Betty's Genealogy Wish List for 2010 Part Two

Here are a few more brick walls that I wish to break through during the New Year:

1) ALBERT MARTINE born Dec 28, 1800 Clarkstown, Rockland Co NY as per records of the Clarkstown Dutch Reformed Church, son of ISAAC MARTINE (b Aug 26, 1766 Clarkstown, Rockland Co NY d abt 1813 NYC? ) and GEERTJE/CHARITY CAMPBELL ( b Jan 17, 1776 Clarkstown, Rockland Co NY d April 17, 1851 Spencerport, Ogden twp, Monroe Co NY). At this time, I know only that ALBERT's wife's name was "MARY", as per the Civil War Pension records of their two sons, ISAAC MARTINE b 1824 NY and JOHN F MARTINE b 1831 Spencerport, Monroe Co NY (my gg grandfather). I have been able to document this family up to 1800 in Clarkstown, Rockland Co NY, but after that the trail goes cold. They possibly may have moved to New York City by 1810, as there was a census record for an ISAAC MARTINE there, Ward 8, mid-aged couple with two sons, one daughter, but only for that year. I have not been able to find a marriage record for ALBERT MARTINE & MARY unknown. I can't find definitive census records for this family between 1800 and 1840, when CHARITY MARTINE, elderly woman, is listed in census as head of household in Spencerport, Ogden twp, Monroe Co NY, with an adult female (MARY), a young female under 15 (MARIA B MARTINE b 1829) and a young male under age 10 (JOHN F. MARTINE b 1831). The two older children RACHEL MARTINE b abt 1820 and ISAAC MARTINE b abt 1824 were already out of the house by 1840. It appears , from this record, that ALBERT MARTINE died before 1840. He may have been working on the Erie Canal, which runs through Spencerport. He may have died in the Cholera Epidemic of 1832, which hit New York City very hard. I suspect that his wife MARY's maiden name may have been EDSON, as my gg grandfather JOHN F MARTINE named one of his sons JOHN EDSON MARTINE (b Jan 10, 1875 Kansas City, MO). There was a JOHN EDSON living in nearby Genessee Co NY, and he did have daughters born around 1800, but records are frustratingly scarce for this branch of the Edson family. Curiously, ALBERT MARTINE & wife MARY named their youngest daughter MARIA B MARTINE, for Maria (Brown) Brooks, wife of Presbyterian minister Rev Lemuel Brooks of Monroe Co NY. I am not sure why. Perhaps there was some kind of connection on MARY's side with the Brown, Willey or Brooks families. MARIA B MARTINE b 1829 was living in household of William & Clarissa Brown by 1850 census, and married George Tarbox whose mother was Clarissa Willey, and also related to the Brown family of Monroe Co NY. MARIA B MARTINE TARBOX died in childbirth April 22, 1858 Spencerport, Monroe Co NY. She was buried next to her grandmother CHARITY MARTINE, (who died April 17, 1851 Spencerport, NY) in the Tarbox Family Plot, Fairfield Cemetery, Ogden twp, Monroe Co NY. The surname MARTINE is another one that is commonly misspelled in early records and frequently transcribed incorrectly. I have seen it as Martyn, Martin, Martain, Martyne, etc.

2) JONATHAN DIBBLE b abt 1747 Fairfield Co CT, died aft 1820 Pound Ridge, Westchester Co NY. I have not been able to find JONATHAN's parents, or connect him with any of the documented Dibble families in Fairfield Co CT or Westchester Co NY. I don't think I'm alone in this effort; seems as though some folks have been working on JONATHAN DIBBLE for years!! He married RACHEL SLOSSON/SLAWSON/SLASON (b 1740s Stamford, Fairfield Co CT, daughter of ELEAZER SLASON & SARAH RAYMOND) on Aug 20, 1767 in New Canaan, Fairfield Co CT. The 1767 marriage record indicates that he was "of Pound Ridge", Westchester Co NY (which apparently wasn't very far at all from Stamford & New Canaan CT). JONATHAN DIBBLE was a Private in the Revolutionary War, Westchester Militia, 3rd Regiment, under under Capt Stephen Delavan. JONATHAN gave an account of the attack on Ward's house by Major Campbell to J.M McDonald, which was subsequently quoted in Bolton's "History of Westchester" and later in Otto Schufeld's "Westchester During the Revolutionary War". JONATHAN DIBBLE b 1747 is in census records from 1790 through 1820 in Pound Ridge, Westchester Co NY. There was an older JONATHAN DIBBLE b abt 1711, of Stamford, Fairfield Co CT who married SARAH JESSUP, but no indication in wills, birth records or published genealogies that they ever had a son JONATHAN b 1747. Perhaps he was illegitimate, and we will never know his parentage. Very frustrating!!!

