I'm fortunate to live within about 35 miles of the Allen County Public Library, and I try to get there every four weeks, although sometimes it's more like six weeks, to do research there. Sometimes I hit gold, sometimes I find nothing, and many times I find bits and pieces that need to be researched to find out if they are gold, or fool's gold.
Saturday was one of those days. I think I've hit gold, and possibly some fool's gold, but I'm not entirely sure which is which. I went to the library specifically to start researching ancestors who were in Virginia during the American Revolutionary War. I have two ancestors that I know were there and were veterans, James Allen who died in Goochland County, Va in 1801 and Moses Parrish, who died in 1800, also in in Goochland County, Virginia in 1800. I was searching for clues that might lead me to two more ancestors, Michael Dunn and John Campbell, who are believed to have also been in the Revolutionary War, but so far I have been unable to identify them or to find any records for those two men.
What I did find was some tantalizing information about James Allen. First, I found that he was also an ensign earlier, as James Allen from Goochland County is listed in the book "Virginia's Colonial Soldiers" by Lloyd Dewitt Bockstruck on an August 21, 1769 muster. I'm not sure what the militia would have been called for, this long before the war broke out but at this time James would have been a good British subject. I also found a William Allen, who was a captain in Goochland County in 1740. I wonder if this is some relation? One of the sons of James Allen and Sarah Crowdas was named William, and James Allen who married Tabath Parrish also had a son named William.
I found James,Allen listed in the 6th Virginia regiment along with Isaac, George, and Henry Allen. There was also a Richard Allen in the 6th V.R., but I'm not sure whether or not he was from Goochland. The younger James also named a son Isaac, and the older James had a son named George. So I'm beginning to think that there may be a connection between at least James and Isaac and George, and possibly William who was in the militia in 1740. It's only a theory at this point, but it seems worth pursuing.
(Background: The 6th Virginia Regiment was formed in 1775 at Williamsburg and participated in the Battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth. They were also at Valley Forge. This doesn't mean our Allens were at all these battles, but I was able to find the payroll records for Isaac Allen, and it appears that he at least was at most of these battles. He was discharged in February of 1778, but I don't yet know why. If the record of James was similar, then he would have served in these battles and somehow survived. I need to find out what more I need to know to do more research about James!)
I found a query in the Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly asking for the parentage of James Allen Senior, dated back in 1964 or 1965. So people have been looking for his parents for at least 50 years, and we seem no closer to finding the answer than we ever were. But clues like this may help.
I want to research these Allens who seems to share names and at least county locations, to see if I can find that connection. I think I'll start with Isaac, because that is a less common name than James or William, and see what I can find out. I also want to learn more about James, who was apparently an officer in the militia and then in the Revolutionary War, to see where he may have been and when, if ever, he was involved in fighting. And maybe sometime along the way, I'll stumble across Michael Dunn or John Campbell, although I think they were Irish or Scotch-Irish and likely more in Augusta County, or possibly even Fincastle County (Kentucky) during the War.
I found a marvelous resource at the library called "Virginia in the American Revolutions-A Source Guide for Genealogists and Historians" which I looked up on the DAR website. It seems to be available only there, but it is definitely now on my wish list. It's over 1300 pages with sources and maps and background information. I don't think I can do this research without it! (My husband also has ancestors from Virginia whom I need to research for a possible Revolutionary War connection, so I really need this book!)
If someone reading this has any additional information about any of the Allens mentioned in this blogpost, or any of the other people I briefly mentioned, I would love to hear from you. My email is
happygenealogydancingATgmailDOTcom.
Here's the Allen line of descent:
James Allen-Sarah Crowdas
James Allen-Tabath Parrish
Archibald Allen-Margaret Dunn
George Allen-Nancy McCoy
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Virginia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virginia. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Harshbarger line: John Gregory 1623-1678, Immigrant to Virginia
Whoa, Nellie! Why am I writing about a Virginia line when I'm writing about the very German/Swiss Harshbargers in this post? How did the tree get this tangled up? And is it correct?
Well, I can answer two of the three questions. The Harshbarger line is mostly German, but there is one line that comes out of Virginia-Maryland, and that is the one we're discussing here. The tree got this tangled because we are writing of families who came to America, the great melting pot, and eventually people of German heritage married people of English or Dutch or whatever heritage. The process is still continuing in this generation. It's probably a good thing, but genealogically speaking, it's a bit of a surprise.
As to whether it is correct or not, I offer a disclaimer: I have not yet researched this line to any great degree. It could be totally wrong. But other people, especially "Janet" of Janet's genealogy, have at least researched John Gregory, to the point that I am confident that he has been identified correctly. Is there an error in a generation closer to us? Possibly. But for now, this is the best evidence that I have available, and he's on the Harshbarger tree until I learn otherwise.
