Generations: Garrison, Wagner, Whittaker, Hickey

11. Garrison: Germany - 5 generations - c1632 - NY/NN
Gerrit Jansen van Oldengurg / Clara Matthys
Jan Gerritsen / Elisaberth Gysbert
Johannes Gerritsen / Hester [unk]
John Garrison / Hannah [unk]
Rebecca Garrison / Cornelius Prall Sr.

12. WAGNER: Baden [Ger.] - 2 generations - c1640 - PA
John Wagner / Catherine Laubscher
Louisa Wagner / James McHugh

13. WHITTAKER: England - 3 generations - 1664 - NY
Edward Whittaker / Joanna Wakeman Hackleton
James Whittaker / Lysbet Titsoort
Mary Whittaker / Aaron Prall

14. HICKEY: Ireland - 1 generation - bef 1813 - prob. PA
Sarah Hickey / John McHugh

Generations: Rhodes, O'Neil, Rittenhouse, Jones

7. RHODES - England - 7 generations - c1643 - MA [RI]
Zachariah Rhodes / Joanna Arnold
John Rhodes / Waite Waterman
John Rhodes / Catherine Holden
Holden Rhodes / Mary Remington
Capt. Holden Rhodes / Susannah Wall
Capt. Zachariah Rhodes / Harriet Cunningham
Ann Bathia Rhodes / Isaac Rittenhouse Prall

England: 1 generation - prob. Walter Rhodes / Elizabeth [unk] - 8 generations total

8. O'NEIL - Ireland - 1 generation - c1851/2 - NY [IN]
Catherine O'Neil /Aaron S. Crail

Ireland: 1 generation - Peter O'Neil /MaryEbbs - 2 generations total

9. RITTENHOUSE - Germany - 5 generations - c1688 - PA
Wilhelm Rittenhouse / Geertruid Pieters
Gerhard/Garrett Rittenhouse / Mary Schumacher?
William Rittenhouse / Catherine Howell
Isaac Rittenhouse / Susannah Baker
Elizabeth Rittenhouse / Cornelius Prall Jr.

Germany: 1 generation - Claus Rittenhouse / Maria Hagershoff - 6 generations total

10. JONES - British Isles - 2 generations - unknown - unknown
T. Jones / unknown
Mary A. Jones / James Crail

Generations: Wolary, Simmons

5. WOLARY - Germany - 3 generations - unknown - VA
Henry Wolary / Elizabet Rogers
William Wolary / Sarah Hubbard
Margaret Jane Wolary / Hugh McDonald Prall

6. SIMMONS - England - 6 generations - c1750-1755 - NY
John Simmons Sr. / Catherine Dally
John Simmons Jr. / Mary Nelson
John William Simmons / Dolly Jennison
James Morris Simmons / Hester Jane Moore
John T. Simmons / Edith Crousore
Ama Jemima Simmons / Dr. James Crail

England: 3 generations 
Richard Simmons / Sarah [unk]
John Simmons / Mary Kneller
John Simmons / Catherine Cheesman
[total =9]

Generations: McHugh, Faucett, Crail

2. MCHUGH - Ireland - 4 generations - c1832 - PA
John McHugh / Sarah Hickey
James McHugh / Louisa Wagner
Charles Joseph McHugh / Bess Catherine Crail
Ruthjane McHugh / Hugh Charles Prall

3. FAUCETT - prob. British Isles - 5 generations - unknown - VA?
John Faucett / Eve Fry
Joseph Faucett / Rebecca Norrice Hurin
Benjamin Franklin Faucett / Nancy Clark
Charles Elmer Faucett / Elizabeth June Cawby
Mayme Faucett / William Marshall Prall

4. CRAIL - prob. Scotland - 4 generations - unknown - unknown
James Crail / Mary A. Jones
Aaron S. Crail / Cathrine O'Neil
Dr. James Crail / Ama Jemima Simmons
Bess Catherine Crail / Charles Joseph McHugh

Generations of Family: Intro; Prall

Over the next who-knows-how-many posts, I am going to attempt to put together each direct line for both sides of the family. :)- This will involve each surname until the line fizzles out with the marriage of a daughter into another of my families. For me, it will be interesting to see exactly how many families I am tied into. For the reader, maybe you'll find we share a common ancestor or family. If I have any lines traced back to the mother country, I will list those generations separately. Otherwise, the first person on the list will be the immigrant ancestor for that line. I will also try to alternate paternal and maternal families until one or the other runs out. At one time, Mom's side of the family would have run, maybe, ten families, but with my Simmons-Jennison research that has changed dramatically.

Format: family # - name - national origin - # generation - estimated arrival - colony/state of arrival

1. PRALL: Dutch origin, 11 generations, c1650-1655 - NY [New Netherland]
Jan Arentsz van Heerde / Baetje Jans
Arent Jansen Prall /Marie Billiou
Pieter Prall / Maria Christopher
Aaron Prall / Mary Whittaker
Cornelius Prall Sr. / Rebecca Garrison
Cornelius Prall Jr. / Elizabeth Rittenhouse
Isaac Rittenhouse Prall / Ann Bathia Rhodes
Hugh McDonald Prall / Margaret Jane Wolary
William Marshall Prall / Mayme Faucett
Hugh Charles Prall / Ruthjane McHugh
TerryDean Prall

Wall -Pierce/Pearce: Susannah Goddard & William Wall

With a little more digging, I was able to uncover a bit more on William Wall & Susannah Goddard.
William Wall was born in 1694, possibly in Ireland, and died 16 August 1742 in North Kingston, Washington Co., RI. He was buried in Section 29 of the Quidnessett Memorial Cemetery. He and Susannah were married 1 Dec 1719 in Jamestown, RI. Susannah was 17.

Susannah then married John Allin, grandson of immigrant William, in 1743. She was shown as "Hannah Wall" in the marriage entry. Allin's first wife, Rebekah Hill died the previous year. The couple had one son James, born in 1744.

There has been no evidence uncovered to verify Susannah's death date. Undocumented sources give 1746 as her year of death.

Wall-Pierce/Pearce: Daniel Pearce, Jr.

Daniel Pearce Jr was born about 1684 -1687. He was made a freeman at Portsmouth on 6 June 1715 and resided on Prudence Island. In February 1724, he was made a Freeman of the Colony. Daniel married Patiece Hill on 3 Oct. 1708, with Daniel Sr. performing the ceremony.

