Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Jennie and Andrew Mitchell, Missionaries

I knew that many in my mother's family were preachers, but I really didn't know about the great numbers of missionaries who have served all over the world. This video features Jennie and Andrew Mitchell, their family, and the Go Ye Fellowship, a missionary sending organization founded in California in 1932.

Below the video is Andrew Mitchell's obituary, which tells us that all six of his children were ministers, and five of them were foreign missionaries.

If you would like to see some of the inspirational plaques he designed, go to http://www.mitchellart.org/.  




Obituary courtesy of Mary Morken on Ancestry.com. Used with her kind permission. 




Andrew is my second cousin, twice removed. This is how we are connected:

Andrew Edgar Mitchell (1877 - 1964)
2nd cousin 2x removed

Martha Kinney (1846 - 1938)
Mother of Andrew Edgar Mitchell

Daniel Kinney (1799 - )
Father of Martha Kinney

Stephen KINNEY (1771 - 1837)
Father of Daniel Kinney

John Shepherd KINNEY (1802 - 1872)
Son of Stephen KINNEY

Sarah Ann KINNEY (1842 - 1935)
Daughter of John Shepherd KINNEY

David Jewett CRABTREE Sr. (1875 - 1954)
Son of Sarah Ann KINNEY

Elva Myrtle CRABTREE (1914 - 1998)
Daughter of David Jewett CRABTREE Sr.

Clair Marie Harris
You are the daughter of Elva Myrtle CRABTREE

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

More Famous Ancestors: American Presidents

Cousin Richard
From Biographyhttps://www.biography.com/people/richard-nixon-9424076


I'm still checking for famous ancestors via the WikiTree Relationship Finder, and am surprised to learn how many U.S. Presidents are my relatives.

I went down through the whole list of 45 in order, while nervously eyeing some of the more modern Presidents at the end of the list. It was almost a relief to find that the family trees from Jimmy Carter to the present are all private. However, Richard Nixon turns out to be my 10th cousin. He might be yours, too--I'll be happy to share him.

Here are my famous Presidential relatives, in chronological order:

William Henry Harrison. 7th cousin, 5 x removed. *

Millard Fillmore. 7th cousin, 5 x removed.

Ulysses S. Grant. 5th cousin, 4 x removed.

Rutherford B. Hayes. 6th cousin, 4 x removed.

James Garfield. 11th cousin, twice removed.

Grover Cleveland. 8th cousin, 4 x removed.

Benjamin Harrison. 9th cousin, 3 x removed.

Theodore Roosevelt. 8th cousin, 3 x removed.

William H. Taft. 9th cousin, twice removed.

Calvin Coolidge. 8th cousin, once removed.

Herbert Hoover. 6th cousin, 3 x removed.

Franklin Roosevelt. 8th cousin, once removed.

Richard Nixon. 10th cousin. We share a 9th great grandfather, John Newhall, who was born about 1557 and died about 1605 in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England.

Gerald Ford. 8th cousin, once removed.

#######

*Understand the Difference Between Second Cousins and Cousins Once Removed. https://www.simplemost.com/difference-second-cousins-cousins-removed/

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Degory Priest, Mayflower Passenger--Related to Me?

From Wikimedia Commons: Pub. by Smith's Inc., Plymouth, Mass. Tichnor Bros. Inc., Boston, Mass. - Boston Public Library Tichnor Brothers collection #61532, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46122563


Is it possible that I am descended from one of the 102 Mayflower passengers who sailed in 1620 from Plymouth, England to the shores of America? Perhaps, or perhaps not--but it's an intriguing thought.

