We're always glad for a little bit of information about an ancestor and always hoping for more. I have to admit that there is not one new piece of information in this blog post about David Fay, but perhaps something new will come on line tomorrow, or the day after. It's always a disappointment when all I can find is information that is already in print, but I'm happy to at least get this much written down for our family.
David Fay came from a family who may or may not have been French Huguenots. David's father, John Fay, came to America as an eight year old orphan boy boy, but his mother, Susanna Shattuck, had grandparents and even great grandparents who had come early to Massachusetts Bay Colony.
David was part of a large family. His father and mother had four children, but Susannah had previously been married to Joseph Morse and had ten children with him. Somehow, Susannah survived 14 or more childbirths, and three husbands, for she married Thomas Brigham after John's death. John was a brave man, too, to accept responsibility for the ten children of his new wife.
David was born August grew up in Marlboro or Marlborough Massachusetts, He wasn't born until 1679, but he would have grown up hearing stories of King Philip's War, and of how the family had fled to Watertown until peace was restored. He may have heard about the Praying Indians that lived within the town limits, and he may have learned about the treatment the natives received from the colonists.
On May 1, 1699, David married Sarah Larkin, daughter of John and Joanna Hale Larkin, in Watertown, Massachusetts. This was the town his family had gone to during King Philip's War, and it was here that he found the young lady he married. David was just about 20 and Sarah was just two years older, so this was couple was a little bit young for the time, but they made their marriage work.
David inherited land from his father after John Fay's death in 1690. This would have been held in trust for him until he reached the age of majority, which happened right around the time of his marriage. In 1695, he was still considered a minor at 16 years of age, and asked the court to appoint Joseph Morse, probably his half brother, as his guardian. The court approved.
After their marriage, David and Sarah went to Marlboro, where they lived all their married life. David was starting to accept responsibilities in town. In 1710, he joined the church, which was still quite a lengthy process, as the whole church had to listen to his testimony and then decide whether he was living a plain, Christian life. By no means was this an easy task, so David must have been respected in the town. (Possibly he joined the church so his children could be baptized, but he still would have needed the approval of the congregation,) He was on a committee to seat the church after that. This was a delicate job because seating was assigned based on how long one had been a member of the church, general reputation, and how much money one was giving, The town fathers generally sat at the front and the tenant farmers at the back, for instance.
David supported his family as a weaver, in addition to the farming that he did. He was given a grant of land by the town in 1710. David and Sarah had 12 children together. It was probably fortunate that David had grown up in a large family and had learned to roll with the punches. Sarah was one of five children, so this may have been an adjustment for her, but most women think "We can do just one more" so this may have been her attitude.
Starting in 1727, plans were made for a peaceful division of the town of Marlborough. David and Sarah lived in what became Southborough, so it's not correct to say they moved to Southborough. They lived on the same farm they had always lived on. In Southborough, David was a constable, and a selectman in 1730, 1733, and 1735. We also know that his family was assigned to Isaac Howe's garrison, for protection from the native Americans. This implies that David was probably in the militia, but we don't know whether they ever had to go to the garrison or not, or what alarms and skirmishes he might have been involved in.
David died April 10, 1738, before his fiftieth birthday. I have not found any record of probate or estate records for him, There could be guardian records for some of the younger children, too, but I haven't located them. Sarah died in 1755 at Southborough, without remarrying. She must have been busy, raising that family, and we can hope that the children, as well as her husband's siblings, helped take care of her as she aged.
That's what I know about David Fay. Since he was a Puritan, it's likely that he was literate and could read the Bible to his children, and write as needed. As a weaver, he may have needed to have computational skills also, to keep track of his sales and his inventory. We don't know about his military service and his grandparents haven't been satisfactorily identified. But we do know that he cared for his family, stayed out of trouble, and was elected to public office several times. He was another solid New England ancestor.
The line of descent is:
David Fay-Sarah Larkin
Edward Fay-Sarah Joslin
David Fay-Mary Perrin
Euzebia or Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Friday, January 24, 2020
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Allen line: Edward Corbin of Baltimore County, dates unknown
This is another of those "I don't know much and some of what I do 'know' I don't quite believe" posts. Edward Corbin is our ancestor, however, and so I'm writing about the little I know or suspect, hoping that with these bread crumbs someone will someday be able to pick up his trail. Who knows? I might even learn more, at some point.