Feb 1727: Sold lands in N. Kingston to John Pearce of Prudence Is.
Feb 1727: Sold lands in N. Kingston to Nathan Pearce for 1000 pounds.
1732-8: Deputy to General Assembly for Portsmouth.
30 Apr 1737: Petit juryman for Portsmouth.
17 Apr 1738: Deeded 80 acres in N. Kingston to his son Daniel Pearce, glazier.
Jan 1739: Sold land to Nathan Pearce of N. Kingston, bordering east the land of Daniel Pearce III.
26 Jun 1744: Daniel Jr. and Nathaniel assisted in the inventory of the estate of brother John Pearce.

Children:
Sarah, b. 6 Mar 1710
Nathaniel, b. 20 Jan 1715, m. Meribah
Jonathan, b. 6 Apr 1719
Deliverance, b. 20 Sep 1720, m. Elisha Tillinghast
Thomas, b. 31 May 1723, m. 1748 - Martha Pearce [1st cousin, dau. John & Martha]
William, b. 8 May 1725, m. 5 Jan 1756 - Meribah Pearce, widow of brother Nathaniel
Patience, b. 21 Nov 1728, m. John Wall
Ebenezer, b. 17 Feb 1731

Sources:

Magazine of New England History, Vol. 1, No. 3, July 1891: Some Descendants of John Pearce [Mason] of Portsmouth, RI, Gen. T.L. Casey [p. 129-135]

Find A Grave: John Pearce, Daniel Pearce, Daniel Pearce, Jr.

Genealogical & Family History of Central New York, Vol. 2, 1912 [p. 796-8]

Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island [p. 98, 146]

Allen, Gould, Hill Genealogy, Daniel Gould Allen, Edward Claypool, 1908, Chicago, Descendants of William Allen (p. 15-17); Hill Genealogy (p. 30-31)

New England Families, Genealogical & Memorial, Vol 5, p. 128

Kalamazoogenealogy.org

freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/wamorrow/

Wall-Pierce/Pearce: Daniel Pearce Sr.

Daniel Pearce, Sr. was born about 1662 in Portsmouth.  There are mixed dates for his death. A couple of sources give the date as 15 Nov 1732, while others state that he died after 1744 in North Kingston, Washington, RI. Daniel married twice. His first wife was named Mary. It is possible that her maiden name was Weaver. Pearce's second wife was Elizabeth Tucker, whom he married on 13 Dec 1703.

6 June 1692: He was made a freeman in Portsmouth.
1662 - 1720: Resided on Prudence Island or Portsmouth.
1721 -1723: Resided at Kingston.
1694-95, 97: Constable for Portsmouth,
1698, 1701-5, 10-11, 20-21, 23-31: Deputy to the General Assembly from Portsmouth.
1700: Daniel Pearce, Sr., of Prudence Island, bought 700 acres at Aquidnesitt from Benjamin and Jonathan Vail and John Thomas of Swanzey.
1707-8, 11, 20: Justice of the Peace in Portsmouth.
1720: Grand juryman and deputy for Kingston.
1721: Daniel and wife conveyed by deed of gift to his two sons, Daniel Jr. and John of Portsmouth, in common, 400 acres at Aquidnesitt.
8 July 1722: Sold Ephriam Smith, a mulatto man, to his son and daughter.
17 Mar 1723: Daniel, Jr. and wife Patience, and John and wife Martha, sold the Aquidnesitt land back to their father.
1724: Grand juryman and overseer of the poor in North Kingston.
11 Aug 1724: Extended a free deed of gift to N. Kingston of land for a road from Fones Bridge to the sea, for a drift way for public use.
16 Mar 1726: Sold lands to Daniel, Jr. and John.
17 Mar 1726: Daniel and John gave a bond to brothers, Nathan and William, that they would give them part of their father's estate when they came of age.
13 Nov 1736: Before the N. Kingston town council, he agreed to bring a certificate from Portsmouth concerning his daughter and her two sons.

Children:
1st marriage:
Daniel Jr., c1684-1687, m. Patience Hill
Margaret, b. c1686-1689
John, b. c1691, m. Martha
Mary, b. 1689-1693, m. 1715 - John Moss [sons: John & Joshua]
2nd marriage:
Benoni, b. c1704, m. 10 Nov 1723 - Sarah Rhodes, d. 20 Nov 1724
Nathan, b. c1706 - d. 15 Mar 1790 Dutchess Co., NY
William, b. c1709

Wall - Pierce/Pearce: John Pearce

John Pearce was a native of Wales. Based on his testimony given pertaining to the death of Mrs. Rebecca Cornell on 7 May 1673, stating that he was 41 years of age. he was born in 1632. He may have been one of the members of the Baptist congregation of John Myles of Swansea, Wales that settled at Rehoboth, MA in 1662/3, then on to Swanzey, Plymouth in 1666/7. Family tradition holds that he arrived as early as 1660. Pearce was a mason. He identified himself as "John Pearce, Mason" until John Pearce, son of Robert, moved away in 1683, then was then generally called "John Pearce Sr." The maiden name of his wife, Mary, has not been determined.

14 Apr 1668: Bought a dwelling house and 38 acres in Portsmouth from William Corey.
29 Sep 1668: Took a seven year lease on 68 acres from William Corey.
4 May 1675: John Pearce, of Portsmouth, was made a freeman of the Colony.
31 Oct 1677: Included by the General Assembly in the list of 48 grantees of the lands at East Greenwich [5000 acres].
12 June 1678: Allowed by the General Assembly to dispose of his East Greenwich rights to Henry Matthewson.
16 Mar 1685: John Pearce, Mason, and John Pearce [probably eldest son] were drawn on jury of "Tryall's" at Newport.
5 Mar 1686: Was a member of a coroner's inquest held at the home of James Sweet, Jr. on Prudence Island.
23 Feb 1691: Deeded 420 acres of land and a meadow in Natick by Maj. John Greene. [John resided on Prudence Island.]
20 Aug 1691: John and his wife, Mary, deeded the Natick land to son Daniel.