WikiTree, a free online collaborative database for genealogists, has published a list of Mayflower passengers and a way to find their relationship with anyone else. Here are my results:

Degory Priest (c.1579-c.1621) is the 9th great grandfather of Clair (Uncertain)
1. Clair is the daughter of Elva (Crabtree) Rodriguez 
2. Elva is the daughter of David Jewett (Crabb) Crabtree Sr. 
3. David is the son of Sarah Ann Kinney 
4. Sarah is the daughter of John Shepherd Kinney 
5. John Shepherd is the son of Stephen Kinney 
6. Stephen is the son of Israel Kinney 
7. Israel is the son of Daniel Kenney 
8. Daniel is the son of Mary (Richards) Kinne 
9. Mary is the daughter of Susan Sarah (Pratt) Richards [uncertain] 
10. Susan is the daughter of Marah (Priest) Pratt [unknown confidence] 
11. Marah is the daughter of Degory Priest [unknown confidence] 
This makes Degory the ninth great grandfather of Clair.
***
Why the uncertainty and "unknown confidence?" Since I haven't researched those relationships, which were supplied by the WikiTree database, I can't really say, but I am guessing that there is no clear documentation proving them. 
You must remember that according to Family History Daily there are probably 35 million living Mayflower descendants. Although I am honored to possibly be one of them, I have lots of company!

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

How I Am [Somewhat] Related to Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton

If you have ever wondered if you might be related to someone famous, just visit WikiTree, a free and collaborative genealogical community, and enter the information for your family tree. WikiTree has a cool feature that will spell out your relationship with practically anyone you can think of.

Of course, there are two ways people can be connected--by blood or through marriage. American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and I are not connected by blood, but WikiTree has laid out how we are connected by marriage through my father's line--and we are just 17 degrees apart. 

According to WikiTree: "14,141,698 people are connected within 100 degrees of each other on our global family tree."

For an explanation of how the Connection Finder works, just go to https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Connection_Finder

Alexander Hamilton's connection to me:

Alexander Hamilton ➡️ his wife, Elizabeth Schuyler ➡️ her brother, Philip Schuyler ➡️ his wife, Mary Sawyer ➡️ her father, Micajah Sawyer ➡️his father, Enoch Sawyer ➡️
his father, Stephen Sawyer ➡️ his sister, Ruth Sawyer ➡️ her son, Philip Morse ➡️his daughter,
Mary Morse ➡️ her son, Asa Emerson ➡️ his daughter, Lydia Emerson ➡️ her son, George
Tupper ➡️ his daughter, Juliaett Tupper ➡️ her husband (my great grandfather), Oscar Ellis ➡️ his daughter (my grandmother), Eva Ellis ➡️ her son (my father), Daniel Harris ➡️ his daughter, 
Clair Harris Zarges (me). 


We can also look at the relationship with photos, paintings, and links to profiles of some the people involved:


Alexander Hamilton

Elizabeth Schuyler
(his wife)→
Philip Schuyler
(her brother)→
Mary Sawyer
(his wife)→
Micajah Sawyer
(her father)→
Enoch Sawyer
(his father)→
Stephen Sawyer
(his father)→
Ruth Sawyer
(his sister)→
Philip Morse
(her son)→
Mary Morse
(his daughter)→
Asa Emerson
(her son)→
Lydia Emerson
(his daughter)→
George Tupper
(her son)→
Juliaett Tupper
(his daughter)→
Oscar Ellis
(her husband)→
Eva Ellis
(his daughter)→
Daniel Harris
(her son)→
Clair Harris
(his daughter)

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Woodstock, Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada


Elva and Dan, late 1950s


My parents, Elva Crabtree and Daniel Harris, were married in Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada on Dec. 21, 1940. Here is their marriage record:



For a little historical background, my father grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts. My mother's family lived at various times on the Canadian side of the border, and on the American side in Aroostook County, Maine. They surely passed through this customs stations many times. 

From The Collectors. A History of Canadian Customs and Excise, by David McIntosh. .
 Published by NC Press Ltd in association with Revenue Canada, Customs and Excise and the Canadian Government Publishing Centre, 1984.
I believe that my parents met in New Hampshire while working summer jobs. I'm not sure, though. I wish that I had asked them more questions!

I have never been to Woodstock, or to New Brunswick, for that matter. I wanted to see what it looked like in 1940. I wasn't able to find a photo for that date, but did find one from 1900 and one modern bird's eye view. 
1900

Modern view

Here's another modern view, this time of Main Street at sunset.


This is a farm in the countryside outside of Woodstock. 



