In my newly-appointed capacity of co-admin for Group R-B3 within the Clan Henderson DNA Project, I've been intending to create a repository of documents which may become useful to testers within that group in the future. It occurred to me that one document in particular, an article which has been printed and reprinted in Clan Henderson newsletter An Canach, should be shared with a wider audience in hopes that it will begin to help researchers correct misinformation which has been perpetuated for decades.
This article concerns the persistent myth of a Thomas Henderson who supposedly emigrated from Dumfries and arrived in Jamestown in April of 1607 (or shortly thereafter). This mythical ancestor comes complete with connections to the Fordell family line (a good example of which can be seen in the work of Lucy Henderson Horton), but that's the case with many early genealogies and loosely-documented Henderson histories both in print and online.
Now. Pay attention to this part. No documentation in support of the existence of a Thomas Henderson of Dumfries or his presence in Jamestown in 1607, or of any actual documented descendants, has ever been found. Ever. In spite of the utter and complete lack of evidence, this pernicious Henderson "founding father" has even penetrated the sacrosanct records of the DAR. It's time to bury this one so that serious researchers who have been led to believe that they descend from Thomas Henderson of Jamestown can begin searching for their actual ancestors. As long as Henderson researchers are distracted by Thomas, their real ancestors -- the ones who sacrificed and braved the wilds of the New World so that we could play on Ancestry.com today -- will never receive the recognition and acknowledgement they deserve.
To help people past the erroneous Thomas, James Henderson III (dec'd) wrote The True Thomas Henderson, an article which was originally published in An Canach in 1990, and was reprinted in 1999 and 2003. The article mentions Thomas's supposed son or grandson, Richard, who married Mary, the daughter of an Ensign Washer,* and delves into clues about an actual Thomas Henderson upon whom the mythical Thomas may have been based.
I am providing links to two versions of the article: a truncated version with editorial comments and an expanded version with full details. I recommend interested parties read both to gain the fullest understanding of the origins of the myth of Thomas Henderson. These articles are posted with permission from Russ Henderson, former editor of An Canach.
Note: In the expanded version of the article the author mentions a "proven lineage" from Gilbert Henderson of Virginia's early Eastern Shore and implies that Gilbert was connected with the early Tidewater Virginia Hendersons. Recent DNA test results indicate that Gilbert Henderson was probably unrelated to the Hendersons of the Tidewater area. The DNA signature of a tester whom we believe may trace back to Gilbert Henderson of Accomack Co VA is a nearly identical match to the DNA results of numerous descendants of James Henderson of early Somerset Co MD. Based on this, we believe that Gilbert and James, who were contemporaries in 1660's Accomack & Northampton Counties, VA, may have been brothers or cousins.
*Ensign is a military designation, not a first name.
Showing posts with label Virginia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virginia. Show all posts
Friday, October 30, 2015
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
A Brief Introduction to Eastern Shore Justice. Grab Your Popcorn.
Last night as I was reading through Warren Billings's The Old Dominion in the Seventeenth Century, I came across a couple of county court records that I just had to share.
In the chapter on Self-Government, Billings offers textbook cases on various matters of civil justice. The bawdy indignity of these records is a reassuring reminder that our ancestors were no better behaved than we (in some cases, worse), and that people and things never really change. Well, no, I take that back. Some things do change, and for the better. For instance, we no longer drag people from the sterns of canoes (between cow pens, in shark-infested waters, no less) as retribution for mild insults, and only rarely do we require them stand on up-turned buckets in church aisles, wrapped in sheets and holding aloft "white wands" while repeating whatever demeaning phrases the local preacher might have scripted for them.
The players in these dramas would have been known, at least in passing, to our Henderson, Bishop and Barnaby relatives of the lower Delmarva Peninsula. So dim the lights, grab your popcorn, sit back and enjoy the appalling spectacle of 17th-century justice.