John made his will 23 Sep 1689 at Prudence Island. It was proved in Portsmouth on 26 Apr 1692. He named Mary  sole executrix and left small legacies to children John, Daniel and Mary [wife of Robert Hill]. Mary made her will on 17 Sep 1711. It was proved 15 Oct 1711. She left 40 shillings to the poor of the Church of Christ where she was a member.  The rest of her estate was divided among John, Daniel and Mary [now Sweet].

Children:
John: b. c1658, prob. Wales; m. Martha Brayton
Daniel: b. c1662 MA or RI; m. Mary [possibly Weaver]; Elizabeth Tucker
Mary: b. c1666 PLY or RI; m. Robert Hill; James Sweet

John Wall - Patience Pierce: Jonathan Hill

With a little more on-line digging, I was able to come up with a bit more on Patience Pierce's mother's family.

(1) Jonathan Hill, a native of Wales [one source says England], arrived in America by 1657 and settled on Prudence Island in Narragansett Bay. He was also a resident of Warwick and Portsmoth, RI. His wife's name was Mary. Jonathan fathered at least three sons Robert, Jonathan & Henry. William Allen, also a Welshman, arrived in 1660 and the two families became prominent members of Prudence Island. Jonathan died about 1690.

(2) Jonathan Hill was born in 1657 on Prudence Island and died there on 5 September 1731. He married Elizabeth Holmes. They had Jonathan [wife unknown], Caleb [Ruth], Mary [Isaac Lawton], Patience [Daniel Pearce], Rebecca [John Allen], Thomas [Elizabeth Allen, Rebecca Cole Allen], Ebenezer and Sarah [Mr. Mills].

Jonathan purchased a quarter of a farm in Coweset from Philip Sweet in 1703. He deeded 105 acres in Warwick to son Thomas on 16 June 1731. Son Jonathan and Caleb were the administrators of his estate.

(3) Patience Hill married Daniel Pearce on 3 October 1708 on Prudence Island

The Family of a little known ancestor makes an appearance!

I haven't unearthed much on my John Wall - Patience Pierce line, that is until last night! While preparing a series of posts, I double-checked to see if any more current information on the Pierce family has been made available over the past 20 years. It's been about that long since I worked on this line.

Update:

Patience Pierce, wife of John Wall, was born 21 Nov 1728 in Portsmouth, Newport, RI.
Her parents were Daniel Pierce II [C1684 Prudence Island, Portsmouth, Newport. RI - 1758 Kingston, Washington, RI] & Patience Hill [c1687 RI - 1715 RI]. They married 3 Oct 1708 on Prudence Island.

Patience Hill was the daughter of Jonathan & Elizabeth [Holmes] Hill.

Daniel Pierce II was the son of Daniel Pierce I [1658 or 1662 Portsmouth, Newport, RI - 15 Nov 1732 or aft. 1744 Kingston, Washington, RI] & Mary [possibly Weaver] [1662 Portsmouth, Newport, RI - c1703 RI]. They married about 1683. Daniel I married 2nd, 13 Dec 1703, Elizabeth Tucker.

Daniel Pierce I was the son of John Pierce [c1632 Wales - 26 Apr 1692 Prudence Island] & Mary [unk] [c1632 or 1640 - bet. 17 Sep - 8 Oct 1711 Prudence Island]

There was a Pierce Burying Ground on the south end of Prudence Island; unfortunately, the US Navy built a base on the site!

John arrived in Rehoboth, Mass. c1660, before moving on to Swansea & Portsmouth. He was a mason.

More on the Pierces once I get the bios organized.

New Ancestry for Frances Latham Based on the Register Article

The following is the modified ancestry for Frances Latham [1609 - 1677]:

1. Frances

2. Lewis [1574 - 1655]

3. Oliver [c1545 - aft 1598]

4. John the Elder [c1520 - ????]

5. Thomas [???? - 1558]

We have here a case of "new research" replacing old. More records have become available since the Clarke Genealogy, mentioned in yesterday's post, was published in 1922.

A New Perspective on the Ancestry of Lewis Latham

The Winter issue of the New England Historical & Genealogical Register 171 [p.18-29] offers an article entitled Notes on the Family and Ancestry of Lewis Latham, Father of Frances [Latham] [Dungan] [Clarke] Vaughn of Rhode Island, by Scott G. Swanson.

Latham was sergeant falconer to King Charles I. His daughter, Frances gained her notoriety by being the ancestress of no less than 20 governors or lieutenant governors of various states. I am descended  through  her 1st marriage to William Dungan. Their daughter, Frances, married Randall Holden in Warwick, RI in 1648.

My previous research, based primarily on Alfred Rudolph Justice's "Ancestry of Jeremy Clarke" [1922]. Justice showed Lewis as the son of John Latham Jr., with the line reaching back another 11 generations [John Sr., Thomas, Nicholas, Thomas, Hugh, Philip, Robert, Robert, Richard, Robert Fitz & Henry de Latham.]

Mr. Swanson offers a different lineage. Lewis' father was Oliver Latham, based on Oliver's will and the baptismal records of Lowick, Northamptonshire, England. Oliver was the son of John Latham the Elder of Brigstock.  John the Elder was the son of Thomas Latham.

As to the Latham lineage offered by Justice in 1922, Mr. Swanson finds that there is no current evidence connecting the Northamptonshire Lathams to the Lathams of Lancashire to which Justice tied Lewis' family.

The article is sound and well documented.

Meet the rest of the "new family members"

BORDING:
[1] Annetje Bording [c1654 New Amsterdam - aft. Oct 1679 NY] m. 30 Jun 1675 NYC - Cornelis Cregier.

[2] Claes Claeszen Bording [c1617 Denmark - 1680 NY] m. 8 Aug 1649 New Amsterdam - Susanna Vreught [c1630 Netherlands? - 1690 NYC] Claes was a sea captain.

VREUGHT:
[1] Susanna Vrught [see above]

[2] Pieter Vreught [c1600 Netherlands - bef. 1647 ??] m. c1630 Netherlands - Marritje Simons [c1610 Amsterdam, Neth. - c1647 New Amsterdam] Pieter was a surgeon. [1]

As I did a little digging, Vreught surname became questionable. The vast majority of sources showed Susanna as Susanna Lees Marsuryns [Elias, Leus and Martyns also appeared.] That left me wondering about Vreught as her surname. Another sources was located that cited several records bringing the issue to light.