Finally, I can tell that the people of Woodstock are very fond of their town when I read this:

I apologize for not having a source; I believe this was posted on Facebook

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Signers of the Exeter Combination


This is the story of how an ancestor from my mother's side of the family and one from my father's side of the family were in the same place at the same time: Exeter, NH, 1638.

Signature page from the Exeter Combination (6)

The Exeter Combination was one of the founding documents of the town of Exeter, New Hampshire. Here is a bit of explanation, written by the curator of the Exeter Historical Society:
"Exeter’s population decided in the spring of 1639 to send notice to the British authorities that they intended to govern themselves by combining together. The document created, called the Exeter Combination, pledged loyalty to the King and God and clearly differentiated themselves from Massachusetts, even though they intended to use Massachusetts laws as their model. This document was signed on “Mon. 5th, d. 4th 1639,” which, when decoded into modern terminology, means it was signed on the July 4, 1639 — a rather happy coincidence with our later national holiday." (1)
Edward Chase, Jr. wrote:
"The government thus set up endured for five years. It never had recognized jurisdiction over the whole of the area covered in the Indian Deed [a 30-square mile piece of land originally granted by the native Indians], but it did control the area of the present-day towns of Exeter, Newmarket, Newfields, Brentwood, Epping and Fremont."  (2)

Why am I so interested in this ancient document? Among the 35 freemen of Exeter who signed were two of my ancestors, representing both my mother's side of the family and my father's side. Not only that, but the new 1638 Exeter government controlled the area that included modern-day Fremont, where I served as school librarian for several years. 

I would never have realized that two of my ancestors were in the same place at the same time if it hadn't been for that curious document name--Exeter Combination. It showed up twice in family tree research for my ancestors, and I later realized that these many-times great grandfathers were from both sides of my family tree. Here they are:


From Find a Grave memorial (3)

Elder William Wentworth (1615-1697), my 7th great grandfather*
Born in England, William Wentworth came first to Boston and then to Exeter. He later moved to Wells, Maine and to Dover, New Hampshire, where he was an elder in the Dover Church for 40 years. (3)

A Wentworth family history notes about William:

                                                                                                                         (4)

From Wikipedia: 

"Wentworth is notable for the large number of his descendants who reached great prominence in the American colonies and in the United States: His grandson John Wentworth was the Lieutenant Governor of the Province of New Hampshire at a time when the governor was also the governor of Massachusetts. New Hampshire governors Benning Wentworth and Sir John Wentworth are also descendants, as were Judge John Wentworth and his son John Wentworth Jr., a New Hampshire representative to the Continental Congress Chicago mayor and U.S. Representative John Wentworth was not only a descendant of Elder William, but compiled the extensive genealogy on the Wentworth family, considered one of the best family histories ever written."

From Find a Grave Memorial (3)


Edmund Littlefield (1592-1661). my 10th great grandfather*
Edmund was also born in England, came to Exeter, NH and eventually moved to Wells, Maine, where he died in 1661. An interesting fact: Edmund's daughter, Hannah, married Peter Clayes (1640-1708); after she died in 1680, Peter married Sarah Towne (1639-1703). Peter and Sarah have appeared on this blog in The Persecution of the Towne Family.

[Edmund Littlefield]  "signed the combination 5 (4) 1639. His wife Annis, ae. 38, with 6 children, and servants John Knight, and Hugh Durdal, came in the [ship] Bevis in May, 1638. It may be presumed that he either came at that time, (though not named in the passenger list,) or had come before. He rem. to Wells, Me.; had a grant of land from Thomas Gorges 14 July, 1643." (5) 


For the complete text of the Combination and a list of those who signed it, see The History of the Town of Exeter, New Hampshire. (6)

*****


Sources


1. Historically Speaking; A Look at Exeter's Founding Documents, by Barbara Rimkunas for Seascoastonline.com: http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20130329/news/303290372

2. Early Exeter History 1638-1887. Written by Edward Chase Jr. In: Exeter, New Hampshire: 1888-1988, by Nancy Carnegie Merrill.  Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Peter E. Randall, 1988. https://www.exeterhistory.org/exeter-history/2016/6/24/early-exeter-history-1638-1887

3. Find a Grave Memorial for Elder William Wentworth.  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82608798/william-wentworth

4. A Genealogical and Biographical Account of the Descendants of Elder William Wentworth, by John Wentworth. Boston, Massachusetts: S.G. Drake, 1850. Available on Ancestry.com.