Some of our ancestors seem to have stayed beneath the radar for almost their whole lives, poking their heads up just long enough for a quick sighting before again disappearing. Edward Corbin is one of those men. To make matters worse, he named a son Edward, and many trees on line have confused the two. So with very little documentation to back this up, here's a brief summary of Edward.
Edward's parents were Nicholas Corbin and (likely) Alice Bryen or Bryan, He was born probably by 1684, although the year of 1676 is commonly used, with 1678 coming in a close second. We know he was on the tax rolls, and thus 16 or older, in 1701. There are church records for St Paul's Episcopal Church, locally known as Old St Paul's Church, with the births of some of the children of Edward and Jane Wilkinson Corbin. They are believed to have married about 1710. The church mentioned was in a small village at the time, but is now located (different building, but same plot of land) in downtown Baltimore. It's believed that Edward and Jane had at least eight children.
Edward and Jane (daughter of William and Elizabeth Clark Wilkinson) bought and sold land in Baltimore County like it was going out of style. Most of their holdings seem to have been on the north side of the Patapsco River, although some was south of Gunpowder Falls. Based on what I've learned about the economy in this time frame through the stories of other ancestors in this location, it is possible, even likely, that the Corbins had slaves, and it's likely that their main crop was tobacco. I've not yet seen records that would document the slaveholding, and I've only seen one brief mention of tobacco, so don't hold my feet to the fire over this one.
There don't seem to be land records for Edward after 1750, and I've seen a death date of November 30, 1753 for Edward. I have also, much more frequently, seen a death date of November 30, 1770. However, that Edward left a will which survived, and none of the children's names, nor his wife's name, match that of our Edward. Speculation would say this this younger Edward was either the son or the grandson of our Edward.
That is what little we know of Edward. He was a land owner, who apparently turned the 100 acres at Corbin's Hill that he inherited from his father into a much larger estate, not necessarily all in the same location. He was Anglican in religion. We don't know whether he was ever called on to serve in the militia, although it's possible. It's also possible, but pure speculation, that at some point he traveled to England to meet his paternal grandparents or on business, although there is not a shred of evidence to point to that. There is still so much we don't know. We need to keep looking!
The line of descent is:
Edward Corbin-Jane Wilkinson
Mary Jane Corbin-Samuel Lane
Lambert Lane-Nancy Ann Anderson
Nancy Ann Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
Some of our ancestors seem to have stayed beneath the radar for almost their whole lives, poking their heads up just long enough for a quick sighting before again disappearing. Edward Corbin is one of those men. To make matters worse, he named a son Edward, and many trees on line have confused the two. So with very little documentation to back this up, here's a brief summary of Edward.
Edward's parents were Nicholas Corbin and (likely) Alice Bryen or Bryan, He was born probably by 1684, although the year of 1676 is commonly used, with 1678 coming in a close second. We know he was on the tax rolls, and thus 16 or older, in 1701. There are church records for St Paul's Episcopal Church, locally known as Old St Paul's Church, with the births of some of the children of Edward and Jane Wilkinson Corbin. They are believed to have married about 1710. The church mentioned was in a small village at the time, but is now located (different building, but same plot of land) in downtown Baltimore. It's believed that Edward and Jane had at least eight children.
Edward and Jane (daughter of William and Elizabeth Clark Wilkinson) bought and sold land in Baltimore County like it was going out of style. Most of their holdings seem to have been on the north side of the Patapsco River, although some was south of Gunpowder Falls. Based on what I've learned about the economy in this time frame through the stories of other ancestors in this location, it is possible, even likely, that the Corbins had slaves, and it's likely that their main crop was tobacco. I've not yet seen records that would document the slaveholding, and I've only seen one brief mention of tobacco, so don't hold my feet to the fire over this one.
There don't seem to be land records for Edward after 1750, and I've seen a death date of November 30, 1753 for Edward. I have also, much more frequently, seen a death date of November 30, 1770. However, that Edward left a will which survived, and none of the children's names, nor his wife's name, match that of our Edward. Speculation would say this this younger Edward was either the son or the grandson of our Edward.
That is what little we know of Edward. He was a land owner, who apparently turned the 100 acres at Corbin's Hill that he inherited from his father into a much larger estate, not necessarily all in the same location. He was Anglican in religion. We don't know whether he was ever called on to serve in the militia, although it's possible. It's also possible, but pure speculation, that at some point he traveled to England to meet his paternal grandparents or on business, although there is not a shred of evidence to point to that. There is still so much we don't know. We need to keep looking!
