a happy go lucky man who didn't have a lot of ambition? And what was he like? There will soon be no one left to remember him, and I'd like to know his story.
Finally, there was another obituary, which had some surprising information. Printed in the November 29, 1940 Huntington Herald Press there was an obituary for Mrs. Dorothy O. Huston. She was the daughter of Harvey and Margaret Aldridge, and the sister of Cleo Beeks, among others. She died at the age of 46 after having been in failing health for several sears, and being bedfast for two years.
Survivors included her husband, Frank, four daughters, four sons, four grandchildren, two brothers and two sisters. Three sons preceded her in death. What surprised me was the number of children, and also the fact that I think I knew some of them. Mrs. Doris Reynold of Lagro and Roy Huston were the two who appear to have established their own households. Vivian, Bernetta, Lois, Alven, Marvin and Walter all lived at home. Brother Frank Aldridge lived in Wabash and Samuel Aldridge in Midland, Michigan. Sisters were Mrs. Cleo Beeks of Andrews and Mrs. Stella (should be Della) Harrell of Lancaster township.
I'm coming to the conclusion that there are a lot more cousins out there than I knew about. I know a Beeks reunion would be very large, but an Aldridge reunion would be awesome!! And all this news was because I read some newspapers.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Beeks line: Johann Jacob Weber 1694-1744 Immigrant
Here's another Beeks ancestor who came from Germany. I don't know much about him yet but his is the start of another American success story, if raising a family in colonial Pennsylvania, with descendants down to this day is a success story.
Jacob was born December 27, 1694 in Hinzweiler, Rhine-Pfalz, of what became Germany. His parents were Hans Jacob Weber and Maria Margaretha Ring, and he had at least four sisters and one brother. The only other clue I have about his early life is that when he married in 1720, it was in the Reformed Church in Hinzweiler, meaning it was neither Catholic nor Lutheran, but more Calvinistic in its beliefs. The area had suffered during the Thirty Years War but had always been a very small village, with population never going above 400. It must have been a hard life, but perhaps it was also a good life, in the little settlement.
Jacob's wife was Anna Cecelia Reichard, also from Hinzweiler. Her parents were Dieterich Reichard and Maria Saloma last name unknown. It isn't known when the family emigrated to America. Jacob died here in 1744, so the date would have been earlier than that. Apparently the children were all born in Germany, with the last of at least three (I suspect there are more) born in 1735. So immigration would have come between those two dates, except that I haven't found a Johann Jacob or a Jacob Weber listed in the immigration or naturalization records for that time period.
And that is as much as I know about Jacob at this point. He reportedly died in Springfield Township, Bucks or Delaware County, in 1744. We need to determine which area he lived in, for the two townships are a considerable distance apart. One was relatively close to Philadelphia and one was on the frontier, which would mean families in the two areas would have had different concerns. I tend to think it was in Bucks county, due to family marriages, but that is just a guess at this point.
So here is the bare beginnings of the story of Jacob Weber. I'd like to find out more in order to give the man the recognition he deserves, but this is a start. If someone reading this knows just one little bit of information that I haven't yet located, I'd love it if you would share it with me!
The line of descent is:
Jacob Weber-Anna Cecelia Reichard
Maria Charlotta Weber-Andreas Raub
Charlotte Raub-Johan Jacob Weiss
Andrew Wise-Mary Serfass
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John W Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Jacob was born December 27, 1694 in Hinzweiler, Rhine-Pfalz, of what became Germany. His parents were Hans Jacob Weber and Maria Margaretha Ring, and he had at least four sisters and one brother. The only other clue I have about his early life is that when he married in 1720, it was in the Reformed Church in Hinzweiler, meaning it was neither Catholic nor Lutheran, but more Calvinistic in its beliefs. The area had suffered during the Thirty Years War but had always been a very small village, with population never going above 400. It must have been a hard life, but perhaps it was also a good life, in the little settlement.
Jacob's wife was Anna Cecelia Reichard, also from Hinzweiler. Her parents were Dieterich Reichard and Maria Saloma last name unknown. It isn't known when the family emigrated to America. Jacob died here in 1744, so the date would have been earlier than that. Apparently the children were all born in Germany, with the last of at least three (I suspect there are more) born in 1735. So immigration would have come between those two dates, except that I haven't found a Johann Jacob or a Jacob Weber listed in the immigration or naturalization records for that time period.
And that is as much as I know about Jacob at this point. He reportedly died in Springfield Township, Bucks or Delaware County, in 1744. We need to determine which area he lived in, for the two townships are a considerable distance apart. One was relatively close to Philadelphia and one was on the frontier, which would mean families in the two areas would have had different concerns. I tend to think it was in Bucks county, due to family marriages, but that is just a guess at this point.
So here is the bare beginnings of the story of Jacob Weber. I'd like to find out more in order to give the man the recognition he deserves, but this is a start. If someone reading this knows just one little bit of information that I haven't yet located, I'd love it if you would share it with me!
The line of descent is:
Jacob Weber-Anna Cecelia Reichard
Maria Charlotta Weber-Andreas Raub
Charlotte Raub-Johan Jacob Weiss
Andrew Wise-Mary Serfass
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John W Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Beeks line: Johan Wilhelm Altomus 1675-after 1719 Immigrant, or not?
First, I take absolutely no credit for the information in this post. It was mostly taken from the Altemose Family Genealogy site at RootsWeb, authored by Dale Berger. He has tons of information there so head on over after you've read this very much condensed version. It is wonderful that people like Dale have been able to devote so much time, effort, and money to teasing out the story of our ancesgtors, and they deserve all the credit for it.
We don't know a lot about Wilhelm, not even his birthday. His father was possibly Becht Altemuss of Kaulbauch, who was baptized on September 18,1648 and buried on May 29,1713, and Becht's father was likely Hans Altemuss and Maria. Hans was a cowherd and Becht became a linen weaver and beadle. A few words of explanation: Kahlbach is more or less in the center of Germany, running north to south and a bit to the west of the center of Germany running east to west. It seems that it must have been a small town back in the 1600's. it was likely affected by the Thirty Years War but I haven't determined to what extent. Since Becht didn't follow his father's profession, he was likely apprenticed to someone else in town, and this would have been a highly regulated situation. It's likely that Hans had to grease some palms in order to get him into an apprenticeship program, even if he was placed with a relative. Becht became not just a linen-weaver, but a beadle, which is a minor judge, dealing with petty criminals. So he must have been respected in the town.
Wilhelm was likely Becht's son, although Berger is careful to say there is no proof of that yet. They were in the same area and many of the family were linen weavers. (If a man was a linen weaver, it often meant that his wife and children did most if not all of the work of raising the family's food and caring for the family's farm animals.) Sometimes, but not always, linen weaver's had a physical challenge of some kind that kept them from more vigorous work, and sometimes they were just good linen-weavers.
Johan Wilhelm Altomus married Anna Caecilia Reinmuller on January 16,1700 and the two had at least six children together.. Their last known daughter was Maria Catharina Altomus, who was born July 29,1719 in Offenbach, Hundheim, Germany. She was the youngest of their children, and she is the one who married Johann Philip Servass. The Altomus family was apparently of Lutheran belief so it's not know when the Servassor Serfass family became influenced by the Moravians.
Evidence has not yet been found for the death of Wilhelm, although it seems likely that he died in Germany. At least three of his children emigrated to America in 1739 and 1740, so perhaps his estate helped finance the move. Or perhaps he came to America with one or another of the families, and died either at sea or shortly after arrival. At this point, we don't know whether or not he was an immigrant, or whether he intended to be one. We suspect that he at least gave his family a dream, to come to America, and they followed that dream.
I've written before of the life of Philip Servass, one of poverty, hard work and dedication to the Lord, interrupted by terrible Indian raids on his land. Wilhelm did well to have such a son in law, and daughter, who were given values in Germany that helped them cope with their new home.