5. Maine Pioneers 1623-60. Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com, 1999.

6. The History of the Town of Exeter, New Hampshire, by Charles Henry Bell. Exeter, New Hampshire, 1888. Available online from the Internet Archive at
https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofe00bell

7. Wikipedia: William Wentworth (Elder). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wentworth_(elder)


*How we are related

Elder William Wentworth, 7th great grandfather on my father's side of the family

Relationship between William Wentworth & Clair Marie Harris.

  William Wentworth (1615 - 1697)
  7th great-grandfather

  Benjamin Wentworth (1670 - 1728)
  son of William Wentworth

    Susannah Wentworth (1707 - )
    daughter of Benjamin Wentworth

    Solomon Hartford (1758 - 1832)
    son of Susannah Wentworth

    Mary Jane Hartford (1791 - 1870)
    daughter of Solomon Hartford

    Robert Winslow Ellis (1821 - 1876) My great great grandfather
    son of Mary Jane Hartford

    Oscar J Ellis (1852 - 1907) My great grandfather
    son of Robert Winslow Ellis

    Eva Josephine Ellis (1888 - 1943) My grandmother
    daughter of Oscar J Ellis

    Daniel Lawrence Harris (1907 - 1972) My father
    son of Eva Josephine Ellis

    Clair Marie Harris - Me
    I am the daughter of Daniel Lawrence Harris





Edmund Littlefield, 10th great grandfather on my mother's side of the family

Relationship between Edmund Littlefield & Clair Marie Harris.

Edmund Littlefield (1592 - 1661)
10th great-grandfather

Hannah Anne Littlefield ( - 1680)
daughter of Edmund Littlefield

Sarah Clayes (1666 - 1700)
daughter of Hannah Anne Littlefield

Samuel Cunnabell (1689 - 1746)
son of Sarah Clayes

Preserved (Persund) Cunnabell (1727 - 1793)
son of Samuel Cunnabell

Esther "Hester" Campbell (1751 - 1819)
daughter of Preserved (Persund) Cunnabell

Edward Campbell (1795 - 1851)
son of Esther "Hester" Campbell

Tamberlane Campbell (1813 - 1892)
son of Edward Campbell

Elizabeth Campbell (1851 - )
daughter of Tamberlane Campbell

William Giberson (1856 - ) My great grandfather
son of Elizabeth Campbell

Edith Rae Giberson (1880 - 1946) My grandmother
daughter of William Giberson

Elva Myrtle Crabtree (1914 - 1998) My mother
daughter of Edith Rae Giberson

Clair Marie Harris: Me
I am the daughter of Elva Myrtle Crabtree





Friday, June 15, 2018

John Hartford of Deerfield, New Hampshire

It's funny that I ended up living in New Hampshire after being born in Maine and brought up in California, since it turns out that a good many of my ancestors were early New Hampshirites. I've already written posts on this blog about New Hampshire relatives from my father's side of the family: Abraham Perkins of Hampton, New Hampshire, my 9th great grandfather; and another about his son, also Abraham Perkins, in My 8th Grandfather, "Slayne By Ye Indians".

I recently came across another relative from my father's mother's line who lived even nearer to our adopted town of Candia, New Hampshire. This was John Hartford, my 6th great uncle (see the relationship at the bottom of this post), who was buried in Deerfield, New Hampshire.

But first, I have to tell you that when we were still living in Washington state and wanting to move far from a cranky gun-toting neighbor who shot at dogs, we read the book Safe Places for the 80s and decided on New Hampshire as the place for us. We were captivated by the name of Deerfield Parade, the central part of the town of Deerfield. It sounded like a place we would like, and we ended up not five miles from that very spot. Here is an historical photo. It still looks much the same today.