On 17 July 1647, Marritje Simons declared her intention to remarry in New Amsterdam. Her deceased husband Pieter Vreught, surgeon, and children, Susanna and Willem, were named in the document.
At least two other records give her as Susann Vreught, wife of Claes Bordingh. Elias was given as Susanna's surname in her marriage record. [8 Aug 1649: Claes Claeszen von Ravox & Susanna Elias] Other sources use Marsuryns or Martyns. Lees and Leus were probably diminutive forms of Elias. It is possible that Susanna Vreught married a man named Elias [Lees/Leus] Marsuryns/Martyns between 17 July 1647 and 8 August 1649, who died before the latter date. [2]


More details on these families as I dig into the Dutch records in NY.



[1] Acree/Sachse/Hoover/Ogden/Skipworth/Nelson/TenEyck/Williamson & Associated Families
[2] Ancestors of David Lloyd Jones; RootsWeb World Connect

New Ancestors with Old Connections

While digging for additional information on a future post, I came across an old acquaintance who turned out to be an ancestor. Captain Martin Cregier led Dutch militia against the Esopus Indians during the 2nd Esopus War in the Wiltwyck [Kingston] and New Paltz [Hurley] area in 1663. He also led the party that rescued captives taken by the natives. Among those rescued were Catherine [Blanchan] DuBois and her three children. Mrs. DuBois was the aunt of Marie [Billiou] Prall.

Cregier was a native of Borken, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, born about 1614. He married Lysbeth Jans. Cregier settled in New Amsterdam, where he served three terms as Burgomaster. In 1643, Marten built the first public building on what is now Broadway - a tavern. [Later known as the Atlantic Gardens.] Cregier was one of four men appointed as fire wardens in New Amsterdam in 1648. During the 2nd Esopus War he led Dutch militia in what became Ulster Co. Later he relocated to what became Niskayuna near the Manor of Rennselearswyck. Cregier died there during the 1680s.
Several sources have him dying around 1713, but this was probably his son, Marten Jr.

Marten's son, Cornelis, was born about 1651 in New Amsterdam and married Annetje Bording on 30 June 1675. Their daughter, Elizabeth [c1676 NYC - aft. 1718 prob. NJ] married Nicholas Dally on 28 Aug 1702 in NY City.

Elizabeth's granddaughter, Catherine Dally married John Simmons, a tavern keeper in NYC. Another granddaughter, Elizabeth Dally, married noted tavern keeper, Samuel Fraunces.

What are the odds of two great-great-granddaughters of a tavern keeper marrying tavern keepers? Oh yes, the tavern bug lasted at least one more generation, John Simmons Jr. ran a tavern near Canonsburg, PA for a brief time.

OOPS! I forgot a Rev War ancestor: Nichols Hostetler

I missed one of my Rev War soldiers in my collection of posts on the subject. So, here he is:

Nicholas Hostetler [1725 Switz. - 1795 PA]: Private in Captain Robert Sweeney's Company, Washington Co. militia, 1781-83. At some point the company was attached to a Continental Line unit since Nicholas qualified for the DAR & NSSAR. [paternal line, direct]

Misinterpretation of Deeds & Probate: Three Generations of Pralls - Benjamin's estate

Skipping a generation, we come to Benjamin Prall [son of Aaron]. Benjamin's story is a cas of not investigating all available records, when researchers assumed Benjamin died childless. It was also believed that he died intestate in 1791. In a court action in 1798, Edward and Cornelius Prall [siblings], Asher Atkinson [nephew], and the children of brother James were named heirs.

On a business trip in 1784, Benjamin stopped at the house of George Wegner. He became seriously ill and had his will written by Egedius Myers. Benjamin named his sister Elizabeth executrix and named his children, Benjamin Jr., Elizabeth and Jemima. Benjamin left the document with Wegner, planning on returning to pick it up later. He did not. When Wegner learned of Benjamin's death he got the will to Hunterdon Co. and signed an affidavit explaining what had transpired.

The mother of Benjamin's three children was Rachel Snyder. The couple never married. Rachel's father charged Benjamin with fornication twice. Since all three children were born out of wedlock, they were not entitled to their share of his estate.

A copy of the will and Wegner's affidavit were in the Prall file at the Deats Library in Flemington, NJ. 3X5 cards noting the various court actions involving Benjamin, Rachel, the kids and the heirs were also on file at the library. For whatever reason, only the 1798 court case seemed to have come to light until the rest of the documents miraculously appeared in the library files!

Misinterpretaion of Deeds & Probate: Three Generations of Pralls - Pieter's will

Next we have the will of Pieter Prall written in 1742. Pieter clearly names his sons Johannes, Aaron, Peter, Cornelius, Isaac and Abraham. The names of his daughters were another story!  In making his initial bequests, Pieter names Catherine and Ann. Later in the document, daughters Mary, Catherine and Ann are named. The will was seriously challenged where punctuation was concerned. In fact there were no commas between the names of the children.

Had Mary's name been inadvertently omitted from the will when the first bequests were made? Was Catherine really Mary Catherine?

The 1706 Staten Island Census listed girls Mary Prall and Catherine Prall. That suggests an error in transcribing the will. Other sources are shaky at best in identifying spouses or later references to the girls.

To add to the mystery, at least two sources name a daughter Irene, born c1711. It is believed that Irene died in infancy or as a child.

Until conclusive evidence proves otherwise, I have listed the children of Pieter and Maria [Christopher] Prall in the following order, based on known births and naming order in Pieter's will:
Johannes, Mary, Aaron, Pieter, Catherine, Cornelius, Abraham, Anne, Isaac and Irene.

Misinterpreting Deeds & Probate: Three Generations of Pralls - Arent's will

1. Arent Jansen Prall  made his will in 1721. It had long been assumed that all of his children were by his 1st wife, Marie Billiou. The birth order of the children has varied from one source to another over the years. A reexamination of the wording of the will has led to questioning whether one child, Johannes belong to Marie or Arent's 2nd wife, Tryntje/Catherine.

There was a female adult, Tryntje Prall in the 1706 Staten Island Census. It is likely that this Tryntje was Tryntje Barents Blom Christoffels, widow of Hans Christoffelsz and mother of Maria Christopher Prall, Arent's daughter-in-law.