The line of descent is:
Edward Corbin-Jane Wilkinson
Mary Jane Corbin-Samuel Lane
Lambert Lane-Nancy Ann Anderson
Nancy Ann Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants
Friday, January 17, 2020
Beeks line: Benjamin Dunham 1681-1715
For a man in the ancestry of Barack Obama, there is still a lot of mystery about him. Was his name actually Singletary? I've not found any reference to that name in the vital records and histories of Woodbridge, New Jersey that I've seen, but many genealogies have him listed as either Dunham alias Singletary or Singletary alias Dunham. That story is too complicated to go into here, especially since I am not confident of the answer. Another mystery is the name of his wife. Many trees list her as Mary Rolph or Rolfe, but I can find no supporting documentation for that. Most experts now give her name only as Mary.
We do know that he was born August 22, 1681, in Woodbridge, New Jersey, the son of Jonathan and Mary Bloomfield Dunham (alias Singletary?). He was one of possibly as many as 12 children born to this couple, so he had lots of companions growing up, even in a small village such as Woodbridge was. His father, Jonathan, was a miller and probably one of the more prosperous people in the town. The Dunhams may had been friendly with the Quakers who also settled in Woodbridge, but our family appears to have been congregationalist in belief, or at least in practice.
Woodbridge was on the frontier when it was settled. There are references to wolf pits built within the township, which actively trapped wolves, and of course the early settlers would have hunted them, or at least had firearms handy, to protect their families. Benjamin's father built a house in 1700 that was built of brick and still stands, known as the Jonathan Singletary Dunham house. If Benjamin wasn't living with another family prior to his marriage, he would have lived here for a few years in his late teens and early twenties.
Marriage records for Benjamin have apparently not been found, which makes it a bit mysterious as to when and where it was decided that he had married Mary Rolfe. However that may be, a marriage evidently occurred about 1705 or 1706, and his wife does seem to have been named Mary.
Of Benjamin's adult life, we know three things. He was considered to be wealthy, he was actively involved in starting an Anglican house of worship and providing a place for a small church to be built, and he served in the militia. I don't yet know his occupation. His impetus for starting the Anglican church seems to be that he was unhappy with the presbyterian government of the church as it was set up at the time, and he failed to see eye to eye with that pastor. The militia would have been called out whenever there was a scare from the native Americans, which did happen from time to time.
The marriage, and Benjamin's life, was a short one, producing just four children. Benjamin died on December 31, 1715 of unspecified causes, in his thirty fifth year. There is an abstract of a will from 1706 that is being accepted as his will, although I haven't read the original. If he wrote the will in 1706 and didn't die until 1715, it makes us wonder whether he survived an early illness or injury that perhaps made him aware of the brevity of life. It's also possible that he died of a lingering illness or condition. Or perhaps he wrote the will during the early months of his marriage, at the request of his wife or in-laws. We just don't know.
I think Benjamin is an interesting man. I'd like to know why he was considered wealthy, what his occupation was, how often he saw military service, and why he decided to become Anglican. There are things we'll never know, but there's always the possibility that more information will come to light.
The line of descent is
Benjamin Dunham-Mary
Jonathan Dunham=Mary Smith
Samuel Dunham=Hannah possibly Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham=Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
We do know that he was born August 22, 1681, in Woodbridge, New Jersey, the son of Jonathan and Mary Bloomfield Dunham (alias Singletary?). He was one of possibly as many as 12 children born to this couple, so he had lots of companions growing up, even in a small village such as Woodbridge was. His father, Jonathan, was a miller and probably one of the more prosperous people in the town. The Dunhams may had been friendly with the Quakers who also settled in Woodbridge, but our family appears to have been congregationalist in belief, or at least in practice.
Woodbridge was on the frontier when it was settled. There are references to wolf pits built within the township, which actively trapped wolves, and of course the early settlers would have hunted them, or at least had firearms handy, to protect their families. Benjamin's father built a house in 1700 that was built of brick and still stands, known as the Jonathan Singletary Dunham house. If Benjamin wasn't living with another family prior to his marriage, he would have lived here for a few years in his late teens and early twenties.
Marriage records for Benjamin have apparently not been found, which makes it a bit mysterious as to when and where it was decided that he had married Mary Rolfe. However that may be, a marriage evidently occurred about 1705 or 1706, and his wife does seem to have been named Mary.