The line of descent is:
Johan Wilhelm Altomus-Anna Caecilia Reinmuller
Maria Catherina Altomus-Johan Philip Servass
Frederick Serfass-Sabina
George Philip Serfass-possibly Eva
Mary Serfass-Andrew Wise
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
We don't know a lot about Wilhelm, not even his birthday. His father was possibly Becht Altemuss of Kaulbauch, who was baptized on September 18,1648 and buried on May 29,1713, and Becht's father was likely Hans Altemuss and Maria. Hans was a cowherd and Becht became a linen weaver and beadle. A few words of explanation: Kahlbach is more or less in the center of Germany, running north to south and a bit to the west of the center of Germany running east to west. It seems that it must have been a small town back in the 1600's. it was likely affected by the Thirty Years War but I haven't determined to what extent. Since Becht didn't follow his father's profession, he was likely apprenticed to someone else in town, and this would have been a highly regulated situation. It's likely that Hans had to grease some palms in order to get him into an apprenticeship program, even if he was placed with a relative. Becht became not just a linen-weaver, but a beadle, which is a minor judge, dealing with petty criminals. So he must have been respected in the town.
Wilhelm was likely Becht's son, although Berger is careful to say there is no proof of that yet. They were in the same area and many of the family were linen weavers. (If a man was a linen weaver, it often meant that his wife and children did most if not all of the work of raising the family's food and caring for the family's farm animals.) Sometimes, but not always, linen weaver's had a physical challenge of some kind that kept them from more vigorous work, and sometimes they were just good linen-weavers.
Johan Wilhelm Altomus married Anna Caecilia Reinmuller on January 16,1700 and the two had at least six children together.. Their last known daughter was Maria Catharina Altomus, who was born July 29,1719 in Offenbach, Hundheim, Germany. She was the youngest of their children, and she is the one who married Johann Philip Servass. The Altomus family was apparently of Lutheran belief so it's not know when the Servassor Serfass family became influenced by the Moravians.
Evidence has not yet been found for the death of Wilhelm, although it seems likely that he died in Germany. At least three of his children emigrated to America in 1739 and 1740, so perhaps his estate helped finance the move. Or perhaps he came to America with one or another of the families, and died either at sea or shortly after arrival. At this point, we don't know whether or not he was an immigrant, or whether he intended to be one. We suspect that he at least gave his family a dream, to come to America, and they followed that dream.
I've written before of the life of Philip Servass, one of poverty, hard work and dedication to the Lord, interrupted by terrible Indian raids on his land. Wilhelm did well to have such a son in law, and daughter, who were given values in Germany that helped them cope with their new home.
The line of descent is:
Johan Wilhelm Altomus-Anna Caecilia Reinmuller
Maria Catherina Altomus-Johan Philip Servass
Frederick Serfass-Sabina
George Philip Serfass-possibly Eva
Mary Serfass-Andrew Wise
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Beeks line: Philip Servas, Immigrant 1714-1787
Here's a fascinating immigrant in the Beeks line. I say "fascinating" because I believe he was a very courageous man. First, he was an immigrant, which says "courage" to me. Then, he was a Moravian, at a time when Moravians were not tolerated well. Finally, when he acquired land, it was on the most distant part of the frontier in what is now Monroe County, Pa but was then part of Bucks County. I just shake my head in wonder at the strength of these immigrants, and wonder how they did what they did.
Philip was born in 1712 in Coblenz, Zwiebrucken, Germany. I looked up Coblenz and I looked up Zwiebrucken and they appear to be in two different places so I'm a little confused by this information. However, Coblenz is probably accurate, and Germany is accurate now although there was no "Germany" as we know it in 1712. The area had yet to be united under one name.
Philip's parents were another Philip Servas and Ann, which is as much as we know of his birth and childhood. We know that he married before he came to America because he and his wife, Maria Catharina Altomus, were on the ship "Samuel" when they arrived in Philadelphia on August 27, 1739. It was while they were in Philadelphia that Philip became interested in the Moravian church, and this is also where he became a stocking weaver. I've not found an indication that he was an indentured servant, but it still took 11 years for him to save up enough money to buy his land.
As mentioned earlier, the land he purchased, 100 acres, was in what is now Monroe County, Pa. It was a little more than 100 acres, on the Pochopoko Creek, "over the Blue Mountains." By this time, the family included five children, and five more would be born to them during their marriage, all apparently christened or recorded in Philadelphia. Philip seems to have acquired several additional tracts of land in the early 1750's, all in the same general area.
By 1755, things were tense between the natives and the pioneers. They were so tense that a massacre occurred in December 1755, of Philip's neighbors, the Hoeths. (Those of the family who weren't killed, were taken captive and there is record of the story of one of the young women who escaped after several years in Indian captivity.) In response to this crisis, a fort was constructed on Philip's property, where the families all went as needed during the French and Indian wars. The Moravians later built a mission on the land which had belonged to the Hoeths.
The Servass's, meanwhile, fled their farm on the day after the massacre, and went to Nazareth, where many refugee settlers also found shelter. They stayed in or near Nazareth for several years, with Philip making several trips there. The family finally moved back to their land in 1763, at the close of the French and Indian War, and Philip stayed there the rest of his life. He was taxed there in 1772, for 1 pound, 18 shillings.
Philip was too old to serve in the Revolutionary War, but surely he and his family knew of it and it's at least one of his sons, Frederick, served in the local militia. Philip made his will in 1785 and died June 22 or 23 of the next year. A Moravian braother, Brother Reichel, from Nazareth conducted his funeral service. It appears that his wife stayed on the farm and survived him by about 2 years.
I'd sure like to talk to Philip, to learn what he was thinking as he stayed in Nazareth for those seven years. Did he not go back sooner due to an abundance of caution, or because he didn't appreciate the Fort on his land, or was it his wife that was so reluctant to return home? Maybe, after some years on the frontier they just enjoyed being with people again, or maybe it was a matter of saving enough money to start over again, with crops and farm animals. I'd love to know the rest of the story.
Much of the information for this post came from items posted by Dale A. Berger, who has written a book about this family which I would love to see.
The line of descent is:
Philip Servas (Serfass, other spellings)-Maria Catherina Altemos
Frederick Serfass-Sabina
George Philip Serfass-Eva
Mary Serfass-Andrew Wise
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents
Philip was born in 1712 in Coblenz, Zwiebrucken, Germany. I looked up Coblenz and I looked up Zwiebrucken and they appear to be in two different places so I'm a little confused by this information. However, Coblenz is probably accurate, and Germany is accurate now although there was no "Germany" as we know it in 1712. The area had yet to be united under one name.
Philip's parents were another Philip Servas and Ann, which is as much as we know of his birth and childhood. We know that he married before he came to America because he and his wife, Maria Catharina Altomus, were on the ship "Samuel" when they arrived in Philadelphia on August 27, 1739. It was while they were in Philadelphia that Philip became interested in the Moravian church, and this is also where he became a stocking weaver. I've not found an indication that he was an indentured servant, but it still took 11 years for him to save up enough money to buy his land.
As mentioned earlier, the land he purchased, 100 acres, was in what is now Monroe County, Pa. It was a little more than 100 acres, on the Pochopoko Creek, "over the Blue Mountains." By this time, the family included five children, and five more would be born to them during their marriage, all apparently christened or recorded in Philadelphia. Philip seems to have acquired several additional tracts of land in the early 1750's, all in the same general area.
By 1755, things were tense between the natives and the pioneers. They were so tense that a massacre occurred in December 1755, of Philip's neighbors, the Hoeths. (Those of the family who weren't killed, were taken captive and there is record of the story of one of the young women who escaped after several years in Indian captivity.) In response to this crisis, a fort was constructed on Philip's property, where the families all went as needed during the French and Indian wars. The Moravians later built a mission on the land which had belonged to the Hoeths.