CHARACTER DEFAMATION, 1634 (Pages 95-96)
Northampton County Order Book, 1632-1640, fol. 34
At this Court Edward Drew preferred a petition against Joane Butler for caling of his wife common C*nted hoare and upon due examination, and the Deposition of John Halloway* and William Basely who affirmeath the same [on] oath to be true that the syd Joane Butler used those words. Upon due examination it is thought fit by this board that the syd Joane Butler shal be drawen over the Kings Creeke at the starne of a boat or kanew from one kow pen to the other, or else the next Sabath day in the tyme of the devyne servis betwext the first and second lesson present her selfe befor the minister and say after him as followeth, I Joane Butler doe acknowledge to have called Marie Drew hoare, and thereby I confesse I have done her manefest wronge, wherefore I desire before this congregation, that the syd Marie Drew will forgive me, and alsoe that this congregation will joyne, and praye with me, that God may for give me.
So what do you think? A good dragging from the stern of a canoe? Or a public mea culpa in church? I don't know about you, but I'm thinking the water is looking might-y fine, cow manure notwithstanding.
The second record is from across the Bay in Lower Norfolk County where we find early settler and justice Adam Thoroughgood (whose descendants would marry into connected Keeling and Woodhouse families) being brashly dismissed by the wife of William Fowler. In this case there was a single insult, but "several witnesses" gave oath that it did indeed happen as described, and the testimony of two witnesses is recorded (I only relate that of the first).
A JUSTICE SLANDERED (Page 96)
Lower Norfolk County Order Book, 1637-1646 (transcript), 1-2.
The deposition of Gilbert Guy, age 28 years or thereabouts Sworn and Examined, Sayeth That being at the house of William Fowler, discoursing with him concerning [a] certain cask found by the Servant of Capt. Adam Thorougood [one of the justices of the peace] by the Seaside, but afterwards being seized and fetched away by the aforesaid William Fowler, the aforesaid deponent told him it would vex him to have the said casks taken away from him, Thereupon the wife of the said William Fowler asked who would take them from him? The deponent answered Capt. Thorougood, upon which she, the said Anne Fowler, answered, "Let Capt. Thorougood Kiss my arse."... [William Tanner, a second witness, then affirms the conversation as related by Guy] ... Whereas it doth appear to this court by the oaths of several witnesses that Anne Fowler the wife of William Fowler of Linhaven, planter, did in a shameful uncomely and irreverent manner, bid Capt. Adam Thorougood Kiss her arse, with the assignation of many unusual terms, It is therefore ordered that the said Anne Fowler shall, for hir offense, receive twenty Stripes upon the bare shoulders and ask for forgiveness of the said Capt. Thorougood here now in Court and also the ensuing Sunday at Linhaven.
Although it's a little hard to follow, it looks like Thoroughgood's servant found a cask washed up onshore, and William Fowler took it from him (you have to wonder how that played out). Gilbert Guy fully expected that Thoroughgood would demand the return of the property found by his servant, but when he suggest that likely outcome to the Fowlers, Anne Fowler bid the good Captain (in absentia) to kiss her posterior -- and apparently unsatisfied to leave it at that, did so "with the assignation of many unusual terms." Good stuff. I expect she was wishing she could just kiss the Captain's "arse" and call it even by the time they were on about the 5th stripe.
In another case, the text of which I will not relate, Thomas Tooker (Tucker?) and Elizabeth Hauntine, also from the den of iniquity that was Lower Norfolk County, were in 1641 accused of "the foul crime of fornication" and ordered to do penance in the chapel of ease. On the next sabbath the guilty couple were to "...[stand] in the middle alley of the said church upon a stool in a white sheet and a white wand in their hands, all the time of Divine Service and shall say after the Minister such words as he shall deliver unto them before the Congregation there present..." And also to pay court costs.
Things didn't go quite according to plan. Elizabeth refused to play her assigned role when the minister "admonished hir to be sorry for hir foul crime" and then she went totally off script. "Like a most obstinate and graceless person, [she did] cut and mangle the sheet wherein she did penance."
Twenty stripes for her as well. I guess she could bandage herself up with that mangled sheet.
Ahhhh. Don't you wish we could go back to "the good old days?"
*John Holloway was an early Eastern Shore planter and physician. In 1640 James and Sarah Barnaby were listed as headrights for Holloway's Hungars Creek patent of 640a. James Barnaby was mentioned several times in Holloway's will.