Of Benjamin's adult life, we know three things. He was considered to be wealthy, he was actively involved in starting an Anglican house of worship and providing a place for a small church to be built, and he served in the militia. I don't yet know his occupation. His impetus for starting the Anglican church seems to be that he was unhappy with the presbyterian government of the church as it was set up at the time, and he failed to see eye to eye with that pastor. The militia would have been called out whenever there was a scare from the native Americans, which did happen from time to time.
The marriage, and Benjamin's life, was a short one, producing just four children. Benjamin died on December 31, 1715 of unspecified causes, in his thirty fifth year. There is an abstract of a will from 1706 that is being accepted as his will, although I haven't read the original. If he wrote the will in 1706 and didn't die until 1715, it makes us wonder whether he survived an early illness or injury that perhaps made him aware of the brevity of life. It's also possible that he died of a lingering illness or condition. Or perhaps he wrote the will during the early months of his marriage, at the request of his wife or in-laws. We just don't know.
I think Benjamin is an interesting man. I'd like to know why he was considered wealthy, what his occupation was, how often he saw military service, and why he decided to become Anglican. There are things we'll never know, but there's always the possibility that more information will come to light.
The line of descent is
Benjamin Dunham-Mary
Jonathan Dunham=Mary Smith
Samuel Dunham=Hannah possibly Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham=Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Harshbarger line: George Harter 1801-1854
George Harter was a bit of a traveling man, it seems. And he has confused various researchers, including yours truly. There seem to be two George Harters, each purported to be a son of Gearge and Mary Magdalena Miller Harter. They have two different birthdates. One is September 22, 1795 and the other is September 22, 1801. The later date is supported by the 1850 census, when he was 48 years old. Both birth locations are given as Rockingham County, Virginia, where George and Mary are known to have lived. So, either one birth date, and potentially set of parents, is incorrect, or they had two children named George. This would not be totally unusual. Possibly the first son died but perhaps they gave two children the name of George and used a nickname for one of them. Or perhaps he was born in 1795 but not christened until 1801.
At any rate, George would have been a youth in his teens, possibly as much as 20 years of age when his parents moved from Rockingham County to Licking County, Ohio. The family was there as early as 1817, and George probably helped his father get his land cleared and planted, and the homestead built. But by 1825 he was ready to marry. He chose Elizabeth Geiger, daughter of Anthony and Mark Kirk Geiger, as his bride, and they married on September 8, 1825. (I did find an 1820 census form for a George in Licking County, showing a woman and a child but I am not sure whether this was our George or not. If it was, then his first wife and child must have died before the 1825 marriage.Or perhaps this was the 1795 George who had married by then).
We're not sure exactly when George and Elizabeth moved to Whitley County, Indiana. They were there by 1840. George was taxed on land there in 1838, although that is not necessarily proof that he was living there then. (His land was valued at $98 in Smith Township, and his total state and county tax was $2.38. Elizabeth's father, Anthony, died in Whitley County in 1836, so it is very possible that they had traveled together to their new home. George and Elizabeth had at least six children together, with John being the oldest.
We often forget what it was like for the first settlers of a region. They had to live off the land and from what they brought with them to their new home, while acquiring land, clearing it, planting crops, building shelter and then a home, hunting wolves and whatever other predator animals could threaten his family, while his wife had babies, kept the family fed, cooking and did laundry and took care of the animals, made soap and candles, and did all the things that were necessary to keep a household fed and clothed.
As a further example of life in pioneer days, I found this in the 1907 edition of "History of Whitley County" by Kalin and Maring: (in an 1841 perjury trial related to counterfeiting)..."The jury adjourned to a big black walnut stump to deliberate. Every man in those days was more or less a hunter of wild game and the barking of squirrels and the gobble of wild turkeys caused the bailiff a great deal of trouble in keeping the jury together and attentive to business." George was one of the men on this jury, the first "big" trial in Whitley County.
The 1850 census shows that George was farming a tract of land worth about $2700, and sons John and Henry were also noted as farmers. He had acquired at least 360 acres of land in two separate transactions in 1837 and 1838, in each of which the patent says he is of Licking County, Ohio. It is likely that he purchased the land, cleared it and planted crops, and then went back to Licking County for his family. The land he purchased is on the east edge of Whitley County in Smith township, some of it north of Churubusco and some just south of Churubusco.