The Servass's, meanwhile, fled their farm on the day after the massacre, and went to Nazareth, where many refugee settlers also found shelter. They stayed in or near Nazareth for several years, with Philip making several trips there. The family finally moved back to their land in 1763, at the close of the French and Indian War, and Philip stayed there the rest of his life. He was taxed there in 1772, for 1 pound, 18 shillings.
Philip was too old to serve in the Revolutionary War, but surely he and his family knew of it and it's at least one of his sons, Frederick, served in the local militia. Philip made his will in 1785 and died June 22 or 23 of the next year. A Moravian braother, Brother Reichel, from Nazareth conducted his funeral service. It appears that his wife stayed on the farm and survived him by about 2 years.
I'd sure like to talk to Philip, to learn what he was thinking as he stayed in Nazareth for those seven years. Did he not go back sooner due to an abundance of caution, or because he didn't appreciate the Fort on his land, or was it his wife that was so reluctant to return home? Maybe, after some years on the frontier they just enjoyed being with people again, or maybe it was a matter of saving enough money to start over again, with crops and farm animals. I'd love to know the rest of the story.
Much of the information for this post came from items posted by Dale A. Berger, who has written a book about this family which I would love to see.
The line of descent is:
Philip Servas (Serfass, other spellings)-Maria Catherina Altemos
Frederick Serfass-Sabina
George Philip Serfass-Eva
Mary Serfass-Andrew Wise
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Beeks line: First tidbits about Timothy Martin 1798-
Timothy Martin is one of the 'new" members to the Beeks tree. He is the father of the Matilda Martin who married David Wise, the Civil War veteran I've written of earlier. I'm just starting to get to "know" Timothy, so I went to the Wabash County Courthouse last week to see if I could find more information about him.
The 1850 census shows that he was born in Vermont and was about 40 years of age, so born about 1810. The 1860 census shows that he was born in New York and was about 62, so born in about 1798. I don't know which is correct, but I know these are the same two men because their location, the names of their wives, and the names of the children all match. (Ages and places of birth are a different matter, but that is incidental to this post.) The 1850 census lists him as a farmer, but no value is given for land so apparently he didn't own any at that point. The 1860 census gives him $500 in real estate and $600 in personal property. The $500 in real estate seemed like it would be relatively easy to pin down by going to the courthouse.
I didn't find any record of land either bought or sold by Timothy, from 1833 onward. I did, however, find a transaction from Timothy Martin to Samuel Tilberry listed in the General Index to Deeds, which was a "P.O.S." (proof of sale) dated April 29, 1850 for the odd sum of $48.13. I strongly suspect that Samuel Tilberry was the brother of Hanna Martin, Timothy's wife, so I hurried to Book L page 171 of the deeds to see what land Timothy had disposed of in 1850. What I found was at least as interesting as any land deed. I will copy it here to the best of my ability, although there were a couple of words I wasn't able to read:
"A bill of sale from Timothy Martin to Samuel Tilberry. Know all men that I, Timothy Martin, have this day sold to Samuel Tilberry the following property to wit: One two horse wagon, 3 milch cows, 1st brindle, 2nd red with a white forehead, 3rd brindle, 3 young cattle one year old each, one mare colt, mare grey, colt black, for the sum of forty eight dollars & 13 cents to secure the payment of judgement for the sum of forty eight dollars & 13 cents on the docket of William Sallee Esq. and in favor of J.R. Fry, for which I stand security, and that the above described property is now placed in the possession of the said Samuel Tilberry for the purpose of securing the payment of the above judgement & costs, and on condition, said Martin (not sure of word or words) the above judgement and costs at the time the issue becomes due on the docket of the said William Sallee, Justice, as aforesaid , then this obligation to be void; otherwise to remain in full force and witness in law.
"In witness whereof the said Timothy Martin hereunto set my hand and seal the 24th day of April A.D. 1850. Timothy Martin (seal)
Witness: David (Umirres? Amsirres? Could not read last name)
Recorded May 3, 1850 M. Steele RWC"
Of course I wanted to know who J.R. Fry was, and the only one I located that makes any sense is a J.R. Fry back in Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio, which is where Timothy and Hanna were married in 1833. (A whole lot of other Tilberrys were married there, too, but I haven't begun to sort them out yet.) J.R. is about the same age as Timothy and Hanna. I don't know if this is the right man, I don't know of any relationship between Timothy and J.R., and I don't know why Timothy would have signed as security for him. Perhaps those records are in Shelby County. If the records were in Wabash County, then according to the folks at the Courthouse we are out of luck, because "everything burned in a courthouse fire". (Obviously not completely true, because the land records are complete.)
I worry about the Martins as I read the list of items sold to Samuel. They lost a wagon, three milch cows, three cattle, and a mare and colt. What, if anything, did they have left? Did Samuel allow them the continued use of these items, after the sale? Was Timothy ever able to reclaim them? Samuel appears to have been at least slightly better off than Timothy. He had been in Wabash County since at least 1840, when he purchased 97.60 acres from Daniel Sayre on November 17, 1840, for $488. So ten years later, he was established enough to have $48.13 that he could use to help Timothy honor the security he had given.
If anyone knows the rest of this story, who J.R. Fry was and why Timothy would have signed as security for him, I'd love to know how this all started.
Since I couldn't find a record of Timothy owning real estate, I wonder if possibly he was buying land on contract in 1860. That could explain why he was shown as owning real estate. Or perhaps it was a happy mistake on the census taker's part, that encouraged me to go find this interesting record.
Again, the line of descent is:
Timothy Martin-Hannah Tilberry
Matilda Martin-David Wise
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
The 1850 census shows that he was born in Vermont and was about 40 years of age, so born about 1810. The 1860 census shows that he was born in New York and was about 62, so born in about 1798. I don't know which is correct, but I know these are the same two men because their location, the names of their wives, and the names of the children all match. (Ages and places of birth are a different matter, but that is incidental to this post.) The 1850 census lists him as a farmer, but no value is given for land so apparently he didn't own any at that point. The 1860 census gives him $500 in real estate and $600 in personal property. The $500 in real estate seemed like it would be relatively easy to pin down by going to the courthouse.
I didn't find any record of land either bought or sold by Timothy, from 1833 onward. I did, however, find a transaction from Timothy Martin to Samuel Tilberry listed in the General Index to Deeds, which was a "P.O.S." (proof of sale) dated April 29, 1850 for the odd sum of $48.13. I strongly suspect that Samuel Tilberry was the brother of Hanna Martin, Timothy's wife, so I hurried to Book L page 171 of the deeds to see what land Timothy had disposed of in 1850. What I found was at least as interesting as any land deed. I will copy it here to the best of my ability, although there were a couple of words I wasn't able to read:
"A bill of sale from Timothy Martin to Samuel Tilberry. Know all men that I, Timothy Martin, have this day sold to Samuel Tilberry the following property to wit: One two horse wagon, 3 milch cows, 1st brindle, 2nd red with a white forehead, 3rd brindle, 3 young cattle one year old each, one mare colt, mare grey, colt black, for the sum of forty eight dollars & 13 cents to secure the payment of judgement for the sum of forty eight dollars & 13 cents on the docket of William Sallee Esq. and in favor of J.R. Fry, for which I stand security, and that the above described property is now placed in the possession of the said Samuel Tilberry for the purpose of securing the payment of the above judgement & costs, and on condition, said Martin (not sure of word or words) the above judgement and costs at the time the issue becomes due on the docket of the said William Sallee, Justice, as aforesaid , then this obligation to be void; otherwise to remain in full force and witness in law.
"In witness whereof the said Timothy Martin hereunto set my hand and seal the 24th day of April A.D. 1850. Timothy Martin (seal)
Witness: David (Umirres? Amsirres? Could not read last name)
Recorded May 3, 1850 M. Steele RWC"
Of course I wanted to know who J.R. Fry was, and the only one I located that makes any sense is a J.R. Fry back in Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio, which is where Timothy and Hanna were married in 1833. (A whole lot of other Tilberrys were married there, too, but I haven't begun to sort them out yet.) J.R. is about the same age as Timothy and Hanna. I don't know if this is the right man, I don't know of any relationship between Timothy and J.R., and I don't know why Timothy would have signed as security for him. Perhaps those records are in Shelby County. If the records were in Wabash County, then according to the folks at the Courthouse we are out of luck, because "everything burned in a courthouse fire". (Obviously not completely true, because the land records are complete.)