Passages are taken from court records as transcribed in: Billings, Warren M. The Old Dominion in the Seventeenth Century: A Documentary History of Virginia, 1606-1700. Rev. ed. Chapel Hill: Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Virginia, by the University of North Carolina Press, 2007.
In the chapter on Self-Government, Billings offers textbook cases on various matters of civil justice. The bawdy indignity of these records is a reassuring reminder that our ancestors were no better behaved than we (in some cases, worse), and that people and things never really change. Well, no, I take that back. Some things do change, and for the better. For instance, we no longer drag people from the sterns of canoes (between cow pens, in shark-infested waters, no less) as retribution for mild insults, and only rarely do we require them stand on up-turned buckets in church aisles, wrapped in sheets and holding aloft "white wands" while repeating whatever demeaning phrases the local preacher might have scripted for them.
The players in these dramas would have been known, at least in passing, to our Henderson, Bishop and Barnaby relatives of the lower Delmarva Peninsula. So dim the lights, grab your popcorn, sit back and enjoy the appalling spectacle of 17th-century justice.
CHARACTER DEFAMATION, 1634 (Pages 95-96)
Northampton County Order Book, 1632-1640, fol. 34
At this Court Edward Drew preferred a petition against Joane Butler for caling of his wife common C*nted hoare and upon due examination, and the Deposition of John Halloway* and William Basely who affirmeath the same [on] oath to be true that the syd Joane Butler used those words. Upon due examination it is thought fit by this board that the syd Joane Butler shal be drawen over the Kings Creeke at the starne of a boat or kanew from one kow pen to the other, or else the next Sabath day in the tyme of the devyne servis betwext the first and second lesson present her selfe befor the minister and say after him as followeth, I Joane Butler doe acknowledge to have called Marie Drew hoare, and thereby I confesse I have done her manefest wronge, wherefore I desire before this congregation, that the syd Marie Drew will forgive me, and alsoe that this congregation will joyne, and praye with me, that God may for give me.
So what do you think? A good dragging from the stern of a canoe? Or a public mea culpa in church? I don't know about you, but I'm thinking the water is looking might-y fine, cow manure notwithstanding.
The second record is from across the Bay in Lower Norfolk County where we find early settler and justice Adam Thoroughgood (whose descendants would marry into connected Keeling and Woodhouse families) being brashly dismissed by the wife of William Fowler. In this case there was a single insult, but "several witnesses" gave oath that it did indeed happen as described, and the testimony of two witnesses is recorded (I only relate that of the first).
A JUSTICE SLANDERED (Page 96)
Lower Norfolk County Order Book, 1637-1646 (transcript), 1-2.
The deposition of Gilbert Guy, age 28 years or thereabouts Sworn and Examined, Sayeth That being at the house of William Fowler, discoursing with him concerning [a] certain cask found by the Servant of Capt. Adam Thorougood [one of the justices of the peace] by the Seaside, but afterwards being seized and fetched away by the aforesaid William Fowler, the aforesaid deponent told him it would vex him to have the said casks taken away from him, Thereupon the wife of the said William Fowler asked who would take them from him? The deponent answered Capt. Thorougood, upon which she, the said Anne Fowler, answered, "Let Capt. Thorougood Kiss my arse."... [William Tanner, a second witness, then affirms the conversation as related by Guy] ... Whereas it doth appear to this court by the oaths of several witnesses that Anne Fowler the wife of William Fowler of Linhaven, planter, did in a shameful uncomely and irreverent manner, bid Capt. Adam Thorougood Kiss her arse, with the assignation of many unusual terms, It is therefore ordered that the said Anne Fowler shall, for hir offense, receive twenty Stripes upon the bare shoulders and ask for forgiveness of the said Capt. Thorougood here now in Court and also the ensuing Sunday at Linhaven.
Although it's a little hard to follow, it looks like Thoroughgood's servant found a cask washed up onshore, and William Fowler took it from him (you have to wonder how that played out). Gilbert Guy fully expected that Thoroughgood would demand the return of the property found by his servant, but when he suggest that likely outcome to the Fowlers, Anne Fowler bid the good Captain (in absentia) to kiss her posterior -- and apparently unsatisfied to leave it at that, did so "with the assignation of many unusual terms." Good stuff. I expect she was wishing she could just kiss the Captain's "arse" and call it even by the time they were on about the 5th stripe.