The next we hear of George is his death, noted as being March 9, 1854 in Whitley County. We don't know his cause of death, but since he was likely in his early 50s, it wasn't old age. The time of year suggests that it could have been pneumonia, ague, or one of the fevers that early ended the lives of many Whitley County pioneers. I have not found a will or an inventory for him.
George's life doesn't seem to have been impacted by national events, except to the extent that he was looking for land to purchase. He was too young to have been part of the war of 1812, and it's thought that his parents didn't leave Rockingham County until that war was settled. The native Americans had pretty much left the area when the Harters moved on to Whitley County, although of course a few stayed behind. Kilsoquah, the daughter of Chief Little Turtle, was just a few years younger than George and would have likely been known to him, for instance. Even though he didn't serve in the military, as far as we know, he was one of those quiet American heroes, who worked and worshiped
and raised children who would do the same.
The line of descent is:
George Harter-Elizabeth Geiger
John Harter-Mary Bennett
Clara Harter-Emanuel Harshbarger
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks
Their descendants
Update 7/31/2021. I think I've located the right Harter family in Licking County, Ohio and back to Rockingham County, Virginia. I am planning to write another blog post about George's parents.
Friday, January 10, 2020
Harshbarger line: William Cook of Whitley County
It's been a while since I've written about a Harshbarger family ancestor. I thought I'd written about all of the men, but here is William Cook who has not yet been acknowledged as part of the DNA of the Harshbargers. I really know very little about the man, considering that he has only been gone about 142 years, but he lived through interesting times, and left his home in Pennsylvania to come to Ohio and then on to Indiana during relatively early times. In each case, the best of the lands had been acquired by the earliest land speculators and settlers, but good land was still available and the prospects must have seemed bright.
William Cook was born August 8, 1817, probably in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Henry and Catherine Whetstone Cook, and was one of at least eight children of the couple. When William was quite small, probably about 4 years old, his family packed their goods and moved to Stark County, Ohio. Henry was a blacksmith in or near Canton, Ohio and also farmed. Henry ran into business difficulties and filed for bankruptcy about 1842, and was buying or leasing land in Whitley County, Indiana the following year. He may have planted crops, for he was a farmer, but he must have returned to Stark County where by 1850 he was listed as a blacksmith, with his home and land valued at $27,000. This was quite a turn around for a man who had been bankrupt just a few years earlier.
William lived in Marlboro Township, Stark County, in the 1850 census but he was not a man of means. His property was valued at $1200. William had married Elizabeth Brown, daughter of David and Barbara Brothers (also seen as Bruder) Brown on December 31, 1837 and by the 1850 there were three children, Sarah, Barbara, and Alfred. Also living in the household was "Barbara" Brown, age 66, who would be Elizabeth's mother. I have seen references to Elizabeth as Betsy, which somehow makes her seem a little less stern and more cheerful. I don't know that William ever used a nickname, though.
Sometime between 1850 and 1860 the Henry Cook household and the William Cook household all moved to Whitley County. There was already a Henry Cook in Whitley County in the 1850 census and he was of the right age to be Henry's son and William's brother, but he was too young to be the Henry Cook connected to the land deals earlier in the 1840s.
William and Betsy lived in Columbia City, Whitley County in 1860 and owned land valued at $300 with personal property valued at $80. It sounds like they were just getting started. By 1870, only Sarah, the oldest, was left at home, William was still farming, with property now valued at $1200. The 1880 census doesn't show a value but his son Alfred and his family is living there also. It is from this census that we learn that William and Betsy could both read, but they couldn't write. The deeds I have copies of show that they each signed with a mark.
One of the deeds is interesting. In it, he couple is selling (for $1) land to their daughter Barbara, who is now Barbara Withers. There is a lengthy description of the land, but what is interesting is that the deed was notarized by Thomas Marshall, who was later the Vice President of the United States. This deed was from 1878. Eight years earlier the Cooks had sold land to William Withers, who was their son in law. (Barbara Cook married William Withers in 1867).
William died April 3, 1888 and was buried at Bethel Cemetery, just outside Columbia City. He seems to have not left a will and I've not found estate papers, although there should be some. Elizabeth outlived him by 11 years and died before March 8. 1899. Sarah, their first daughter, apparently never married and died at the age of 83, single. She was a retired housekeeper.