I worry about the Martins as I read the list of items sold to Samuel. They lost a wagon, three milch cows, three cattle, and a mare and colt. What, if anything, did they have left? Did Samuel allow them the continued use of these items, after the sale? Was Timothy ever able to reclaim them? Samuel appears to have been at least slightly better off than Timothy. He had been in Wabash County since at least 1840, when he purchased 97.60 acres from Daniel Sayre on November 17, 1840, for $488. So ten years later, he was established enough to have $48.13 that he could use to help Timothy honor the security he had given.
If anyone knows the rest of this story, who J.R. Fry was and why Timothy would have signed as security for him, I'd love to know how this all started.
Since I couldn't find a record of Timothy owning real estate, I wonder if possibly he was buying land on contract in 1860. That could explain why he was shown as owning real estate. Or perhaps it was a happy mistake on the census taker's part, that encouraged me to go find this interesting record.
Again, the line of descent is:
Timothy Martin-Hannah Tilberry
Matilda Martin-David Wise
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Beeks line: Matilda Martin Wise and My Big Fat "Oops!" Moment
I've known since early in my genealogy life (so probably 7 or 8 years ago) that Matilda Martin was the wife of David Wise. That much was correct. I've also learned, through the years, that her family history was not only interesting but long. In fact, it was 1700 plus names long. I know, because I deleted every one of them from my tree last week. Sigh.
Those darned facts just keep getting in the way.
I've been having a wonderful time on Ancestry.com, going through their new wills and probates database. I've found several wonderful wills for a great grandfather, two great grandfathers, a great great great grandfather, and some even further back, and I'm not done yet. I also found the will for Joel Martin, whom I "knew" to be Matilda's father.
From having David Wise's Civil War record, I had recently verified that he married Matilda Martin in 1864, so I was feeling pretty good about that. I also learned that she died in either 1876 or 1877, depending on which pension statement you believed. What I learned from reading Joel Martin's will was that when he died in 1879, his daughter Matilda Kendall was still living. Oops! This didn't add up, either to dates or to names.
So, I wrote to a couple of researchers who have been helping me immensely with the Wise line, and said "What's up with this?" One had the same tree I just deleted, and one said, "Oh, her parents were Tim Martin and Hannah Tilbury." I, meanwhile, had been all over the web and had found Tim and Hannah in 1850 in Lagro, Wabash County, Indiana, where David Wise had lived most of his life. They had a four year old daughter named Matilda, and their educational attainment (did not read or write) more closely matched David's. So I'd already been wondering whether this was the Matilda we need in the Beeks tree, and researcher number two confirmed that. She also pointed out that two people I had been unable to identify in the 1870 census, in the David Wise household, were actually Matilda's younger siblings.
I'm just beginning to research these two new families, the Martins and the Tilburys. I know they were married in Shelby County, Ohio (where the Wise's were from) in 1833 and I've found a John Tilbury in Shelby County who was an early settler there and seems like a possibility to be Hannah's father. But I'm not ready to say that's the case, it's just a possibility at this point. I've not found death records for Timothy or Hannah yet, but I'm guessing that at least Timothy was dead by 1870, since some of his children were living elsewhere.
So, forget some of the posts I've written in the past. The posts I've written about Lewellen Martin, Anna Smith Bane, and Morgan Abraham don't apply to the Beeks line. The Beeks line is less royally connected than I'd thought, as some lines I'd followed all the way back to Henry II of England. I had to delete a lot of interesting folks from the tree. Now, however, I get the fun of seeing what I can learn about these "new" ancestors. Welcome to the family, Timothy and Hannah!
Of course, I most abjectly apologize for leading anyone else astray with my earlier posts. I try to be accurate in what I write and it is with regret that I acknowledged my "Oops!", even to myself. I hope this will present someone, sometime, from making the same mistake I did. I certainly would love to hear from someone working on the Timothy Martin or Hannah Tilbury lines, as obviously I could use some guidance on these people.
The line of descent is:
Timothy Martin-Hannah Tilbury
Matilda Martin-David Wise
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Those darned facts just keep getting in the way.
I've been having a wonderful time on Ancestry.com, going through their new wills and probates database. I've found several wonderful wills for a great grandfather, two great grandfathers, a great great great grandfather, and some even further back, and I'm not done yet. I also found the will for Joel Martin, whom I "knew" to be Matilda's father.
From having David Wise's Civil War record, I had recently verified that he married Matilda Martin in 1864, so I was feeling pretty good about that. I also learned that she died in either 1876 or 1877, depending on which pension statement you believed. What I learned from reading Joel Martin's will was that when he died in 1879, his daughter Matilda Kendall was still living. Oops! This didn't add up, either to dates or to names.
So, I wrote to a couple of researchers who have been helping me immensely with the Wise line, and said "What's up with this?" One had the same tree I just deleted, and one said, "Oh, her parents were Tim Martin and Hannah Tilbury." I, meanwhile, had been all over the web and had found Tim and Hannah in 1850 in Lagro, Wabash County, Indiana, where David Wise had lived most of his life. They had a four year old daughter named Matilda, and their educational attainment (did not read or write) more closely matched David's. So I'd already been wondering whether this was the Matilda we need in the Beeks tree, and researcher number two confirmed that. She also pointed out that two people I had been unable to identify in the 1870 census, in the David Wise household, were actually Matilda's younger siblings.
I'm just beginning to research these two new families, the Martins and the Tilburys. I know they were married in Shelby County, Ohio (where the Wise's were from) in 1833 and I've found a John Tilbury in Shelby County who was an early settler there and seems like a possibility to be Hannah's father. But I'm not ready to say that's the case, it's just a possibility at this point. I've not found death records for Timothy or Hannah yet, but I'm guessing that at least Timothy was dead by 1870, since some of his children were living elsewhere.
So, forget some of the posts I've written in the past. The posts I've written about Lewellen Martin, Anna Smith Bane, and Morgan Abraham don't apply to the Beeks line. The Beeks line is less royally connected than I'd thought, as some lines I'd followed all the way back to Henry II of England. I had to delete a lot of interesting folks from the tree. Now, however, I get the fun of seeing what I can learn about these "new" ancestors. Welcome to the family, Timothy and Hannah!
Of course, I most abjectly apologize for leading anyone else astray with my earlier posts. I try to be accurate in what I write and it is with regret that I acknowledged my "Oops!", even to myself. I hope this will present someone, sometime, from making the same mistake I did. I certainly would love to hear from someone working on the Timothy Martin or Hannah Tilbury lines, as obviously I could use some guidance on these people.
The line of descent is:
Timothy Martin-Hannah Tilbury
Matilda Martin-David Wise
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Friday, March 27, 2015
Beeks line: David Wise, Civil War veteran: Did anyone know?
David Wise is the great grandfather of some descendents still living, and the great great grandfather of more, and the "ancient" ancestor of many, many Beeks descendents. I wonder if there is anyone in the family, though, who knows that this man was a Civil War veteran.
I just learned this fact a couple of days ago. David was the son of Andrew Jackson and Mary Serfass (Ceirfoss, or many other spellings) and was born in 1838 near Sidney, Ohio. Sometime between 1840 and 1850 the family moved to the area of Lagro, in Wabash county, Indiana, and during that same period Mary disappears from the records. David is with his father in 1860, and in 1864 married Matilda Martin in Wabash County, Indiana. A child was born shortly after that, and shortly after that, David and his younger brother Philip were drafted.