In his will, Arent left 200 pounds for the care of his son John. Son Arent, son-in-law Oreck Hopper and Stoffel Christopher were named to look after John's well-fare. [John has suffered some crippling injury or was born mentally handicapped.] It would make sense to name a son and son-in-law to care for the young man, they were immediate family. Why Stoffel Christopher who was related only by the marriage of his sister to Pieter Prall?

If he was John Prall's half-brother, then having him help care for John would make sense. Three additional factors come into play as well. (1) Pierre Billiou, in his 1699 will, mentioned the seven children of his late daughter Marie. Arent Jansen Prall was the father of eight children. (2) Hans Christopher left five pounds to Hans Prall. Hans Christopher was the brother of Maria and Stoffel Christopher. (3) If Tryntje Christopher and Arent Jansen Prall did marry, it would have been about 1690-1693, when Tryntje was well into her 40s. Having a child that late in life during colonial times would have been risky at best. The child could have been born with physical or mental disabilities.

So, we have a new interpretation of the will. Arent left his son John to be cared for by one of his sons [Arent], a son-in-law [Hopper] and a step-son and John's half-brother [Stoffel Christopher]. 

Misinterpretation of Deeds and Probate: Returning to the St. John & Prall Families

Deeds, wills, estate settlements, inventories and similar documents can offer clues to ancestral relationships, identify missing family members and eliminate incorrectly identified family members.

In some cases, those same documents can add confusion to the issue. It may simply be a case of misreading the document or misinterpreting the document as it was written. In other instances, the document itself may be the contributing factor. Standard rules of grammar and punctuation did not necessarily concern our ancestors.

Case #1: Deeds help determine the parentage of Samuel St. John. Orline St. John Alexander's The St. John Genealogy identified Samuel St. John as the son of Matthias St. John III and Rachel Bouton. Samuel birth was estimated as 168? and his parents' marriage about 1690 in Norwalk, Fairfield, CT. The conflicting dates raised a red flag, but not seriously enough for questioning Samuel's parentage. Other researchers and authors followed Alexander's lead.

I came across Jim Churchyard's website in the early 2000s. He had written research findings entitled Those Four Early Children of Matthias St. John III. Mr. Churchyard had investigated the purported four eldest sons of Matthias and Rachel: Matthew, Ebenezer, Samuel and John. He discovered that Matthew and John were the sons of Matthias III. Ebenezer had been confused in records with his Uncle Ebenezer, Matthias III's brother. Samuel was not Matthias III's son, but his brother. A major focus of the Churchyard research had been Connecticut deeds. With Jim's blessing, I tackled his theory in Salt Lake. I examined Matthias I, II & III deeds, as well as local histories and other documents.

Research note: During the Colonial era, if there were two men of the same name in a community, the oldest was referred to as Senior, the youngest as Junior. This did not necessarily mean that they were father and son or even related, just that one was older than the other. Matthias St. John I died in 1669, Matthias II in 1728 and Matthias III became of age about 1683. In the Norwalk, CT deeds, Matthias I would have become Senior about 1649/50, when MII became of age and became Matthias Jr. Matthias II became Sr. when MIII reached majority. Still with me? It was during the years [c1670-1728] that MII was simply Matthias or Matthias Sr. references were made to "my son" Samuel.

The deeds supported the Churchyard theory. Along with other evidence [Norwalk histories, vital records, etc.], I concluded that Samuel St. John was indeed the son of Matthias II & the brother of Matthias III. Likewise, there was nothing in the deeds that assigned a son named Ebenezer to MIII.

Here we have a case of misinterpreting deeds leading to children being assigned to the wrong parents and those same deeds clarifying the relationships.

Up next, more Prall problems....    

Geographical Errors: Lows of Massachusetts

Sometimes we latch on to a couple with names that match those of an ancestral couple only to find out that we missed the right couple by a few dozen or hundred miles. Hopefully, some detail will jump out and the realization that an error has been made.

Such was the case with one of my Low families. Fortunately, the mistake was easy to correct. 

Originally, I had John Low [1623 Eng. - 1696/7 Hingham] and Elizabeth Stoddard [1630/1 Eng. - Hingham] of Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts as the parents of Elizabeth Low, born c1660 in Marshfield. Elizabeth married Walter Joyce.

Although Hingham and Marshfield are in the same county, they are not close enough for John and Elizabeth to have gone to Marshfield to have a child, then returned home to Hingham in 1660.

There was another couple in my records that fit the profile, however. John Low [1629 Eng. - 1676 Rehoboth, Mass.] and Elizabeth Howland [1634 Eng. - 1725 New Jersey]. They resided in Marshfield and that is where their children, including a daughter named Elizabeth.

John was killed by Narraganset Indians as a member of Captain Price's Company near Cumberland, RI [now part of Rehoboth, MA].

Elizabeth Howland was the daughter of Arthur and Margaret Howland. She was also the elder sister of Arthur Howland, Jr. The Howlands were already part of the family tree.

"New Research" Supplanting Earlier Reseach

In some cases the "new research" may involve coming across information or document that have been available for some time. It is just new to you.

Case in point: Based on the memoirs of Isaac Prall, brother of my great-grandfather, Hugh M. Prall, it was believed that their grandfather, Zachariah Rhodes was lost at sea aboard a ship named Polix &Castor. While researching at the NEHGS  Library in Boston about 2006, I came across a multi-volume set entitled The Holden Family in America. The Holden Family included information on Zachariah, whose great-grandmother was Catherine Holden. The details given: Zachariah left the port of Baltimore on 14 August 1815 aboard the sloop Hannah, with his brother Perry as 1st mate. They were "never again heard from."

Here the "new research" clarified the old. Young Isaac Prall and his siblings were regaled with stories of sea captains Zachariah Rhodes and his brother-in-law, Ralph Porter and their adventures by aunt and step-mother Bathia Cunningham Porter Prall. Ships' names likely became confused over the years.

I recently posted a series on "Mary, Wife of James Wright." This is a prime example of new research replacing earlier. Early researchers named Mary Davis as wife of James Wright. In 1998-2000, Mr. Baldwin gave his case for Mrs. Wright being Mary Bowater. Most Wright descendants have accepted Mary Bowater. Some descendants of the Wrights have since, however, rebutted the Baldwin article. It's up to the Wright descendants to make their own decision on Mary's maiden name. Was it Bowater, Davis or something else?

