Was Alice Henderson, wife of James (b aft 1695 Somerset Co MD), a Kollock or a Pollock? Or neither?

In a recent article discussing the likelihood of a connection between James "Isaac" Henderson of 1732 Onslow County NC and the older group of Hendersons on the Delmarva Peninsula, I stated:

"John and Elizabeth [Henderson] had a son named James (b aft 1695 d bef Aug 1776) who married Alice Kollock (could this be "Pollock," a prominent name in early Bertie & Onslow Counties?) but from what I can tell of him and his descendants (including another son named James who m Sarah Merrill), this family stayed in the area of Somerset and Worcester Counties in MD and is pretty well accounted for."

To satisfy myself that "Kollock" was not a mis-spelling of "Pollock," I had a quick look this afternoon just to see if there was an actual "Kollock" family living in the vicinity of Somerset County MD in the late 1600's, and sure enough, Jacob Kollock had settled the area around Lewes and Rehoboth Bay as early as 1689. There is an 1865 book of the family's genealogy free to read online which does as decent a job of enumerating the family's generations as one might expect from an older work of genealogy.

Down the Kollock rabbit hole I went.

But the further I burrowed, the more I began to wonder at a Kollock connection with our group of Delmarva Hendersons. The information I was given in my database shows James Henderson, son of John & Elizabeth Barnaby Henderson, marrying an Alice Kollock in Somerset County MD about 1715. Estimated dates of birth for James and Alice are "about 1695." A birth around that time would have most likely made Alice a granddaughter of Jacob Kollock through his sons Simon, Cornelius or Jacob Jr. (Jacob Sr.'s seven children seem pretty clearly outlined and there is no Alice among them.)

Although I didn't see children of Cornelius or Jacob Jr. in the book, Simon did have a granddaughter named Alice who married a John Henderson (not James). Further investigation yielded a marriage date of 24 Jan 1763 in Lewes, DE -- too late to be the Alice Kollock who married James Henderson.

Additional digging online turned up the information that Alice was the daughter of Shepard Kollock (who was in turn son of Simon, and grandson of Jacob). Simon died intestate so there were subsequent court records in Sussex County DE which helpfully outlined the relationship of some of the Kollock family members. Of most interest to me, however, was this account from Land Records of Sussex Co DE, Deed Book L No 11 and M No 12:

George Kollock, ship joyner,
from Boaz Manlove, High Sheriff of Sussex Co. 
4 May 1769. 

Simon Kollock, Esqr., late of Sussex Co., died intestate, and 2/3 of his tract fell to Shepard Kollock, eldest son, admr. of his late father who left and bequeathed by his last will the afsd. land amongst his several heirs, which heirs exhibited a petition to the Court of Common Pleas for a division of the land and the above land was allotted to Alice Henderson wife of John Henderson, shopkeeper, being one of the heirs of Shepard Kollock, land in the suburbs of the town of Lewes, on the southeast side fo the main county road that leadeth from the town of Lewes to Rehoboth and on the northeast side and adjoining David Hall's land which he bought of Simon Kollock, one of the afsd. heirs and joining the afsd. George Kollock's land on the southwest side of his land, being part of the afds. dividend or tract surveyed and divided of 42 1/4 acres, which John Henderson as above mentioned by a certain obligation became indebted to John White and Samuel Coldwell of Philadelphia, merchants and sometime afterwards said White and Coldwell recovered a judgement against afds. Henderson for the sum of the afds. obligation and whereas his land was seized and sold by public sale to George Kollick for 40 shillings. Wit John Russel, Wm Prettyman. Within deed ackn. 4 May 1796

George Kollock, Sussex co., joyner, from Alice Henderson, Sussex Co., spinster. 4 May 1769 For 87. Parcel of land being part of a larger tract granted by patent to Alexander Molleston, late of afds co., dec'd, and by sundry deeds of conveyances became the property of Simon Kollock, Esqr. late of the county adsd., died intestate and Shepard Kollock admr. of afds. Simon Kollock and the land became the property of Shepard Kollock and the land fell to the heirs of afds. Shepard Kollock and a parcel was allottted to Alice Henderson, one of the daughters of afds. Shepard Kollock. Lnd being in the suburbs of the town of Lewes joining land of David Hall and George Kollock. 41 1/4 acres. Wit: Benjamin Miflin, John Haverlo. Within deed of sale ackn. 5 May 1769.

So it appears that John Henderson, shop keeper, had nearly let his wife's inheritance slip out of the family but it was rescued by Alice's brother, George.

I don't know what to make of the 1769 appellation "Alice Henderson, Sussex Co., spinster" -- did she leave him for what he'd done?

I have found several trees online that show Alice Kollock (w/o "James" Henderson) as the daughter of Simon and Comfort Shepard Kollock, however, the information above clearly calls Alice Henderson "one of the daughters of the aforsaid Shepard Kollock" -- not a daughter of Simon.

At any rate, it seems clear to me that the Alice Kollock who married a John Henderson in Sussex County DE is not the Alice Kollock we are looking for as a wife of James Henderson of Somerset Co MD. I have no idea who the younger Alice's husband John Henderson was, or whether he was even connected with the "Delmarva James" Henderson family. I am adding him to the database as husband of Alice Kollock, and I am adding Alice as daughter of Shephard, but I have no parents for this John. If anyone can shed any light on him, please do so in the comments section below.

I am developing a nasty little suspicion that there might not have been an Alice "Kollock" who married James Henderson circa 1715 in Somerset County MD. Still, have to explore every avenue. Maybe she was the daughter of Cornelius, or Jacob Jr.?