They were both "enrolled" on October 21, 1864 and assigned to company I of the 23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment. They were replacement troops for a unit formed around New Albany, in southern Indiana, in 1861. This unit had lost many of its soldiers due to death, wounds, and illness. Because they were replacement troops, it's been hard to determine just where they were trained and for how long. Typically the training for replacement troops was minimal. This regiment was involved in a lot of battles, but the campaign that was going on when the men likely arrived was Sherman's March to the Sea, from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. From Savannah, the men marched north through the Carolinas, and General Sherman accepted the surrender of General Joseph E. Johnston and his troops in North Carolina on April 26, 1865, eleven days after President Lincoln was assassinated.
The regiment marched in the grand Washington Review, a three day parade of victorious Union troops, and were finally discharged on July 20, 1865 at Louisville. I'm not sure what happened with David then, because there is a note that he had been ill in the hospital since June 20, 1865. Did the hospitals continue to treat sick and wounded soldiers? At what point was David well enough to travel home? Did Philip stay with him until David was ready to go home?
Obviously I am going to need to save up big bucks to order David's Civil War and pension records. I hope to learn more about him from the records, but I wanted to get this much of his story written now, while I'm excited to learn about a new Civil War veteran for the family. I promise another post, when I get the records.
I also need to learn where he was from 1870, when he and his young family are in Dallas Township, Huntington County, Indiana to 1900, when he is a widower living with his son-in-law and daughter, John and Elizabeth Wise Beeks, in Andrews, Indiana. In 1910 he is living with his daughter in Lagro, Indiana and then in 1920 he's back with John and Elizabeth. He died April 5, 1927 in Andrews. I don't know where he was buried, but as a Civil War veteran, he is entitled to a marker and I'd like to make sure he has one.
I've learned one new fact and now there are so many unanswered questions. If someone knows more about David than I've been able to find, please contact me at happygenealogydancing AT gmail DOT com. It's always more fun to work together to solve some of these challenges.
The line of descent is:
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents
I just learned this fact a couple of days ago. David was the son of Andrew Jackson and Mary Serfass (Ceirfoss, or many other spellings) and was born in 1838 near Sidney, Ohio. Sometime between 1840 and 1850 the family moved to the area of Lagro, in Wabash county, Indiana, and during that same period Mary disappears from the records. David is with his father in 1860, and in 1864 married Matilda Martin in Wabash County, Indiana. A child was born shortly after that, and shortly after that, David and his younger brother Philip were drafted.
They were both "enrolled" on October 21, 1864 and assigned to company I of the 23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment. They were replacement troops for a unit formed around New Albany, in southern Indiana, in 1861. This unit had lost many of its soldiers due to death, wounds, and illness. Because they were replacement troops, it's been hard to determine just where they were trained and for how long. Typically the training for replacement troops was minimal. This regiment was involved in a lot of battles, but the campaign that was going on when the men likely arrived was Sherman's March to the Sea, from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. From Savannah, the men marched north through the Carolinas, and General Sherman accepted the surrender of General Joseph E. Johnston and his troops in North Carolina on April 26, 1865, eleven days after President Lincoln was assassinated.
The regiment marched in the grand Washington Review, a three day parade of victorious Union troops, and were finally discharged on July 20, 1865 at Louisville. I'm not sure what happened with David then, because there is a note that he had been ill in the hospital since June 20, 1865. Did the hospitals continue to treat sick and wounded soldiers? At what point was David well enough to travel home? Did Philip stay with him until David was ready to go home?
Obviously I am going to need to save up big bucks to order David's Civil War and pension records. I hope to learn more about him from the records, but I wanted to get this much of his story written now, while I'm excited to learn about a new Civil War veteran for the family. I promise another post, when I get the records.
I also need to learn where he was from 1870, when he and his young family are in Dallas Township, Huntington County, Indiana to 1900, when he is a widower living with his son-in-law and daughter, John and Elizabeth Wise Beeks, in Andrews, Indiana. In 1910 he is living with his daughter in Lagro, Indiana and then in 1920 he's back with John and Elizabeth. He died April 5, 1927 in Andrews. I don't know where he was buried, but as a Civil War veteran, he is entitled to a marker and I'd like to make sure he has one.
I've learned one new fact and now there are so many unanswered questions. If someone knows more about David than I've been able to find, please contact me at happygenealogydancing AT gmail DOT com. It's always more fun to work together to solve some of these challenges.
The line of descent is:
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Beeks line: Morgan Abraham-not quite an immigrant
Oh, how cool! I've just seen the will for this man, actual digital images on line at the National Library of Wales. I am supposed to cite the record thus: http://handle.net/10107/934427. Fortunately, the will is in English so I can read some of it. Other parts are beyond my skill level, but here is a brief summary of what I can understand and of what was new to me.
He describes himself in his will as a yeoman, meaning (I believe) farmer with property. His inventory which was taken on July 7, 1712 gave a value of 120 pounds, 10 shillings. This included wearables, and various animals and crops, including six oxen, four cows, and something else that may be sheep or could be something else entirely. It also lists hard corn (that already harvested), and corn growing in the ground, and the implements of husbandry. Yes, Morgan Abraham was definitely a farmer.
What else do we know about him? There is at least one record that refers to him as a carpenter. We know he was planning to come to America when he died, and that his wife and at least some of his children made the trip as planned a year later. His wife's name was Sarah but that's all we know at this point. Although his will is found in the National Library of Wales, it seems that the area he lived in, Longtown, Parish Clodock, Herefordshire, is English, although at one time it had been Welsh and many place names, etc., were Welsh. Since Morgan Abraham is the first known person in this line, it's hard to know for sure whether he was of English or of Welsh roots.
He was born about 1660 and died June 28, 1712, having written his will on June 24 of that year. William, his oldest son, and Sarah were able to sell the land that had been left to Sarah and this allowed the family enough funds to migrate to what is probably Chester County, Pennsylvania. A lot of Welsh Quaker families lived there and they may have been among neighbors. I need to do more research to determine whether a Sarah Abraham indexed in the Ancestry Quaker records, noted as of "Delaware, Pennsylvania" could be our Sarah Abraham.
Morgan and Sarah are listed as having children James, Joseph, Noah, William, Mary, Enoch, Sarah, and Elizabeth. Sarah, widow of Morgan died in 1746 in "Wayne, Delaware, Pennsylvania" so she is the immigrant ancestor in this line.
I still can't believe how neat it was to actually see his will on line. Isn't the Internet great?
The line of descent is:
Morgan Abraham-Sarah
Elizabeth Abraham-Lewellen Bowen Martin
Joel Martin-Anna Thompson
Llewellen Martin-Elizabeth Painter
Joel Martin-Nancy Bane
Matilda Martin-David Wise
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents
Update: 9/14/2015 I apologize for the error. Morgan Abraham, as fascinating as he is, doesn't belong to the Beeks line. The Matilda Martin who married David Wise is a different Matilda Martin. However, I'm choosing to leave this blog post up in case it can help someone else.
He describes himself in his will as a yeoman, meaning (I believe) farmer with property. His inventory which was taken on July 7, 1712 gave a value of 120 pounds, 10 shillings. This included wearables, and various animals and crops, including six oxen, four cows, and something else that may be sheep or could be something else entirely. It also lists hard corn (that already harvested), and corn growing in the ground, and the implements of husbandry. Yes, Morgan Abraham was definitely a farmer.
What else do we know about him? There is at least one record that refers to him as a carpenter. We know he was planning to come to America when he died, and that his wife and at least some of his children made the trip as planned a year later. His wife's name was Sarah but that's all we know at this point. Although his will is found in the National Library of Wales, it seems that the area he lived in, Longtown, Parish Clodock, Herefordshire, is English, although at one time it had been Welsh and many place names, etc., were Welsh. Since Morgan Abraham is the first known person in this line, it's hard to know for sure whether he was of English or of Welsh roots.