 Photo from the Deerfield Heritage Commission website,
which contains lots of information about the Parade (1)

Here is what I have been able to find out about my Uncle John Hartford: Born in Dover, New Hampshire in 1724, he was one of the 12 children of Nicholas and Elizabeth Jenkins Hartford.

He married first Bethiah Rollins in 1755, at Newmarket, New Hampshire. He married second Abigail Brackett, and from that union came a son, also called John Hartford, who was born in 1751 and died in 1826. I have yet to find more of John, Sr.'s children, but I'm sure they are out there!

There are many records showing that a John Hartford served in the New Hampshire military during various years, but I believe the most plausible shows a John, perhaps my uncle, serving for a short time in 1757. (2)

John, Sr., died in 1816 at the age of 92 in Deerfield, and was buried in the Sand Hill and Fisk Cemetery just off Middle Road there. In addition to John's grave, there are 11 other Hartfords (perhaps descendants of the same family?) buried in this cemetery. If I had only known when I lived so close by, I could have gone to the cemetery to visit his grave and those of the other Hartfords. For anyone wanting to do so, the directions are listed below in the Sources. (3)

Sand Hill and Fisk Cemetery, Deerfield, New Hampshire
Photo by Stan Garrity (4)

Gravestone for John Hartford
Photo by Stan Garrity (4)

It is interesting to note that John's brother Stephen Hartford (my 5th great grandfather) married a woman called Susannah Wentworth. When I searched around to find more information about her family, I quite accidentally discovered yet another ancestral connection to New Hampshire. This time, ancestors from both my mother's and father's sides of the family were in the same place at the same time, and signed a document to prove it! Stay tuned for the next post...

*****

Sources

1. Deerfield Parade information and photo from the Deerfield Heritage Commission: http://www.deerfieldnh.org/places/DeerfieldParade.htm

2. Military History of the State of New Hampshire, from its Settlement in 1623 to the Rebellion in 1861 by Chandler E. Potter, Vol. I.  Ancestry.com.

3. Directions to the Sand Hill and Fisk Cemetery, from Find a Gravehttps://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2348112/sand-hill-and-fisk-cemetery


Sand Hill Fisk Cemetery is off of Middle Rd in Deerfield NH. If you are heading north from Rt. 28 in Allenstown take a right onto Deerfield Rd, this road goes to Bear Brook State Park. Continue on Deerfield Rd you will go by the old town hall and some other cemeteries. The name of the road will change to Middle Road when you get into Deerfield. You will come to a dirt road on the right with an old granite flower pot in front. Take a right here, go to the end of the road and park. Walk up on the road to your left, go to the end and you will see the cemetery.
Thank you to Joanne Wasson for her extensive research to make this information possible
.
4. Cemetery photos by Stan Garrity come from the Find a Grave Memorial for John Hartford. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50421377 

*****
How I am related to John Hartford (1724 - 1816), my 6th great-uncle:

Nicholas Hartford (1680 - 1737)
father of John Hartford

Stephen Hartford (1707 - )
son of Nicholas Hartford

Solomon Hartford (1758 - 1832)
son of Stephen Hartford

Mary Jane Hartford (1791 - 1870)
daughter of Solomon Hartford

Robert Winslow Ellis (1821 - 1876)
son of Mary Jane Hartford

Oscar J Ellis (1852 - 1907)
son of Robert Winslow Ellis

Eva Josephine Ellis (1888 - 1943)
daughter of Oscar J Ellis

Daniel Lawrence Harris (1907 - 1972)
son of Eva Josephine Ellis

Clair Marie Harris
That's me, the daughter of Daniel Lawrence Harris















Sunday, May 13, 2018

Rogers Family Adventures, Continued: More Panthers and Some Rattlesnakes

Here are some more Rogers family adventures, this time mentioning Richard Rogers (1791-1875) and his brothers, Reuben (1798-1850), Joseph (1784-1847), Benjamin (1797-1851), and Moses Rogers (1806-1879). For their connection to me, see the previous two posts, Samuel Rogers and Ann Gaunt, and Richard Rogers Recalls His Childhood.

John James Audubon: Felis concolor


Quoted from The Now and Then magazine. See source below.