This family seems to have been one of those families that stays out of sight for the most part. William may have voted, but he evidently did not take an active role in government. He and Betsy worked hard and helped their family survive, probably at a higher economic level than they attained. They may not have had riches, but they lived through the War with Mexico, the Civil War, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and James Garfield, and they saw forests give way to factories and farms. Their times were fascinating and their lives were challenging.
The line of descent is:
William Cook-Elizabeth Brown
Barbara Cook-William A Withers
William Withers-Della Kemery
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks
Their descendants
William Cook was born August 8, 1817, probably in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Henry and Catherine Whetstone Cook, and was one of at least eight children of the couple. When William was quite small, probably about 4 years old, his family packed their goods and moved to Stark County, Ohio. Henry was a blacksmith in or near Canton, Ohio and also farmed. Henry ran into business difficulties and filed for bankruptcy about 1842, and was buying or leasing land in Whitley County, Indiana the following year. He may have planted crops, for he was a farmer, but he must have returned to Stark County where by 1850 he was listed as a blacksmith, with his home and land valued at $27,000. This was quite a turn around for a man who had been bankrupt just a few years earlier.
William lived in Marlboro Township, Stark County, in the 1850 census but he was not a man of means. His property was valued at $1200. William had married Elizabeth Brown, daughter of David and Barbara Brothers (also seen as Bruder) Brown on December 31, 1837 and by the 1850 there were three children, Sarah, Barbara, and Alfred. Also living in the household was "Barbara" Brown, age 66, who would be Elizabeth's mother. I have seen references to Elizabeth as Betsy, which somehow makes her seem a little less stern and more cheerful. I don't know that William ever used a nickname, though.
Sometime between 1850 and 1860 the Henry Cook household and the William Cook household all moved to Whitley County. There was already a Henry Cook in Whitley County in the 1850 census and he was of the right age to be Henry's son and William's brother, but he was too young to be the Henry Cook connected to the land deals earlier in the 1840s.
William and Betsy lived in Columbia City, Whitley County in 1860 and owned land valued at $300 with personal property valued at $80. It sounds like they were just getting started. By 1870, only Sarah, the oldest, was left at home, William was still farming, with property now valued at $1200. The 1880 census doesn't show a value but his son Alfred and his family is living there also. It is from this census that we learn that William and Betsy could both read, but they couldn't write. The deeds I have copies of show that they each signed with a mark.
One of the deeds is interesting. In it, he couple is selling (for $1) land to their daughter Barbara, who is now Barbara Withers. There is a lengthy description of the land, but what is interesting is that the deed was notarized by Thomas Marshall, who was later the Vice President of the United States. This deed was from 1878. Eight years earlier the Cooks had sold land to William Withers, who was their son in law. (Barbara Cook married William Withers in 1867).
William died April 3, 1888 and was buried at Bethel Cemetery, just outside Columbia City. He seems to have not left a will and I've not found estate papers, although there should be some. Elizabeth outlived him by 11 years and died before March 8. 1899. Sarah, their first daughter, apparently never married and died at the age of 83, single. She was a retired housekeeper.
This family seems to have been one of those families that stays out of sight for the most part. William may have voted, but he evidently did not take an active role in government. He and Betsy worked hard and helped their family survive, probably at a higher economic level than they attained. They may not have had riches, but they lived through the War with Mexico, the Civil War, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and James Garfield, and they saw forests give way to factories and farms. Their times were fascinating and their lives were challenging.
The line of descent is:
William Cook-Elizabeth Brown
Barbara Cook-William A Withers
William Withers-Della Kemery
Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks
Their descendants
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Holbrook line: Alexis Lemmon 1718-1786
We know more about the end of Alexis Lemmon than we do about his beginnings. The birth date I've used above is speculative, apparently based on his age when he is first spotted in Maryland. The family tradition is that he was the son of John and Elizabeth Smith Lemmon, who were from "northern Ireland". I've not found a record that would substantiate this, nor have I found a record of John Lemmon's death, but I've only skimmed the surface in looking for that particular information.
The first we know of Alexis is that he had land, called simply, "Lemon's," 100 acres on July 2, 1741. He acquired more land gradually, called, Lemon's enlargement, Battle Array, and Lemmon's Lot, totaling about 325 acres. Adding new land would fit the typical profile of a tobacco farmer, which was the main crop during the first part of the 18th century. Gradually, though, wheat and corn took over as the main crops in the area.