He was born about 1660 and died June 28, 1712, having written his will on June 24 of that year. William, his oldest son, and Sarah were able to sell the land that had been left to Sarah and this allowed the family enough funds to migrate to what is probably Chester County, Pennsylvania. A lot of Welsh Quaker families lived there and they may have been among neighbors. I need to do more research to determine whether a Sarah Abraham indexed in the Ancestry Quaker records, noted as of "Delaware, Pennsylvania" could be our Sarah Abraham.
Morgan and Sarah are listed as having children James, Joseph, Noah, William, Mary, Enoch, Sarah, and Elizabeth. Sarah, widow of Morgan died in 1746 in "Wayne, Delaware, Pennsylvania" so she is the immigrant ancestor in this line.
I still can't believe how neat it was to actually see his will on line. Isn't the Internet great?
The line of descent is:
Morgan Abraham-Sarah
Elizabeth Abraham-Lewellen Bowen Martin
Joel Martin-Anna Thompson
Llewellen Martin-Elizabeth Painter
Joel Martin-Nancy Bane
Matilda Martin-David Wise
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendents
Update: 9/14/2015 I apologize for the error. Morgan Abraham, as fascinating as he is, doesn't belong to the Beeks line. The Matilda Martin who married David Wise is a different Matilda Martin. However, I'm choosing to leave this blog post up in case it can help someone else.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Beeks Line: Philip Raub, Immigrant
I admit it. I am fascinated with the immigrants in our families. Why did they come when they did? How did they finance their move across the ocean? Once they were here, did they feel they had made a good choice, or were they incredibly homesick? And how did those poor women survive the whole ordeal?
The origin of Philip Raub is something of a mystery, although the best guesses I have seen put his birth date at 1681 and the location as Hagsfeld, Stadt Karlsruhe, Baden-Wuerttemberg, in what would become Germany. There is a church there called Laurenskirche, and it may have been in operation at the time of Philip's birth. If so, they may have records of Philip's birth. If not, then perhaps the other stories are true, that this was a Mennonite family that possibly came from Switzerland. Further research needs to be done to pin down this information.
We know nothing of Philip's life, but we do know that Hagsfeld was a very small village, of less than 100 homes, when Philip was born and raised. It is likely, then, that Philip's family had a garden they could tend for themselves, and farm land they would have tilled for the lord of the area. It would have been a hard life, with weather uncertainties, and with the uncertainty of what the lord would be doing next in terms of requiring taxes. Fortunately, there would have been a council to intercede between the peasants and the lord, and they may have been able to have some mitigating influence if the taxes were to be raised too much.
Philip married Maria Sarah Schoffel, daughter of Heinrich Schoffel and Maria Zwillinge, in 1719. There was probably an earlier marriage, as Philip is credited with having three sons born from 1705-1710, and then there is a gap of 10 years. The known children that he had with Maria Sarah were Maria Barbara, Ann Margaretha, and Andreas. There is a gap between 1720 and 1727 so it is possible that other children were born and died young, or there were miscarriages.
In 1732, probably for economic reasons but perhaps for religious reasons, Philip and his family came to Philadelphia on the ship "Loyal Judith". This was in about the middle of the German immigration influx. The immigrants on this ship were mostly Mennonite, but there were a few others that were from different areas than the Baden-Durlach Mennonites.
Philip was fortunate enough to buy land in what became Springfield Twp, Bucks County, Pa in 1738. This may indicate that he served an indentureship before being able to buy land, or perhaps he was simply a tenant farmer who made good. The land that he purchased was 130 acres near Durham Creek. If he had been Mennonite, he soon began worshiping at Trinity Lutheran Church, as there are records there (apparently a list of communicants) in 1751.
Philip died in December of 1753, after conveying his 130 acres of land to his youngest son, Andreas, in February of that year. I have not located a will for him. His wife, Maria Sarah, died in 1764 in Upper Sucon Township, Bucks County, Pa. She is buried at St Paul's Blue Church near Coopersburg, Lehigh County, Pa, and that is his place of burial as indicated on Find-a-Grave.
There is more of Philip's story to be found. I'd like to know whether there were Indian incursions in Bucks County after Philip's arrival, and after he bought his land. I'd like to know whether he was in fact Mennonite, or whether he had always been Lutheran. I'd like to know why he came to America, and whether he felt his decision was a good one. And of course, I'd love to know who his parents are!
The line of descent is:
Philip Raub-Maria Sarah Schoffel
Andreas Raub-Maria Charlotta Weber
Charlotte Raub-Johan Jacob Weiss
Andrew Wise-Mary Serfass
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Greta Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Harshbarger children, grand children, and great grandchildren
The origin of Philip Raub is something of a mystery, although the best guesses I have seen put his birth date at 1681 and the location as Hagsfeld, Stadt Karlsruhe, Baden-Wuerttemberg, in what would become Germany. There is a church there called Laurenskirche, and it may have been in operation at the time of Philip's birth. If so, they may have records of Philip's birth. If not, then perhaps the other stories are true, that this was a Mennonite family that possibly came from Switzerland. Further research needs to be done to pin down this information.
We know nothing of Philip's life, but we do know that Hagsfeld was a very small village, of less than 100 homes, when Philip was born and raised. It is likely, then, that Philip's family had a garden they could tend for themselves, and farm land they would have tilled for the lord of the area. It would have been a hard life, with weather uncertainties, and with the uncertainty of what the lord would be doing next in terms of requiring taxes. Fortunately, there would have been a council to intercede between the peasants and the lord, and they may have been able to have some mitigating influence if the taxes were to be raised too much.
Philip married Maria Sarah Schoffel, daughter of Heinrich Schoffel and Maria Zwillinge, in 1719. There was probably an earlier marriage, as Philip is credited with having three sons born from 1705-1710, and then there is a gap of 10 years. The known children that he had with Maria Sarah were Maria Barbara, Ann Margaretha, and Andreas. There is a gap between 1720 and 1727 so it is possible that other children were born and died young, or there were miscarriages.
In 1732, probably for economic reasons but perhaps for religious reasons, Philip and his family came to Philadelphia on the ship "Loyal Judith". This was in about the middle of the German immigration influx. The immigrants on this ship were mostly Mennonite, but there were a few others that were from different areas than the Baden-Durlach Mennonites.
Philip was fortunate enough to buy land in what became Springfield Twp, Bucks County, Pa in 1738. This may indicate that he served an indentureship before being able to buy land, or perhaps he was simply a tenant farmer who made good. The land that he purchased was 130 acres near Durham Creek. If he had been Mennonite, he soon began worshiping at Trinity Lutheran Church, as there are records there (apparently a list of communicants) in 1751.
Philip died in December of 1753, after conveying his 130 acres of land to his youngest son, Andreas, in February of that year. I have not located a will for him. His wife, Maria Sarah, died in 1764 in Upper Sucon Township, Bucks County, Pa. She is buried at St Paul's Blue Church near Coopersburg, Lehigh County, Pa, and that is his place of burial as indicated on Find-a-Grave.
There is more of Philip's story to be found. I'd like to know whether there were Indian incursions in Bucks County after Philip's arrival, and after he bought his land. I'd like to know whether he was in fact Mennonite, or whether he had always been Lutheran. I'd like to know why he came to America, and whether he felt his decision was a good one. And of course, I'd love to know who his parents are!
The line of descent is:
Philip Raub-Maria Sarah Schoffel
Andreas Raub-Maria Charlotta Weber
Charlotte Raub-Johan Jacob Weiss
Andrew Wise-Mary Serfass
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Greta Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Harshbarger children, grand children, and great grandchildren
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Beeks line: Anna Smith Bane 1782-before !870
I thought it would be fun to write about a woman, for once. Most of my posts have been about men but I find this woman to be remarkable, and worthy of a much better post than I can write, yet.
Anna Smith was born about 1782, possibly in Virginia. One source indicates she was born in Ohio, but that would have been a very early time to have been born there, and her marriage record shows that she was married on August 24, 1801 in Montgomery County, Va to William Bean or Bane. The first nineteen or so years of her life have very little documentation. Her marriage record indicates that her father was Jacob Smith, but no mother's name is given. William Bane's parents aren't noted, either, which would indicate he was over 21. He was probably born about 1769, in Virginia.