*****
Source

Now and Then: A Quarterly Magazine of History, Biography & Genealogy, Volumes 2-3: Pages 233-234. 1888.

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Richard Rogers Recalls His Childhood

Old postcard from eBay showing the area where Richard's family lived 


Richard Rogers was the son of Samuel and Ann Gaunt Rogers, who were featured in the previous post. He was born in Yorkshire, England in 1791 and journeyed with his parents and siblings to Pennsylvania in 1801.  These stories take place in Forksville, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, where the Rogers family settled. 


Quoted from Weavers of a Legacy (see source note):

"J. M. M. Gernerd, editor of The Now and Then, interviewed Richard Rogers (son of Samuel I) in 1874 when Richard was 83 years old. Gernerd captured some of Richard’s memories and escapades as a child growing up in the wilds of the virgin Pennsylvania forests.

Richard’s stories of encounters with wild animals give us a vivid picture of just how dangerous life could be on the frontier. Three of Richard’s adventures are noted below:

He (Richard) related with great minuteness how he went out one morning on the flat below the Forks to bring in the oxen, with his rifle on his shoulder, as was then the common custom, when leaving the house, and had a most terrific encounter with a deer. 

He said he found a large doe with the cattle and shot her. Just as he fired she slightly changed her position, in consequence of which the ball merely stunned her. When he went to bleed her she was almost instantly on her feet again, and attacked him with great fury. He undertook to hold her, but her strength surprised him. The combatants now rolled over each other, back and forth, in the savage struggle for life. She fought him until, as he said, his “shirt was torn into ribbons,” and he was “almost naked.” When he at last succeeded in using his knife, he was himself so nearly exhausted that he was for some minutes hardly able to move.

Once he killed a wolf on the same flat below the Forks with a hemlock knot. He said he was driving some young cattle through the woods, along the creek, when the wolf jumped from behind a tree and started for the stream. He managed to get between the animal and the creek, and just as it raised to attack him, with bristles up and mouth open ready to bite, he struck for its head. Overreaching his mark, he hit it a stunning blow on the back, but before the enraged beast could recover, he dispatched
it with a blow on the head.

When nearly grown up Richard went one day with several of his younger brothers to inspect a bear trap that they had set several miles away in the forest. On returning it began gradually to grow strangely and unaccountably dark. He said “a queer feeling” came creeping over them. They saw a flock of seventeen deer; the nimble-footed creatures did not seem anxious to get away, but appeared to be, as they were themselves, strangely disconcerted. 

The boys stopped at a corn field some distance from the house to do some hoeing, but the mysterious darkness continued to increase, and they could not work. The younger brothers began to cry. Richard now said, “Come, boys, I guess we might as well go home,” with all the apathy he could muster, but secretly he himself was no less strangely affected. They went home and were soon comforted. The darkness was caused by a total eclipse of the sun."

*****
Source

Weavers of a Legacy by Jean Paterson Rosencrantz, 2006. P. 22. http://grimshaworigin.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/WeaversOfLegacyByJeanLand.pdf

*****
    My connection to Richard Rogers (1791 - 1875) great-uncle of wife of 1st cousin 3x removed

    Samuel Rogers (1761 - 1828) father of Richard Rogers

    John Rogers (1787 - 1858) son of Samuel Rogers

    Rebecca A Rogers (1813 - 1878) daughter of John Rogers

    Emma Little (1846 - 1933) daughter of Rebecca A Rogers

    Eldorous H Whitehouse (1852 - 1938) husband of Emma Little

    Mary Carroll Rankins (1827 - 1909)--my 3rd great aunt--mother of Eldorous H Whitehouse

    Joseph P Rankins Sr. (1801 - 1882)--my 3rd great grandfather--father of Mary Carroll Rankins

    Eleanor Ruth "Ellen" Rankins (1822 - 1914)--my great great grandmother--daughter of Joseph P Rankins Sr.