Thirdly, there is the Matthias St. John research. Matthias, the immigrant was believed to have been born in England between 1600 and 1605. In April of 2013, J.L. Santken published an article in the NEHGS Register entitled The Origins of Mathias and Nicholas St. John Discovered. Mr. Santkin had uncovered Mathias' birth and baptism August 1601] in London. St. John/Sension/Satken records were discovered in the London Dutch Church, St. Olave, Silver Street. The family originated in Antwerp.
About the same time, Suzanne St. John proposed a Welsh Royal heritage for Matthias and Christopher/Christian, citing the same St. Olave Dutch Church records.

The argument, extremely simplified, boiled down to the definition of Strangers, as it applied to foreign refugees in London in the 16th and 17th centuries. Were Strangers those people settling in London born on the European mainland? [Dutch, French, German, Huguenot, Walloon, etc.] Or did it include those born in the British Isles born in Irish, Scots and Welsh?

Mr. Santken contended the former definition; Ms. St. John contended the Welsh were included among the Strangers. One crucial document is missing that could resolve the issue: the will of the father of Christopher/Christian St. John-Sension-Santken.

Note: I attempted to researched both sides of the argument in SLC in 2014. I was able to locate the records cited for the Dutch Churches in London and some of the Welsh records. In a casual conversation with a consultant [for another group], we briefly discussed my "problem." His comment was something to the effect of "No self-respecting Welshman would be caught dead in the Dutch Church." 

Here we have two new sets of research supplanting earlier research. The question for St. John Descendants is which is correct?

Misinterpreting Evidence 1B: Cornelius Prall [cont'd]

One of the first problems in identifying Cornelius Prall Sr. was resolving the "two different people" issue. It would take a combination of deeds, the estate settlement, court cases and deciphering the previous research.

In defense of early researchers, the deeds offered a special problem unto themselves. Many of the deeds made during the 1750s - 1780s were not filed for 15 - 25 years. When I ordered the deeds from the New Jersey deed index, most of the dates were 1795 or later. I gambled and ordered them anyway. It paid off big time.

The names of Cornelius Jr.'s children helped to determine the identity of Sr,'s 1st wife. A son was named Garrison and a daughter Rebecca Garrison. Cornelius Sr. also named a son Garrison, a daughter Rebecca and another son John. John Garrison was a neighbor and had a daughter named Rebecca. She is believed to be Cornelius' wife.

Wife number two was identified as Sarah Sutphin. Sarah's named appeared in at least one deed. Cornelius and Sarah were named heirs to Benjamin Prall in 1797. There were no children from this marriage.

A marriage record from 1803 exists for Cornelius and 3rd wife Christiana Lucretia Provost Catterlin. Christiana's middle name appeared in some documents. Fortunately, researchers didn't latch onto that and give Cornelius a 4th wife. The couple was named as heirs to Edward Prall in 1812.

The real find, and stumbling block, in he Cornelius research was the estate settlement. Cornelius died in 1813, but probate was not filed until February 1819.

A pair of deeds from April 1813 got the ball rolling: In the 1st, Christiana Prall was named. In the 2nd, John Prall [wife Mary], Anna [ husband Ambrose Rice], James Prall [wife Phebe], Mary [husband Henry Huffman], Rebecca [husband Enoch Dye] and Cornelius Prall [wife Elizabeth] were named as heirs.  A September deed named Mary, widow of Garrison Prall as an heir.

In a May 1814 deed, William and Elizabeth [Prall] McElwaine were named as heirs to the estate.

Finally, in May 1821, Isaac, Cornelius and Tuenche Emmans, the children of Jemima [Prall] Emmans, deceased, were named as heirs.

Misinterpreting Evidence - 1B: Cornelius Prall Sr.

Solving the mysteries of Cornelius Prall Sr. was an adventure. Initially, early researchers had Cornelius as the son of his brother Benjamin who died intestate in 1819 and a wife Sarah. He was also the probable son of his elder brother James, dying in 1813 and twice married. His 2nd wife was Christiana "Castelin." Actually, Cornelius  was incorrectly assumed to be James' son Henry/Cornelius.

Cornelius [d. 1819] fathered Cornelius [1768], Garrison [1750-60] & Edward [1787].
Cornelius [d. 1813] fathered John, Cornelius, James, Mary & Rebecca.

Details missed in the early research of Cornelius Prall Sr. were many:
[1] Parents: Aaron Prall & Mary Whitaker.
[2] Siblings: James, Edward, Elizabeth, Benjamin & Jemima.
[3] Cornelius [d. 1819] & Cornelius [d. 1813] were the SAME PERSON!!!
[4] Cornelius married three times: Rebecca Garrison, Sarah Sutphin & widow, Chritiana Catterlin.
[5] Cornelius was the father of nine children, all by Rebecca Garrison.
[6] Cornelius died intestate in 1813, not 1819.
[7] Cornelius' estate went to probate in 1819 & was settled by 1821.
[8] Children Garrison, John, James, Mary& Rebecca were born to Cornelius & Rebecca. They only had one son named Cornelius, not two. That left three missing, Elizabeth, Anna & Jemima. There was no Edward.
[9] There was an estate inventory in which all of the above children and/or their heirs were named.
[10] Deeds!

Items 1 & 2 above were covered in the post on Aaron Prall. Items 3 through 10 will be covered in the next post or two.

Misinterpreting Evidence: Case #1A & 1B - Aaron & Cornelius Prall Families

Early research [pre-1990!] on the Aaron Prall family was, at best, a mass confusion of incorrect interpretation of wills, bounty land warrants, probate, other people's research and assumptions.

First, there's the case of Aaron Prall, who died intestate in 1757. Since Aaron left no will, it was left to the 1760 will of Aaron's wife, Mary to put together the family group. Mary, as previously stated, named her eldest son James and children Elizabeth, Benjamin and Jemima as heirs. An Edward Prall wrote the will. No other children were mentioned. No one seemed to bother to see if there was a relationship between Mary, her four children and this Edward Prall fellow.

James was assigned 7 children: Aaron, Thomas, Henry/Cornelius, Edward, Anne, Pamelia & Elizabeth.

Benjamin was assigned five: Edward*, Cornelius*, Nancy, Amalia & Elizabeth.

No further information was given for Elizabeth and Jemima.