Jacob Smith is a mystery. There are several Jacob Smiths in that area but so far I have not been able to figure out which of the several is Anna's father. It is probably safe to speculate that she lived a frontier kind of life, in one of the valleys of the Appalachian mountains. Montgomery County became a county in 1777. Prior to that it was part of Fincastle County, which included several western counties of Virginia as well as the entire state of Kentucky. We don't know whether Anna had siblings or not, but the chances are that she had siblings or, if her unknown mother had died early, half-siblings.
From this basic framework we can see the makings of a pioneer woman. She had at least 9 children with William Bane, ending with William Jackson Bane born in 1829 in Giles County, Va. It is quite possible that she had never moved during her marriage, as Giles County formed out of Montgomery
County in 1806, and Mary Bane was noted as having been born in August of 1806 in Giles County.
The other children were James C, Mary, Henry, Jane, Nancy, Sarah, and Hannah. There is a gap of about 9 years between Jane born in 1812 and Nancy born in 1820, so the possibility of other children cannot be dismissed. In fact, there are 8 young children listed in the 1820 census for William Bane, and at least two children were born after that census, so there may be more children yet to be found.
At any rate, there was a large number of children living when the family was preparing to celebrate Christmas on December 25, 1829. The family, however, went from excitement to heartbreak when William Bane, the husband and father, drowned or froze to death in a nearby river that very day. I have often thought about Anna, and wondered what she was feeling at that time. They had likely been living a hard-scrabble life, and now there was no husband although son James was about 26 and Henry was about 19. What's a woman to do in this situation?
Well, it appears that Anna moved the family, or went with the family, to Washington Township, Preble County, Ohio, where James Bane is listed as the head of household, aged 20-29. He may have a wife in the same age bracket, but there is a male aged 15-19 and two white females 10-14 who would not have been his children. There is also a female aged 40-49, who would be Anna. Other children of Anna may have been "bound out", either in Virginia or Ohio.
Preble County, Ohio at this time was somewhat involved in the Underground Railroad from Kentucky to Ohio to Canada, but we have no indication of whether the Bane family was involved in this. They may have been pro-slavery, or they may have been anti-slavery but not abolitionist at this time.
We don't know whether it was for political, or for financial, or for family reasons, but by 1840 the family was starting to move to Liberty Township, Wabash County, Indiana. Henry Bane was there in 1840, but Anna is not shown. I haven't located a "likely suspect" for Anna in the 1840 census. Henry, however, was in Liberty Township, Wabash County, Indiana and Anna may have been with a daughter or other relative during this time period. In 1850 she was living with her son William Jackson Bane, in District 52, Huntington County, Indiana, and in 1860 she was living with Philip Martin and his wife (her daughter Hannah) in Liberty Township, Wabash County, Indiana. She would have been about 78 at this time, and there the trail ends.
Anna was born just as the Revolutionary War was ending, and died probably just as the Civil War was underway. We don't know how these wars and the War of 1812 affected her. We don't know what she thought about the new inventions that were developed during her lifetime. We don't know what health problems the family might have had. We don't know their religion, or their educational level. But we do know that Anna persevered, somehow raised her family, and probably helped some of her children raise theirs.
I have great admiration for Anna, a pioneer woman, a wife, mother, widow, and survivor. I'd love to know more about her.
The line of descent is:
Anna Smith-William Bane
Nancy Bane-Joel Martin
Matilda Martin-David Wise
Elizabeth Wise-John W Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Beeks children, grand children, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren
Update 9/14/2015: Anna Smith and William Bane, along with Nancy Bane and Joel Martin, are not related to the Beeks line. The Matilda Martin who married David Wise is a different Matilda Martin. I apologize for the error, but I'm leaving this post up because I think this woman was remarkable. I hope someone who is from her family will find this post and appreciate their heritage.
Anna Smith was born about 1782, possibly in Virginia. One source indicates she was born in Ohio, but that would have been a very early time to have been born there, and her marriage record shows that she was married on August 24, 1801 in Montgomery County, Va to William Bean or Bane. The first nineteen or so years of her life have very little documentation. Her marriage record indicates that her father was Jacob Smith, but no mother's name is given. William Bane's parents aren't noted, either, which would indicate he was over 21. He was probably born about 1769, in Virginia.
Jacob Smith is a mystery. There are several Jacob Smiths in that area but so far I have not been able to figure out which of the several is Anna's father. It is probably safe to speculate that she lived a frontier kind of life, in one of the valleys of the Appalachian mountains. Montgomery County became a county in 1777. Prior to that it was part of Fincastle County, which included several western counties of Virginia as well as the entire state of Kentucky. We don't know whether Anna had siblings or not, but the chances are that she had siblings or, if her unknown mother had died early, half-siblings.
From this basic framework we can see the makings of a pioneer woman. She had at least 9 children with William Bane, ending with William Jackson Bane born in 1829 in Giles County, Va. It is quite possible that she had never moved during her marriage, as Giles County formed out of Montgomery
County in 1806, and Mary Bane was noted as having been born in August of 1806 in Giles County.
The other children were James C, Mary, Henry, Jane, Nancy, Sarah, and Hannah. There is a gap of about 9 years between Jane born in 1812 and Nancy born in 1820, so the possibility of other children cannot be dismissed. In fact, there are 8 young children listed in the 1820 census for William Bane, and at least two children were born after that census, so there may be more children yet to be found.
At any rate, there was a large number of children living when the family was preparing to celebrate Christmas on December 25, 1829. The family, however, went from excitement to heartbreak when William Bane, the husband and father, drowned or froze to death in a nearby river that very day. I have often thought about Anna, and wondered what she was feeling at that time. They had likely been living a hard-scrabble life, and now there was no husband although son James was about 26 and Henry was about 19. What's a woman to do in this situation?
Well, it appears that Anna moved the family, or went with the family, to Washington Township, Preble County, Ohio, where James Bane is listed as the head of household, aged 20-29. He may have a wife in the same age bracket, but there is a male aged 15-19 and two white females 10-14 who would not have been his children. There is also a female aged 40-49, who would be Anna. Other children of Anna may have been "bound out", either in Virginia or Ohio.
Preble County, Ohio at this time was somewhat involved in the Underground Railroad from Kentucky to Ohio to Canada, but we have no indication of whether the Bane family was involved in this. They may have been pro-slavery, or they may have been anti-slavery but not abolitionist at this time.
We don't know whether it was for political, or for financial, or for family reasons, but by 1840 the family was starting to move to Liberty Township, Wabash County, Indiana. Henry Bane was there in 1840, but Anna is not shown. I haven't located a "likely suspect" for Anna in the 1840 census. Henry, however, was in Liberty Township, Wabash County, Indiana and Anna may have been with a daughter or other relative during this time period. In 1850 she was living with her son William Jackson Bane, in District 52, Huntington County, Indiana, and in 1860 she was living with Philip Martin and his wife (her daughter Hannah) in Liberty Township, Wabash County, Indiana. She would have been about 78 at this time, and there the trail ends.
Anna was born just as the Revolutionary War was ending, and died probably just as the Civil War was underway. We don't know how these wars and the War of 1812 affected her. We don't know what she thought about the new inventions that were developed during her lifetime. We don't know what health problems the family might have had. We don't know their religion, or their educational level. But we do know that Anna persevered, somehow raised her family, and probably helped some of her children raise theirs.
I have great admiration for Anna, a pioneer woman, a wife, mother, widow, and survivor. I'd love to know more about her.