    Oscar J Ellis (1852 - 1907)--my great grandfather--son of Eleanor Ruth "Ellen" Rankins

    Eva Josephine Ellis (1888 - 1943)--my grandmother--daughter of Oscar J Ellis

    Daniel Lawrence Harris (1907 - 1972)--my father--son of Eva Josephine Ellis

    Clair Marie Harris--me--I am the daughter of Daniel Lawrence Harris

Friday, May 11, 2018

Samuel Rogers and Ann Gaunt

Fairmount Cemetery, Forksville, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania

The fun of digging around in genealogical records and histories is when the stories are uncovered. Sometimes I am busy following my relatives back in time and find myself gone somewhat astray. That's what happened when I came across the Rogers family of Pennsylvania.

Rebecca Rogers (1813-1878) was the mother-in-law of my first cousin 3 x removed, but let's not worry about that--I'll spell out the connection at the bottom of this post. Rebecca's grandparents are the ones with the interesting stories about their journey from Yorkshire, England to America, and their subsequent adventures. And they sure did have a lot of children...

Samuel Rogers (1761-1828) was married in 1783 in Yorkshire, England to Ann Gaunt (1762-1823), when they were both 21 years old. They started their family in Yorkshire with the birth of Samuel, Jr. in 1782 (before they were married?--the records are a little unclear); followed by:

Joseph 1784
Jonathan 1785
John 1787
William 1788
Hannah 1790
Richard 1791
David 1793
Abram 1794
Elizabeth 1795
Martha 1796
Benjamin 1797
Reuben 1798
Jacob 1801

That's 11 boys and 3 girls (so far. Stay tuned). Abram, Elizabeth, and Martha died young and were buried in England.

With their remaining 11 children,  Samuel and Ann and Samuel's brother George sailed for America in 1801. I calculate that their oldest son was 19; then the ages were 17, 16, 14,  13, 11, 10, 8, 4, 3, and baby Jacob.

The trip couldn't have been easy in any way.
"The calamities of the voyage as told by Ann Gaunt Rogers:
Ann related that when her little ones cried for water, she gave them bits of hard, dry toasted bread to chew and abate their thirst. She told of the death of baby Jacob, 5 months old, who died from the dreaded smallpox outbreak and was buried at sea. 
After the ship had anchored about three miles from shore, some drunken sailors accidentally set a fire and nearly burned down the ship... Uncle George had his leg badly scalded during the fracas. 
Four-year old Benjamin was missing when the family was ready to disembark. Joseph, 17, rushed back to the berths and found his brother asleep. Finally, the family arrived on American soil with 10 of their 14 children. Besides the child who died at sea, they had buried Abram, Elizabeth and Martha in England. Four more children would be born in their new homeland." (3)

The four children born after the family arrived in Pennsylvania were:

George born 1802
Isaac b. 1804
Moses b. 1806
Mary Ann b.1808 when her mother Ann was 46.

Next post: More adventures for the Rogers family

*****
Sources


1. Ingham's History of Sullivan County, Pennsylvania. 1899. http://usgwarchives.net/pa/sullivp.html

2. Now and Then: A Quarterly Magazine of History, Biography & Genealogy, Volumes 2-3. 1888.

*****

I am very loosely connected to Samuel Rogers in the following way: 

Samuel Rogers (1761 - 1828)
great-grandfather of wife of 1st cousin 3x removed

John Rogers (1787 - 1858)
son of Samuel Rogers

Rebecca A Rogers (1813 - 1878)
daughter of John Rogers

Emma Little (1846 - 1933)
daughter of Rebecca A Rogers

Eldorous H Whitehouse (1852 - 1938)
husband of Emma Little

Mary Carroll Rankins (1827 - 1909)
mother of Eldorous H Whitehouse

Joseph P Rankins Sr. (1801 - 1882)
father of Mary Carroll Rankins

Eleanor Ruth "Ellen" Rankins (1822 - 1914)--my great great grandmother
daughter of Joseph P Rankins Sr.

Oscar J Ellis (1852 - 1907)--my great grandfather
son of Eleanor Ruth "Ellen" Rankins

Eva Josephine Ellis (1888 - 1943)--my grandmother
daughter of Oscar J Ellis

Daniel Lawrence Harris (1907 - 1972)--my father
son of Eva Josephine Ellis

Clair Marie Harris--that's me, the daughter of Daniel Lawrence Harris