Alexis married Martha, probably Merryman, in December of 1739. It's thought that Martha was the mother of all eight of their children, but she died in 1776 and Alexis married Rachel Cottrell Jones the following year. Some of Alexis and Martha's children served in the Revolutionary War, so talk abound the table must have been lively. We don't know much of Alexis's political beliefs, although he took the oath of allegiance to the province of Maryland in 1778. In 1768, he had signed a Joppa petition, asking that the county seat be moved from Joppa to Baltimore. He doesn't, however, seem to have been a radical patriot at all.
The subject of this post, Alexis (also seen as Electius) would have been of the right age to serve during the French and Indian War but I've not found any record that he did so. Still, his neighbors very well may have served, and he would have heard stories to tell his children and his children's children.
Alexis died on or before May 30, 1786, probably on his farm in Baltimore County. His inventory reveals that he was a slaveholder, "owning" six slaves at the time of his death. They ranged in age from 33 to 2 months old, and were called Sugar, Harvey, Abraham, Henry, Peter, and Temperance. The total value of these "Negroes", as listed in the inventory, was 270 pounds, out of a total estate of about 440 pounds. The inventory included farm animals, crops, tools and implements, as well as perhaps more household goods than poor people would have had, and old books and spectacles.
I haven't yet found church records for Alexis, but there were several parishes in Baltimore County and not all the records survived. I'd like to know his religion. I'd also like to know whether he served in any kind of militia, in any conflict, and whether he served in public office. Google has a lot of books about Baltimore County listed that are not on line, so a trip to the Allen County Public Library is in order.
The line of descent is
Alexis Lemmon-Martha Merryman
Alexis Lemmon-Rachel Stansbury
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
May Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
The first we know of Alexis is that he had land, called simply, "Lemon's," 100 acres on July 2, 1741. He acquired more land gradually, called, Lemon's enlargement, Battle Array, and Lemmon's Lot, totaling about 325 acres. Adding new land would fit the typical profile of a tobacco farmer, which was the main crop during the first part of the 18th century. Gradually, though, wheat and corn took over as the main crops in the area.
Alexis married Martha, probably Merryman, in December of 1739. It's thought that Martha was the mother of all eight of their children, but she died in 1776 and Alexis married Rachel Cottrell Jones the following year. Some of Alexis and Martha's children served in the Revolutionary War, so talk abound the table must have been lively. We don't know much of Alexis's political beliefs, although he took the oath of allegiance to the province of Maryland in 1778. In 1768, he had signed a Joppa petition, asking that the county seat be moved from Joppa to Baltimore. He doesn't, however, seem to have been a radical patriot at all.
The subject of this post, Alexis (also seen as Electius) would have been of the right age to serve during the French and Indian War but I've not found any record that he did so. Still, his neighbors very well may have served, and he would have heard stories to tell his children and his children's children.
Alexis died on or before May 30, 1786, probably on his farm in Baltimore County. His inventory reveals that he was a slaveholder, "owning" six slaves at the time of his death. They ranged in age from 33 to 2 months old, and were called Sugar, Harvey, Abraham, Henry, Peter, and Temperance. The total value of these "Negroes", as listed in the inventory, was 270 pounds, out of a total estate of about 440 pounds. The inventory included farm animals, crops, tools and implements, as well as perhaps more household goods than poor people would have had, and old books and spectacles.
I haven't yet found church records for Alexis, but there were several parishes in Baltimore County and not all the records survived. I'd like to know his religion. I'd also like to know whether he served in any kind of militia, in any conflict, and whether he served in public office. Google has a lot of books about Baltimore County listed that are not on line, so a trip to the Allen County Public Library is in order.
The line of descent is
Alexis Lemmon-Martha Merryman
Alexis Lemmon-Rachel Stansbury
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
May Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, January 3, 2020
Holbrook line: Charles Gorsuch Jr. 1687-1747
A funny thing happens on the way to writing a blog post sometimes. I find that I don't trust the information I have, and a little bit of digging shows the reason why. I find conflicting information, or proof that my information is wrong, and sometimes I find a bit of drama in the genealogy world.
I found what I now believe is an error in my information about Charles Gorsuch Jr's marriage(s). But let's start at the beginning. Charles Gorsuch was born in 1686 or 1687 in Baltimore County, Maryland, to Charles and Sarah Cole Gorusch. He was one of at least four children, and he grew up pretty much where Baltimore is now situated. In fact, his father is credited with helping found the town of Baltimore. At the time, of course, it was just a very small village, but the harbor was growing in response to the need of planters to ship their goods, especially tobacco.