The line of descent is:
Anna Smith-William Bane
Nancy Bane-Joel Martin
Matilda Martin-David Wise
Elizabeth Wise-John W Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Beeks children, grand children, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren
Update 9/14/2015: Anna Smith and William Bane, along with Nancy Bane and Joel Martin, are not related to the Beeks line. The Matilda Martin who married David Wise is a different Matilda Martin. I apologize for the error, but I'm leaving this post up because I think this woman was remarkable. I hope someone who is from her family will find this post and appreciate their heritage.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Beeks line: Llewellen Martin
I started wondering about Llewellen Martin as soon as I found his name. I had a lot of questions about him, including where the "Llewellen" came from. That is typically a Welsh first name. I was surprised to find that the family traces back to Wales, but I found that very interesting. Apparently someone else found it interesting, too...I would love to give credit to the wonderful person who uncovered most of the facts about the Martin family that lead back to Wales, but I have misplaced her name. In correspondence with her, she advised she had been working on this family for 20 years, so she certainly deserves credit! Thank you, unknown researcher!
Llewellen (It's spelled a lot of different ways-I'm leaving it with two L's because that will help me remember his family came from Wales) Martin was born in Charleston, Chester Twp, Pennsylvania to Joel Martin and Anna Thompson. By this time, his family had been in Pennsylvania for about 90 years. He was one of at least 7 children. After his father died in 1775, his mother took the family to the Salt River area of Mercer County, Kentucky, about 1787. I have not yet learned what family group she was traveling with, but surely there was some family involved in this. Mercer County in 1792, when Llewellen married, was still very much frontier country, so it would have taken nerves of steel to move a family at that time unless she was with a family group. Even then, it would have been an exceedingly difficult move, and Anna goes on my "most admired females" list.
By 1792, Llewellen was ready to marry. His wife was Elizabeth Painter or Pantier, daughter of Philip John Pantier and Susanna Devine (she was actually of French Huguenot ancestry, if you go back far enough), and they were married March 10, 1792 in Mercer County, Kentucky. The Martins didn't stay in Mercer County for long. By 1799, they were in Ohio, and several of the Martin brothers signed a petition to Congress asking for a change of law providing for the sale of lands in an area northwest of the Miami River, in Ohio. Several of the Martins, including Llewellen, are listed as having been in Madison Twp, Butler County, Ohio in 1799, where they each made homes for themselves and their families. In 1820, they are listed as being in Lanier Township, Preble County. Preble County was formed from part of Butler County in 1808, so it is possible that the family had not moved. If they did move, it was not very far.
In 1834 the family pulled up stakes and moved yet again, to Wabash County, Indiana. Llewellen had owned farmland in Butler, Preble, and Wabash Counties, but I also found a brief reference to him (unsourced) as a tinsmith and a teacher. I would love to know the source of that snippet, for there may be more information there. Llewellen would be considered a pioneer settler of Wabash County, also, since he was there before 1840. He died in Liberty Township, Wabash County, Indiana on September 15, 1844, and was buried in Eliot Cemetery, Wabash County. His wife, Elizabeth lived about 14 months longer, and died November 25, 1845. (I was puzzled about why she died in Grant County until I learned that she was living with a son, just across the road from the farm she had lived on for 10 or so years, but the road was the dividing line between Wabash and Grant Counties.)
This man didn't just live through the formation of our country; he helped define it. I have such great admiration for these pioneers who were willing to leave their surroundings and perhaps their families, and step out into the unknown, time and time again, as Lewellen did. From the civilized world of Chester County to frontier life in Mercer County must have been a real cultural shock. Then he made two more moves, neither of which would have been easy. Crossing the Ohio River with all of his household goods to get to Ohio, where there were still some tensions with the native Americans, and then on to Wabash County which was still frontier in 1834 rate right up there as a "profile in courage", as far as I'm concerned.
I don't know what role, if any, Lewellen had in the war of 1812, but I would guess that he was at least a member of the militia. I have found hints that his parents may have been Presbyterians, but I haven't found any records yet indicating his religion. Again, I've like to substantiate the "tinsmith and a teacher" hint. As always, there is still much to learn about him.
The line of descent is:
Llewellen Martin-Elizabeth Painter
Joel Martin-Nancy Bane
Matilda Martin-David Wise
Elizabeth Wise-John W Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Beeks children, grandchildren, and further descendants
Update 9/14/2015: I just learned that this line of descent is in error. Llewellen Martin and Elizabeth Painter don't belong in the Beeks line. I've chosen to leave this post up, hoping it will help someone who is related to this couple, but I've learned that the Matilda Martin who married David Wise is a different Matilda Martin.
Llewellen (It's spelled a lot of different ways-I'm leaving it with two L's because that will help me remember his family came from Wales) Martin was born in Charleston, Chester Twp, Pennsylvania to Joel Martin and Anna Thompson. By this time, his family had been in Pennsylvania for about 90 years. He was one of at least 7 children. After his father died in 1775, his mother took the family to the Salt River area of Mercer County, Kentucky, about 1787. I have not yet learned what family group she was traveling with, but surely there was some family involved in this. Mercer County in 1792, when Llewellen married, was still very much frontier country, so it would have taken nerves of steel to move a family at that time unless she was with a family group. Even then, it would have been an exceedingly difficult move, and Anna goes on my "most admired females" list.
By 1792, Llewellen was ready to marry. His wife was Elizabeth Painter or Pantier, daughter of Philip John Pantier and Susanna Devine (she was actually of French Huguenot ancestry, if you go back far enough), and they were married March 10, 1792 in Mercer County, Kentucky. The Martins didn't stay in Mercer County for long. By 1799, they were in Ohio, and several of the Martin brothers signed a petition to Congress asking for a change of law providing for the sale of lands in an area northwest of the Miami River, in Ohio. Several of the Martins, including Llewellen, are listed as having been in Madison Twp, Butler County, Ohio in 1799, where they each made homes for themselves and their families. In 1820, they are listed as being in Lanier Township, Preble County. Preble County was formed from part of Butler County in 1808, so it is possible that the family had not moved. If they did move, it was not very far.
In 1834 the family pulled up stakes and moved yet again, to Wabash County, Indiana. Llewellen had owned farmland in Butler, Preble, and Wabash Counties, but I also found a brief reference to him (unsourced) as a tinsmith and a teacher. I would love to know the source of that snippet, for there may be more information there. Llewellen would be considered a pioneer settler of Wabash County, also, since he was there before 1840. He died in Liberty Township, Wabash County, Indiana on September 15, 1844, and was buried in Eliot Cemetery, Wabash County. His wife, Elizabeth lived about 14 months longer, and died November 25, 1845. (I was puzzled about why she died in Grant County until I learned that she was living with a son, just across the road from the farm she had lived on for 10 or so years, but the road was the dividing line between Wabash and Grant Counties.)
This man didn't just live through the formation of our country; he helped define it. I have such great admiration for these pioneers who were willing to leave their surroundings and perhaps their families, and step out into the unknown, time and time again, as Lewellen did. From the civilized world of Chester County to frontier life in Mercer County must have been a real cultural shock. Then he made two more moves, neither of which would have been easy. Crossing the Ohio River with all of his household goods to get to Ohio, where there were still some tensions with the native Americans, and then on to Wabash County which was still frontier in 1834 rate right up there as a "profile in courage", as far as I'm concerned.
I don't know what role, if any, Lewellen had in the war of 1812, but I would guess that he was at least a member of the militia. I have found hints that his parents may have been Presbyterians, but I haven't found any records yet indicating his religion. Again, I've like to substantiate the "tinsmith and a teacher" hint. As always, there is still much to learn about him.
The line of descent is:
Llewellen Martin-Elizabeth Painter
Joel Martin-Nancy Bane
Matilda Martin-David Wise
Elizabeth Wise-John W Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Beeks children, grandchildren, and further descendants
Update 9/14/2015: I just learned that this line of descent is in error. Llewellen Martin and Elizabeth Painter don't belong in the Beeks line. I've chosen to leave this post up, hoping it will help someone who is related to this couple, but I've learned that the Matilda Martin who married David Wise is a different Matilda Martin.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)