3) RANDOLPH MILLER b abt 1650 probably Lancaster Co VA, married KATHERINE (maiden name likely ACRE/AKER/ACREE), died 1721 Lancaster Co VA, as per his will. I have a great deal of documentation on the life of RANDOLPH MILLER. He was a prominent landowner, a gentleman, and quite wealthy at the time of his death. He may have been a cloth merchant, judging from the large amount of fabric listed in his estate inventory. However, I have never been able to discern exactly who his parents were. They were likely immigrants from England or Ireland to Virginia, and definitely acquired land in Lancaster Co VA once they arrived in the New World. I have never been able to find a will, land deed or other records which might indicate the names of his parents. Which is very strange.

4) JAMES SANDERS/SAUNDERS Sr b abt 1700 VA; died May 1776 Orange Co NC. For many years I labored under the delusion that my ancestor THOMAS SANDERS/SAUNDERS (b abt 1727 VA or NC; d Nov 28, 1812 Davidson Co TN as per his will; Rev War in NC) who married MARY MITCHELL was the son of WILLIAM SANDERS/SAUNDERS & AGNES ADAMS. This information came from a book, "Early Settlers of Alabama Vol II" by James Edmond Saunders. I can now definitively say that THOMAS SANDERS/SAUNDERS was NOT the son of WILLIAM SAUNDERS & AGNES ADAMS, a couple whom I have never been able to trace. THOMAS was definitely the son of JAMES SANDERS/SAUNDERS Sr b abt 1700 and an unknown first wife; JAMES Sr married second to CASSANDRA HAIDEN/HAYDEN in Orange Co NC, and had several more daughters with her. JAMES SANDERS/SAUNDERS Sr had four sons by his first wife: CAPT WILLIAM SAUNDERS / SANDERS b abt 1735 who married HANNAH MITCHELL; MAJOR RICHARD SAUNDERS / SANDERS b abt 1740s, d aft 1832 Wilson or Sumner Co TN, who married unknown; COLONEL JAMES SAUNDERS / SANDERS b 1733 who never married; and THOMAS SAUNDER / SANDERS b abt 1727 who married MARY MITCHELL. All four of them fought in the Revolutionary War in NC. One of the sons, CAPT WILLIAMS SAUNDERS & HANNAH MITCHELL, had several children before moving to TN; one of their sons, ROMULUS MITCHELL SAUNDERS, was raised after 1803 in Orange/Caswell Co NC by his uncle COLONEL JAMES SAUNDERS/SANDERS b 1733.

ROMULUS MITCHELL SAUNDERS obtained a fine education and went on to become a prominent judge & statesman in NC. The book "Biographical History of NC from Colonial Times to the Present" edited by Ashe, Weeks & Van Noppen pub 1906 on page 386 has a biography of Hon Romulus Mitchell Saunders which clearly states that ROMULUS MITCHELL SAUNDERS was the grandson of JAMES SAUNDERS Sr , not WILLIAM SAUNDERS & AGNES ADAMS:

" ...his (Romulus Mitchell Saunder's) grandfather was JAMES SAUNDERS of Orange County, who had four sons, among them COL JAMES SAUNDERS , a patriot in Revolutionary times, who represented Orange County in the Provinical Congress of 1776.... and CAPT WILLIAM SAUNDERS." (p 386).

The bio goes on to say:
"Capt WILLIAM SAUNDERS, a son of JAMES SAUNDERS....shortly after peace was won.... was married to HANNAH MITCHELL, by whom he had two sons, FRANKLIN and ROMULUS MITCHELL, the subject of this sketch. Mrs SAUNDERS dying, her husband and two sons moved to Sumner County TN, where he married Miss (Nancy) CUNNINGHAM, a sister of Major Cunningham, who was a member of General Washington's staff, and who moved from the Dan River to Sumner County, Tennessee. By this lady WILLIAM SAUNDERS had three sons and two daughters. On of these sons was Judge LAFAYETTE SAUNDERS of Baton Rouge, Louisiana....." ( p 386-387)

So JAMES SANDERS/SAUNDERS Sr b abt 1700 was indeed the father of THOMAS SAUNDERS & his three brothers. But this is where things get a bit sticky. Who was JAMES' first wife? Where was he born? When did he come to Orange Co NC? Why did he only mentions three of his four sons in his 1776 Orange Co NC will?? My ancestor THOMAS SANDERS/SAUNDERS and his offspring are not mentioned at all. JAMES SAUNDERS Sr also neglected to leave property to several of his daughters by his first wife and their offspring. They were certainly still alive at that time. One has to surmise that the omission must have been deliberate.