Benjamin's "son" Edward, b. 1754 and a Rev War vet, had no children; "son" Cornelius [d. 1819] had Cornelius, Garrison and Edward.

A trio of diligent researchers [myself included], who were apparently the first descendants of Aaron to work on the family. The results undid decades of misinformation.

If children are already "provided for" before the parents' death, then they may not be mentioned in a father's or mother's will. Such was the case here. We were convinced that Aaron and Mary had a son named Cornelius* and that Edward*, who wrote Mary's will, was also their son.

Two documents proved us correct on Cornelius. A deed where James granted land to his brother, Cornelius, that had been left to Mary by her father, and a court case naming Cornelius as the son of Aaron.

Edward "joined" the family on less concrete evidence: the writing of Mary's will and the fact that Benjamin helped supply Edward's Marylanders during the Rev War.

So we have a new set of children for Aaron and Mary: James. Cornelius, Edward, Elizabeth and Jemima.

What of the children of James and Benjamin?
James: Anne/Nancy, Amalia/Pamalia, Aaron, ThomasT, Henry, Elizabeth and Edward. [Essentially the children from above, except that the girls were also assigned to Benjamin.]
Benjamin: None of the above! Ed and Cornelius turned out to be his elder brothers. Benjamin's will was eventually located, naming children Benjamin, Elizabeth & Jemima.

What about Elizabeth and Jemima?
Elizabeth never married, but did go into business with little brother Benjamin.
Jemima married Asher Atkinson and had a son, Asher.

Next up, #1B - the long unraveling of the Cornelius Prall Sr. saga - a tale of one man assumed to be two.

Language Barriers: The Case of Arent Jansen van Naerden or Heerde

Up until September of 2000, I and all other Prall researchers assumed that the marriage record of our immigrant ancestor Arent Jansen Prall was rock solid accurate. That changed with the Prall Family Reunion held at New Paltz, NY. New Paltz was founded by Arent's wife's uncle, Louis DuBois.

Prior to the reunion, I met with Larry van der Laan. Larry was working on a research project centering on the families that survived the 1655 Staten Island Massacre. [An Indian shot for stealing a peach from an orchard ignited the conflict known as the Peach War.] It was Larry's contention that the family of Arent Jansen Prall was among the survivors.

Jan Arentse van Heerde , his wife Baetje Jans and their seven children had been part of Cornelis Melyn's settlement, arriving sometime between 1650 and 1653. Jan and the wife of Captain Adrian Post would later be sent back to Zutphen, The Netherlands to report on the massacre. It was also part of Larry's theory that Jan and Baetje's son Arent's marriage record was in error.

The 1670 Kingston Dutch Church record gave the names of the couple as Arent Jansen van [from]Naarden and Maritje Pieterse van [from] Leiden. [Marie was the daughter of 1661 Staten Island patentee Pierre Billiou.] The error, according to van der Laan, was one of language. The dialect spoken by Arent was foreign to the clerk recording the information. Arent said he was "van Heerden" [from Heerden] and the clerk misunderstood his accent, thinking Arent said "van Naarden." So Arent became a native of Naarden.

Larry's theory was backed by earlier researchers. A handful of genealogists who had compiled information on the Prall family felt that Arent had at least three siblings, Wolfert, Magdalena and Marritje, perhaps others. All of the alleged siblings that appeared in records were "van Heerde." Several of the siblings appeared as witnesses to baptisms of nieces or nephews. Wolfert named his nephew Pieter [Arent's eldest] in his will. Even variations of the Prall surname appeared among the siblings. All of this lent credence to Larry's research.

Although many Pralls have not accepted Arent Jansen van Heerde over van Naarden, those of us who have keep the theory afloat.

This is a prime case of language barriers affecting research.  

Transcription Errors: Case Study

Edward Prall's birth is frequently recorded as 23 March 1754 in Hunterdon Co., NJ. He was a veteran of the Revolutionary War and many soldiers born during the 1750s served in the Continental Army or militia. Therefore, the year of birth does not stand out until other factors are examined.

[1] Edward wrote his mother's will in 1760.
[2] Edward operated a merchant-trading business with Richard Reading during the 1760s.
[3] Brother James [b. c1729] married in 1757, as did brother Cornelius [b. 1734]. Siblings Elizabeth, Benjamin and Jemima were born c1738, c1740 and c1743 respectively.
[4] His father, Aaron was born in 1698 and mother Mary was born in 1699/1700.
[5] Edward was active with various Committees in Harford Co., MD in the 1770s.
[6] Mary Prall named her eldest son and her three youngest [Elizabeth, Benjamin and Jemima] in her will.

Checking off the list above:
[1] Could a 6 year old write his mother's will? Iffy, at best.
[2] A 6 year old in the trading business? Probably not.
[3] Could 5 siblings born between 1729 and 1743 have a brother born in 1754? Yes.
[4] Aaron would have been 56 and Mary 54 when little Edward was born. I don't think so!
[5] A teenager appointed to crucial committees? Again, iffy.
[6] Although Eliazabeth had reached 21 by 1760, the other two were about 19 and 16. Surely, Mary would have named her 6 year old!

Certain numbers can be read incorrectly under the right circumstances. Poor handwriting, a slip of the quill and careless carving on a headstone are examples of this. [1,7 / 3, 6, 8, 9 ] Extenuating circumstances suggest Edward was a victim of a transcription error at some point - a 5 should have been a 3. Thus Edward was born 23 March 1734.

He would have been 26 when his mother died and he went into business, the 3rd born to Aaron and Mary and he would have been approaching 30 as a committee member in Maryland.

Edward would have been about 32 when the war broke out, rather than 22.

Disproving Family Lore: Case Study

Fortunately, most of my "family lore" stories have been proven one way or the other with generally accepted results.

Case in point, Great-grandma Mima Simmons Crail had a brother, John W. Simmons. John served with Teddy Roosevelt in Cuba, remained behind, married a local girl and became police chief of Havana. That was the story I got from Mom and her brother. The obit for Mima's & John's father listed John living in P.I. P.I.? A message board query was answered by one of John's descendants. John served in the Philippine Islands [PI!], met a local girl, returned to the States, reenlisted and went back to marry his girl. I have stayed in contact with, and met, one of my 3rd cousins.