Charles grew up and married, possibly about 1712, to a woman associated with the name of Rogers. She may have died in childbirth, leaving Charles with three young children;s John, William and Hannah probably would not remember their mother.
Charles soon married his second wife, Sarah Cole, who was his mother's niece. They had eight children together, so the family was approaching "good-sized", even for that day. Charles seems to have been a planter, also, although there is not a lot of evidence to support that statement. His first seven children with Sarah were baptized at St Paul's Parish, Baltimore County. The last daughter, Rachel, was likely born after Charles and Sarah had moved to Western Run.
Charles died before June 17, 1748, when an inventory was filed by Sarah, showing a personal estate of 314 pounds, 12 shillings, and 6 pence. There is a note in the estate papers that John, William, and Hannah, wife of Thomas Stansbury, had received their share in the life time of the deceased, so this final estate was to be divided between the eight children, after (I'm assuming here, I haven't found the papers to read them myself) taking care of Sarah. His inventory includes one Negro man, one Negro woman, and immediately after that, "a parcel of new goods", all valued about the same. Most of the inventory is for farm animals, implements, and crops. There is one entry for "gunns" but I found nothing for books. The feeling I have is that this was not a rich household, but that there was enough to go around, as far as dishes and furniture go. He had quite a bit of wool and woolen goods, and some tobacco, so this was a working farm.
I need to do some more digging, to figure out what land he still owned when he died, and where it came from. I'd like to verify that he was not a Quaker-there seems to be some confusion about that in the records. His children by Sarah were baptized at St Paul's. She was not a Quaker, then, so it seems that Charles would not have been, either, or he would have been disowned. I'd also like to know whether Charles ever served in the militia, and whether he went on any military expeditions. If he could summarize his life in just two or three sentences, what would he have thought was remarkable about his life? And most of all, I'd like to know who his first wife was. She is our ancestor, after all!
The line of descent is
Charles Gorsuch-unknown
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
I found what I now believe is an error in my information about Charles Gorsuch Jr's marriage(s). But let's start at the beginning. Charles Gorsuch was born in 1686 or 1687 in Baltimore County, Maryland, to Charles and Sarah Cole Gorusch. He was one of at least four children, and he grew up pretty much where Baltimore is now situated. In fact, his father is credited with helping found the town of Baltimore. At the time, of course, it was just a very small village, but the harbor was growing in response to the need of planters to ship their goods, especially tobacco.
Charles grew up and married, possibly about 1712, to a woman associated with the name of Rogers. She may have died in childbirth, leaving Charles with three young children;s John, William and Hannah probably would not remember their mother.
Charles soon married his second wife, Sarah Cole, who was his mother's niece. They had eight children together, so the family was approaching "good-sized", even for that day. Charles seems to have been a planter, also, although there is not a lot of evidence to support that statement. His first seven children with Sarah were baptized at St Paul's Parish, Baltimore County. The last daughter, Rachel, was likely born after Charles and Sarah had moved to Western Run.
Charles died before June 17, 1748, when an inventory was filed by Sarah, showing a personal estate of 314 pounds, 12 shillings, and 6 pence. There is a note in the estate papers that John, William, and Hannah, wife of Thomas Stansbury, had received their share in the life time of the deceased, so this final estate was to be divided between the eight children, after (I'm assuming here, I haven't found the papers to read them myself) taking care of Sarah. His inventory includes one Negro man, one Negro woman, and immediately after that, "a parcel of new goods", all valued about the same. Most of the inventory is for farm animals, implements, and crops. There is one entry for "gunns" but I found nothing for books. The feeling I have is that this was not a rich household, but that there was enough to go around, as far as dishes and furniture go. He had quite a bit of wool and woolen goods, and some tobacco, so this was a working farm.
I need to do some more digging, to figure out what land he still owned when he died, and where it came from. I'd like to verify that he was not a Quaker-there seems to be some confusion about that in the records. His children by Sarah were baptized at St Paul's. She was not a Quaker, then, so it seems that Charles would not have been, either, or he would have been disowned. I'd also like to know whether Charles ever served in the militia, and whether he went on any military expeditions. If he could summarize his life in just two or three sentences, what would he have thought was remarkable about his life? And most of all, I'd like to know who his first wife was. She is our ancestor, after all!
The line of descent is
Charles Gorsuch-unknown
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
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