I say this because in the July 6, 1825 Caswell (previously Orange) Co NC will of COLONEL JAMES SAUNDERS (b 1733, son of JAMES SAUNDERS Sr b 1700), THOMAS SAUNDERS was noted as deceased, and several of his children were named as COL JAMES' nephews & nieces, with property left to them. COL JAMES SAUNDERS specifically mentioned the children of his brother RICHARD SAUNDERS, named RICHARD's children as nephews & nieces, and left property to them also. Likewise, ROMULUS MITCHELL SAUNDERS was named as a nephew, and was left a parcel of land near the Dan River, and was named executor of the will. One or two of COL JAMES' sisters, their offspring, and the children of nieces & nephews were also mentioned as well.

So the 1825 will of COLONEL JAMES SAUNDERS b 1733 clearly connects & documents the sons and daughters of JAMES SANDERS/SAUNDER Sr b 1700 d 1776 Orange Co NC. But many, many questions remain.

And I haven't even discussed the fact that the family of THOMAS SAUNDER's wife MARY MITCHELL is a complete mystery. Yes, there will be much more research to come on this family!!

As always, your comments are appreciated! Betty

Betty's Genealogy Wish List for 2010 Part One

The coming new year marks the tenth anniversary of my genealogical research. While I have learned a great deal about all branches of my family, there is always more to discover. Here in no particular order are some of my biggest brick walls that I hope to break through in 2010:

1) DANIEL BOLTON b abt 1794 Maine, died before 1860 Westbrook or Gorham, Cumberland Co. ME; married THANKFUL MORTON, daughter of EBENEZER MORTON & SUSANNAH IRISH of Standish, Cumberland Co ME. My maternal grandmother, Ruby Bolton Brown, has a genealogy that has been a joy to research, since the majority of her ancestors were emigrants from England, were the first and original settlers of Massachusetts, and were thus very, very well documented. In fact, DANIEL BOLTON b abt 1794 is the only weak link in an otherwise very solid family tree. Because DANIEL BOLTON b 1794 named his only son HOLLIS R BOLTON (b abt 1833 Cumberland Co ME), I strongly suspect he was descended from the Bolton family of Reading, Middlesex Co, MA (see books "Bolton Families of Ireland" and "Boltons of Old & New England, Including Descendents of William Bolton of Reading Massachusetts" by Charles Knowles Bolton). The only member of this Bolton family from the Reading, MA line who ever settled in Maine, so far as I have been able to research, was DANIEL BOLTON b abt 1747 Reading, MA who went to Hallowell, Lincoln Co ME in the 1760s and after fighting in the Revolutionary War, married RELIANCE PRATT, widow of EBENEZER HOVEY. My ancestor DANIEL BOLTON b 1794 could have been their son. However, my DANIEL BOLTON b 1794 also lived in Windham, Cumberland Co ME before 1846, and his marriage record to THANKFUL MORTON indicates that he was "of Windham"--which is where the family of THOMAS BOLTON & MARY McLELLAN CRAIG first settled (see book by Hugh Davis McLellan "History of Gorham, Maine"). So far I have not been able to find a definitive, documented link between my DANIEL BOLTON and either Bolton family in Maine. But, as I said, because of the DANIEL's only son being named HOLLIS R BOLTON, my best guess is that DANIEL BOLTON was descended from the Reading, MA Bolton family, likely from DANIEL BOLTON b 1747 Reading, MA, whose nephew EBENEZER BOLTON Jr ( b 1778, married LINDAY LELAND), and niece ELIZABETH BETSEY BOLTON (who married NATHAN TAFT) both named a son "Hollis".

2) JACOB HUBER Sr b abt 1740-1750 PA? Germany? married MAGDALENA unknown, died 1803 Berlin, Somerset Co PA as per his will. Only one son, WILLIAM / WILHELM HUBER (b abt 1779 possibly VA, married ANNA ELIZABETH KEFFER b Jan 2, 1780 Berlin, PA) and wife MAGDALENA are mentioned in the will. JACOB HUBER Sr was a member of the German Reformed Lutheran Church in Berlin, led at the time he was a member by the Reverend Henry Giese. According to his will, JACOB owned several lots and a house on the north side of North & Beck Streets in Berlin, Somerset Co PA, but was not living there before 1797, according to tax records and church records. See previous post on this blog for full discussion.