Apparently, some of the distant cousins of Mima and John are not buying the factual story of the Revolutionary War service of William Simmons, the brother of their great-great-grandfather. The story that has come down is that William enlisted at 18 and served in the Commander-in-chief's Guards. William commanded a regiment at the Battle of Trenton as a colonel. Simmons was also a confidant of Washington, Greene and other generals. He is shown as Col. William Simmons on a historical marker in Coshocton Co., OH. The story is mentioned in his biography and on more than one webpage.

William Simmons did see service in the 11th Pennsylvania and briefly served in Washington's Guards - as a private. The telling document [found on Ancestry.com] is a copy of the application for William's veteran's grave marker. The family wrote "Colonel" for rank. Government officials crossed out "Colonel" and wrote in "private" for rank.

William's skill as a clerk in the Guards got him transferred to the Comptroller's office before war's end. He served the 1st four presidents as an accountant in the Treasury and War Departments. He provided meritorious service in DC during the War of 1812 following troop movements, serving as an artillery observer, preventing Pres. Madison from being captured, and convinced troops to remove a cannon from the city before the British arrived.

C'mon folks, accept William Simmons as a private and clerk. Embrace his government service and heroics in Washington.

Dispelling longstanding beliefs based on early genealogical research

One of many problems that family historians and genealogists encounter is trying to sway other researchers that an error has been made in previous research or that previous research has been misinterpreted.

This may be due to several factors:
[1] Family lore that folks just won't let go of, no matter what evidence disproves the story.

[2] Transcription errors in records. Often numbers are misread in dates [3 for 8, 1 for 7, etc.]. Dates are copied incorrectly from one source to another. Numbers are transposed [84 become 48]. A name is misinterpreted [John for Jonathan, William for Willard, etc.] An incorrect word or misspelling.
Punctuation, or the lack thereof, in a document can also lead to mistakes.

[3] Language barriers. A clerk writing a name in a marriage record, deed or some other document, could misunderstand the person giving them the information. [dialect, regional accent come into play.] This could result in a misspelling of a place or name. Literacy and freelance spelling come into play here as well. If you can't read or write, there's a good chance you won't be able to tell the clerk how your name is spelled. The clerk wings it. Cochran becomes Corcoran, Cockrun, Coccrin, etc.

[4] Misinterpreting evidence. If the researcher does not pay close enough attention to relationships, family naming patterns and similar factors, the results could have children ending up in the wrong family. The assignment of children to parents in early genealogies was sometimes guesswork. The evidence may have been there, but was not followed closely enough.

[5] New research supplants earlier research. This ties back into #1 above. It is often hard to change minds. In some cases the new research is somewhat theoretical, not clearly supplanting the older research. Other times it involves new evidence that clearly changes the picture.

[6] Geographical errors can be a problem. There are two couples named, say, James and Sarah Neal residing in two different counties in the same state/colony. You have ancestors by the name of James and Sarah Neal living in South County. Their daughter is born in Midd County. You need to make sure that you have the right couple. Was the other Neal couple from Midd or a bordering county?

[7] Deeds and probate records can lead to major discoveries or add confusion. Everyone named in a deed or will needs to be correctly identified. Punctuation was often lax in wills and other records. That could lead to errors in interpreting the number of children and crucial facts in the document.

I will be examining each of these seven items over the next several posts using personal research for examples. 

Rev War Ancestors: How they fit in the lineage

Since half of our ancestors should be female, that limits the number of gentlemen who were eligible to serve in the 1775 -1783 conflict. Not being able to trace a family back to that era, also plays into the number of possible ancestors.

Here is how I am related to each of the soldiers or contributors named in my posts: 20 direct out of 37

Maternal direct: [6]
Peter Jennison: 5th great-grandson
Nicholas Crousore: 5th great-grandson
Amos Singletary: 6th great-grandson
John Simmons Sr.: 6th great-grandson
John Simmons Jr.: 5th great-grandson
Henry Smith: 5th great-grandson

Matrnal collateral: [1]
William Simmons: 5th great-grand nephew

Paternal direct: [14]
Enoch Gulley: 4th great-grandson
John Faucett: 4th great-grandson
James Cunningham: 4th great-grandson
Thomas Barlow: 5th great-grandson
Holden Rhodes: 4th great-grandson
Cornelius Prall Sr.: 4th great-grandson
Isaac Rittenhouse: 4th great-grandson
Seth Mahurin: 5th great-grandson
Nicholas Miller: 4th great-grandson
Edward Land: 6th great-grandson
Thomas Land: 5th great-grandson
John Land: 4th great-grandson
Job St. John: 6th great-grandson
John St. John: 5th great-grandson

Paternal collateral: [16]
Thomas Gulley, Richard Gulley, Edward Prall, Benjamin Prall: 4th great-grand nephew
Thomas Sumter, William Sumter, John Sumter, Noah St. John, Matthew St. John, Samuel St. John, Adam St. John: 5th great-grand nephew
Garrison Prall: 3rd great-grand nephew
John Gulley: 1st cousin 5x removed
Nathanael Greene: 3rd cousin 7x removed
Benedict Arnold: 4th cousin 6x removed
Conrad Earthenhouse: related by marriage to a Cawby

States represented: Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Connecticut - 9 out of 13, not bad!

Rev War Ancestors XX: The St. Johns

This was a very active family during the American Revolution; no less than six members of Job St. John's family served:

Job St. John [c1719 CT - c1789 NY]: Job served as an Exempt in Cpt. Jacob Woods' company of the 4th NY Militia. [Exempts were older or infirmed men who served on guard duty.]

Noah St. John [1752 NY - 1802 KY]: Corporal, Col. Johannes Hardenburgh, Lt. Col. Jansen, Cpt. Ostrander's Co., 4th NY Militia. Saw action at Stony Point, NY.

Samuel St. John [1756 NY - 1819 NY]: Private, 4th NY Militia [see above]

Adam St. John [1758 NY - 1800 NY]: Private, 4th NY Militia [see above]

Matthew St. John [1754 NY - 1836  NY]: Private, 4th Regiment, Orange Co. Militia, Col. John Hathorn.

John St. John [1750 NY - 1819 OH]: Private, Col. Thaddeus Crane, 4th Regiment, Westchester Co. Militia. Captain Ebenezer Scofield, NY Line.

All of the above signed the Articles of Association for their respective communities in 1775.