John Gregory was born in 1623 in Langton, England, and died in 1676 in Virginia. There is some dispute about the parents of John, generally given as Roger Gregory and Margaret Thornton. More research needs to be done to verify his parents.He appears to have come to America as a young-ish man by 1653. It is possible that he was married previously, but the wife we know of in America was Elizabeth Bishop, the daughter of John Bishop. John and Elizabeth had at least five children together; John, Richard, Robert, Ann and Mary, all born in Virginia. I have not yet established the parentage of Elizabeth, but she was either born in the Colony or came at a very young age.
It's not clear what John did for a living, although land and heifers are mentioned in his will. He likely farmed. The puzzle about the will is that he didn't mention his children at all, but apparently left everything to his siblings. His wife died a year before he did, but why would none of the children have been mentioned? Is this the correct will? There were apparently two sets of John Gregory (Senior and Junior) in Rappahannock County at the same time, so I'm not sure whether this is correct or not.
Still, with all the questions, it's exciting to think that a Harshbarger ancestor was one of those who lived through those early days of Indian troubles, wolf bounties, food shortages, and other wilderness woes to help build what became the state of Virginia. We continue to salute and honor the many Pennsylvania ancestors, but let's not forget that there were others, elsewhere, and let's continue to work to identify them and tell their stories, too.
The unproven line of descent is:
John Gregory Elizabeth Bishop
Ann Gregory-Thomas Edmundson
James Edmundson-Judith Allaman
John Edmundson-Mary Boughan
Susanna Edmundson-Thomas Wyatt
John Wyatt-Alice Gordon
Jean Wyatt-William Farmer
Margaret Farmer-Solomon Bennett
Mary Bennett-John Harter (aha! back to the Germans!)
Clara Harter-Emmanuel Harshbarger
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their children, grand children, and great grandchildren
As always, there are people out there who know more than I do about this line. Please write and set me straight, and I'll be happy to post a correction to this blog.
Well, I can answer two of the three questions. The Harshbarger line is mostly German, but there is one line that comes out of Virginia-Maryland, and that is the one we're discussing here. The tree got this tangled because we are writing of families who came to America, the great melting pot, and eventually people of German heritage married people of English or Dutch or whatever heritage. The process is still continuing in this generation. It's probably a good thing, but genealogically speaking, it's a bit of a surprise.
As to whether it is correct or not, I offer a disclaimer: I have not yet researched this line to any great degree. It could be totally wrong. But other people, especially "Janet" of Janet's genealogy, have at least researched John Gregory, to the point that I am confident that he has been identified correctly. Is there an error in a generation closer to us? Possibly. But for now, this is the best evidence that I have available, and he's on the Harshbarger tree until I learn otherwise.
John Gregory was born in 1623 in Langton, England, and died in 1676 in Virginia. There is some dispute about the parents of John, generally given as Roger Gregory and Margaret Thornton. More research needs to be done to verify his parents.He appears to have come to America as a young-ish man by 1653. It is possible that he was married previously, but the wife we know of in America was Elizabeth Bishop, the daughter of John Bishop. John and Elizabeth had at least five children together; John, Richard, Robert, Ann and Mary, all born in Virginia. I have not yet established the parentage of Elizabeth, but she was either born in the Colony or came at a very young age.
It's not clear what John did for a living, although land and heifers are mentioned in his will. He likely farmed. The puzzle about the will is that he didn't mention his children at all, but apparently left everything to his siblings. His wife died a year before he did, but why would none of the children have been mentioned? Is this the correct will? There were apparently two sets of John Gregory (Senior and Junior) in Rappahannock County at the same time, so I'm not sure whether this is correct or not.
Still, with all the questions, it's exciting to think that a Harshbarger ancestor was one of those who lived through those early days of Indian troubles, wolf bounties, food shortages, and other wilderness woes to help build what became the state of Virginia. We continue to salute and honor the many Pennsylvania ancestors, but let's not forget that there were others, elsewhere, and let's continue to work to identify them and tell their stories, too.
The unproven line of descent is:
John Gregory Elizabeth Bishop
Ann Gregory-Thomas Edmundson
James Edmundson-Judith Allaman
John Edmundson-Mary Boughan
Susanna Edmundson-Thomas Wyatt
John Wyatt-Alice Gordon
Jean Wyatt-William Farmer
Margaret Farmer-Solomon Bennett
Mary Bennett-John Harter (aha! back to the Germans!)
Clara Harter-Emmanuel Harshbarger
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
Their children, grand children, and great grandchildren
As always, there are people out there who know more than I do about this line. Please write and set me straight, and I'll be happy to post a correction to this blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)