3) JOSEPH ISAAC THOMPSON b abt 1797-1800 probably Burke Co NC married JANE unknown; likely son of ISAAC THOMPSON (b abt 1754 VA; d June 9, 1838 Burke Co NC) and an unknown wife; ISAAC fought in the Revolutionary War as per his pension record, and was a prominent landowner and justice of the peace in Burke Co NC. I have not been able to find any marriage records or a will for ISAAC THOMPSON; neither have I found a marriage record for JOSEPH THOMPSON & wife JANE, which is odd since his likely father ISAAC was justice of the peace around the time they married!! JOSEPH THOMPSON is present in the 1820 & 1830 Burke Co NC census; he had an extremely large family, at least 15 known children (poor JANE!), with many girls. The 1820 & 1830 census records match correctly the approximate birthdates and sex of their offspring. According to Burke Co NC military records, JOSEPH took part in the war of 1812 and in the Cherokee Removal of 1838. Apparently JOSEPH took his family with him in 1838 and then deserted or mustered out upon reaching Tennessee. One of JOSEPH's eldest daughters, Melvina Priscilla Thompson b abt 1821 married James Mowery in Roane Co TN Oct 4, 1838. Another daughter Mary Lucinda Thompson b abt 1825, married Thomas Gaspaway Goodwin before 1840 in TN. All three families were living next to each other in the 1840 Bradley Co TN census. JOSEPH THOMPSON also sold land in Burke Co NC to his brother-in-law Joseph Baker in 1821, but the deed wasn't transferred until 1843, and by then the signatures had to be verified by Elrod Poteet, which suggests that JOSEPH was no longer living in the area (Likely father ISAAC THOMPSON is also mentioned in this record; the land probably originally belonged to him). By 1856, nearly the entire Thompson family moved from Bradley Co TN to Carroll Co Arkansas, leaving only a few family members back in Bradley & Hamilton Co TN. After the Civil War nearly the entire Thompson family in Arkansas moved again to Christian, Douglas & Taney Co, Missouri.

4) MOSES WHITECOTTON b abt 1804 Knox Co KY; died before 1840 Bledsoe Co TN & HAPPY unknown b abt 1804 VA? TN?. MOSES was the son of ISAAC NEWTON WHITECOTTON (b abt 1774 Stafford or Hampshire Co VA; died aft 1830 Jackson Co AL) and ELIZABETH STUMP (b abt 1779 Hampshire/Hardy Co VA now W VA; died aft 1860 Madison Co AL). MOSES is present in the 1830 Jackson Co AL census, living next to his father ISAAC, and near his brother JAMES "JIM" WHITECOTTON b 1811 Knox Co KY who married LOUISA TURNER. In 1840 census, HAPPY WHITECOTTON, widowed wife of MOSES, was living alone with her children in Bledsoe Co TN. HAPPY can be found in the 1850 Decatur, Morgan Co AL census with her children, living near her son JAMES MONROE WHITECOTTON b Oct 1825 AL (my gg grandfather). Another son LINDLEY M. WHITECOTTON, married and remained in Bledsoe Co TN before moving on to Arkansas. I have not been able to find a marriage record for MOSES WHITECOTTON & HAPPY in Alabama, or a death record or will for MOSES in TN. Never have been able to discern a maiden name for HAPPY, although several have postulated that is is either "Happy" or "Lindley". I have not been able to prove or disprove either of them. It is likely they were married in Jackson Co Alabama around 1822. Would like to find a will for ISAAC NEWTON WHITECOTTON who died after 1830 in Jackson Co AL.