A quick search for further information on Jacob Kollock Jr. and Cornelius Kollock revealed that Jacob Jr. was likely too young to be father of an Alice born around 1695, he himself only having been born in 1692. Although he did marry an "Alice Shepherd," I don't think he's a candidate for our purposes.

Here is his obituary from the Pennsylvania Gazette, March 26, 1772:

JACOB KOLLOCK - On the 7th of last Month departed this life at Lewes-Town in the County of Sussex, in the 80th year of his Age, after a long and tedious illness which he endured with great fortitude and Christian Resignation, Jacob Kollock, Esq., who for upwards of forty years was annually chosen one of the Representatives in Assembly for said County; and for the same Length of Time he was President of the Court of Common Pleas, a Trustee of the Loan Office, Register of Wills, Clerk of the Orphans Court, and Treasurer of the County, all which Offices he executed with great Reputation. And in the various Stations of private Life his Conduct was irreproachable ; he was an affectionate Husband and Father, a faithful Friend, and a kind Master. His steady Perseverance in a virtuous Course of Life rendered him deservedly beloved by all his acquaintance. He was Colonel of the Sussex Regt. 1756. —The Pennsylvania Gazette, March 26, 1772

So scratch Jacob Jr.

Now, what about Cornelius? A search of the LDS records shows the children of Cornelius as: Simon b 1723, William b 1725, Sarah b 1727, Mary b 1729, Royal b 1721, and Samuel b 1733. No Alice, and all too born to late to align with the Alice we're looking for.

My guess at this point is that process of elimination has shown that Alice, wife of James Henderson b ca 1695 in Somerset County MD was unlikely to have been Alice Kollock since no Alice was found among the Kollock family during the correct time period. I believe that researchers may have mistaken the Alice Kollock who married John Henderson in Sussex Co DE in 1763 for Alice, wife of James Henderson of Somerset County MD -- although how that could have happened, considering the clarity of the records, is a mystery to me.

If anyone is aware of documents that can disprove my theory of a case of mistaken identity, please contact me and point me in the direction of the missing records! I would be delighted to be able to re-connect the Kollocks to the Delmarva Henderson tree, but at this point, I feel I must remove them.

Pursuing an Ulster Connection for the Hendersons

Originally published October 20, 2009

There is longstanding speculation as to whether or not the Chesapeake Hendersons came directly to Virginia from Scotland, or whether the family may have been in Ulster for one or two generations prior to emigrating to America. A recent DNA match with a line of Hendersons first identified in Baltimore in 1833 fuels the speculation further. 1880 census information from two Baltimore Hendersons believed to be brothers gives conflicting "place of birth" information for their father. One says "Scotland," the other "Ireland." Unfortunately, later census information says the father of the men was born in "Maryland," so no firm conclusions can be drawn.

In an effort to explore a possible connection to Ulster, I am seeking to correspond with Hendersons who can document their ancestry back to that area of Ireland. I was recently contacted by Bill Henderson, a resident of the Isle of Man, who can trace his family back to County Londonderry in the early 1700's. Bill is interested in DNA testing, and while it's definitely a long shot, I find myself hoping he is a match to us. If any readers of this blog are Hendersons who can document their ancestry back to the Ulster Plantations, please leave me a comment with your contact information.

Laura HendersonDecember 12, 2009 at 4:47 PM

As a follow-up to this post, Bill's DNA test results are in, and he is not a match to our line. Nevertheless, I am confident that the more we test, the more we'll know! Please contact me if you are a UK male Henderson who can trace your roots prior to 1800 and would be willing to participate in the Clan Henderson Society's DNA project to help other Hendersons discover their origins!

Without a Doubt, the Blood Will Out!

Originally published Tuesday, June 30, 2009

New DNA Match links James (Isaac) Henderson line to Chesapeake/Delmarva Hendersons
A 12-marker match between two descendants of James (Isaac) Henderson and a descendant of Barnabas Henderson has ended years of speculation about a link between the two families.

The Barnabas Henderson line of Onslow County, NC can trace their roots back to the 17th century James Henderson who settled in Accomack/Northampton County, VA and Somerset County, MD. Eastern shore records on James Henderson are relatively plentiful (in consideration of the era) and further examination of available documents and research will be required in order to determine whether James (Isaac) Henderson was a descendant of the Chesapeake group, or a cousin with a common ancestor in the UK.

Man, I should know better than to get started on this stuff.

I have such a backlog of genealogical emails and documents to work through that my desktop, my email application, and even my house looks like that of the proverbial Mad Scientist. I try every day to address at least one thing, be it an email, a GEDCOM someone sent me, a new snail mail letter, or something I found and copied from the internet and then stuck in my "to do" box. The problem with this daily approach is that once I start, I can't stop!

This week I have started a new listserve for the G1 Henderson family. G1 is a designation given to Hendersons who are known to be from the Onslow and Chesapeake groups. We were all awkwardly sharing bits and pieces of information and misinformation and so I decided a listserve would be much more efficient. But setting it up has come with the attendant consumption of time on the front end. Hopefully it will pretty much run itself once everyone is onboard and chatting.

I'm also continuing to puzzle out the whole Corder-Baker relationship. We know the Corders and Bakers are related from their DNA testing, but how? Since there was obviously a non-paternal event in one of the families, the speculation needs to be done privately, and more testing would help. I think I may be on to something since the Wayne County KY Corder's DNA test came in and matched our Elijah Corder line, however. As they say, that changes everything. More on that later as new developments come in.