5) JAMES BRUTON/BREWTON b abt 1720 Lawnes Creek Parish, Surry Co VA, who possibly married MARY BRANCH, daughter of FRANCIS BRANCH and ELIZABETH NORWOOD. JAMES BRUTON/BREWTON was the son of WILLIAM BRUTON (b abt 1690 d Lawnes Creek Parish, SurryCo VA) and an unknown first wife, and the grandson of JAMES BRUTON (b abt 1660 d 1735 Lawnes Creek Parish, Surry Co VA) who married MARY SEWARD and who mentioned grandson JAMES son of WILLIAM BRUTON in his will. I strongly suspect that JAMES BRUTON/BREWTON b abt 1720 was the father of my ancestor DAVID BRUTON/BREWTON Sr (b abt 1736-1740, died 1816 Spartanburg, SC) and his brothers GEORGE BRUTON/BREWTON Esq (b abt 1742, died 1815 Spartanburg SC ) and CAPT JAMES BRUTON/BREWTON (b abt 1743-1745, died 1816 Madison Co AL) all of whom lived in Spartanburg, SC from the county's inception until their deaths or in Capt James' case, removal to Alabama. These three gentlemen were literate and possibly well-educated, especially GEORGE, and all were involved in the judicial system in Spartanburg SC, GEORGE being a grand juror and justice of the peace, and DAVID & JAMES being jurors, grand jurors and gentlemen arbitrators on various cases in the courts. They were all landowners; letters, land deeds and wills show an obvious kinship between the three men. One sticky wicket is the fact that the area in which they lived in Spartanburg SC was previously Anson Co, Tyron Co and Mecklenburg Co NC before becoming the Ninety Six district and then Spartanburg Co SC. Another problem is the propensity for transcribers to mistake the surname for "Burton" rather than "Bruton" in records. The biggest problem is attempting to trace JAMES BRUTON/BREWTON b 1720 Surry Co VA, who is mentioned in his grandfather's will, but not his father's; who was in line to inherit land from his grandmother MARY SEWARD BRUTON in Surry Co VA, but no record can be found of the dispersal of the land; who likely went to North Carolina before the Revolution, but can't be traced there; who is absent from Spartanburg SC records except for one tantalizing land deed in 1786 indicating that JAMES BRUTON and his wife MARY sold land on Ferguson's Creek near the Tyger River, the very same area where DAVID Sr, GEORGE Esq and CAPT JAMES BRUTON/BREWTON all lived. Unfortunately, there is the possibility that the JAMES and MARY of this land deed may be CAPT JAMES BRUTON/BREWTON and a first wife; in his 1816 Madison Co AL will he names his wife as ELIZABETH, but she may have been a second wife. Clearly much more research needs to be done, and more records need to be found. Brian Nilsson has organized a DNA project for the Brutons/Brewtons, and one of the latest tests shows that DAVID BRUTON Sr, CAPT JAMES BRUTON and another, different GEORGE BRUTON of Montgomery Co NC all stemmed from the same male ancestor. I personally believe that all North & South Carolina Brutons/Brewtons descended from the immigrant ancestor JOHN BRUTON/BREWTON (b 1600-1610 England, died 1669). His descendents lived for several generations in Lawnes Creek Parish, Surry Co VA. They were first indentured servants and then tenant farmers, and then the family owned the land in Surry Co VA that had been bequeathed to MARY SEWARD, wife of JAMES BRUTON b 1660, from her uncle ROBERT CAULFIELD's estate. Fascinating but frustrating family history!!!!

6) FREDERICK WILLIAM SHRIVER b abt 1770s Adams Co PA, son of LEWIS SHRIVER b abt 1750 Maryland & MARY SHEETS; wife's name unknown. There were several "Frederick William"s down through the generations in my branch of the Shrivers. This particular F. W. is listed in the 1815 Adams Co PA will of his father LEWIS SHRIVER, who fought in the Revolutionary War. I have not been able to trace my F. W. in MD or PA records after 1815. He is NOT the same F. W. that married Catherine and died 1840 in Tiffin, Senaca Co Ohio, as was indicated in the publication "The History of the Shriver Family with Particular Reference to Jacob Shriver (1714-1795), son Lewis Shriver (1750-1815) and Descendents" by Harry C Shriver published privately 1962. The FREDERICK WILLIAM SHRIVER that I am researching likely had at least two sons, the first possibly the above-mentioned Frederick William Shriver b abt 1786 who married Catherine unknown and ended up in Tiffin, Seneca Co OH; and second, my ancestor LEWIS SHRIVER b abt 1790 who married SUSANNAH LUCKHART/LUKEHART, and ended up in Ross / Hocking Co OH, where he died April 1831 as per his will. LEWIS SHRIVER b abt 1790 & SUSANNAH LUCKHART named one of their sons Frederick William Shriver; he was born 1810 Hocking Co OH and married Elizabeth Schreckengaust. The surname can be spelled Shriver, Shrivour, Schreiver and Schreiber in records.

As usual, your comments are appreciated! Happy New Year!

Betty