In another case, the text of which I will not relate, Thomas Tooker (Tucker?) and Elizabeth Hauntine, also from the den of iniquity that was Lower Norfolk County, were in 1641 accused of "the foul crime of fornication" and ordered to do penance in the chapel of ease. On the next sabbath the guilty couple were to "...[stand] in the middle alley of the said church upon a stool in a white sheet and a white wand in their hands, all the time of Divine Service and shall say after the Minister such words as he shall deliver unto them before the Congregation there present..." And also to pay court costs.
Things didn't go quite according to plan. Elizabeth refused to play her assigned role when the minister "admonished hir to be sorry for hir foul crime" and then she went totally off script. "Like a most obstinate and graceless person, [she did] cut and mangle the sheet wherein she did penance."
Twenty stripes for her as well. I guess she could bandage herself up with that mangled sheet.
Ahhhh. Don't you wish we could go back to "the good old days?"
*John Holloway was an early Eastern Shore planter and physician. In 1640 James and Sarah Barnaby were listed as headrights for Holloway's Hungars Creek patent of 640a. James Barnaby was mentioned several times in Holloway's will.
Passages are taken from court records as transcribed in: Billings, Warren M. The Old Dominion in the Seventeenth Century: A Documentary History of Virginia, 1606-1700. Rev. ed. Chapel Hill: Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Virginia, by the University of North Carolina Press, 2007.
Friday, April 3, 2015
In which I build a Google Map and attempt to plot 18th-century Kennedy families of the mid-Atlantic
A couple of months ago I began working in earnest to try to push my Kennedy family line back past ancestor David Kennedy, who died in the spring of 1800 while on a horse trading trip through the Carolinas.
Kennedy's young family in Russell County VA received a report that he had been taken ill during his travels and died suddenly. According to family lore, he was buried where he died, although the exact location has never been determined. Only a few months later his wife, Elizabeth Conway Kennedy, was killed in a dispute with a neighbor, leaving a young son and daughter orphaned. I wrote about that incident in a previous blog post.
We know very little about David Kennedy, but recent DNA testing has disproved the family tradition connecting him to the Augusta County VA family of Captain Joseph Kennedy (or, in fact, to any Kennedys currently participating in the Surname Project)
So I'm coming at the puzzle from both directions in time.
First I connected with modern Kennedy cousins to collaborate and share information on generations from the period of Kennedy's untimely death to the present. That work is ongoing and we will continue to pull together to try to discover the origin of our common ancestor.
Next I connected with Kennedy Surname and DNA Project Administrator James Kennedy to review the current results of the Kennedy Y-DNA tests to see if those could be of any assistance in identifying possible ancestors of our David Kennedy. After communicating with Jim Kennedy, it became clear that no comparisons could be made because no one from our Kennedy family had submitted a DNA test! Kennedy cousin Laura Smith identified three potential direct-line male testers and raised funds to pay for the tests, and after the typical delay of 10-12 weeks we had our answer. No matches. While this was discouraging news in one respect, it allowed us to sweep away decades of erroneous research and start with a fresh slate.
In the mean time, I have been plugging away at creating an interactive map (on Google) to help me sort out various clusters of Kennedys that I run across in my research. Who knew Kennedy was such a prolific surname!? The plotted points on the map are the results of logging the many random references in old books, stray Kennedys found in online data, already-researched Kennedy family groups from Ancestry and similar sites, and Kennedys whose locations can be discerned from the current chart of DNA test results.
The map will always be a work in progress, as there are still very likely hundreds (if not thousands) of markers to be added (I've charted less than 20% of the identifiable DNA tests at this point, for instance).
Bear in mind that this is a project intended to help my extended Kennedy family weed through, identify, and confirm or discard potential connections to our specific line. Therefore many of the comments that I've made in the plotted entries may not seem helpful to all Kennedy lines, however, it is my hope that just making a start at identifying and categorizing some of the known groups may be better than having no map at all.
Although the map is called "18th Century Mid-Atlantic Kennedy Groups" it has suffered from scope creep as descendants scattered to the wind and new immigrants arrived over the span of decades. In general though, I have tried to keep things contained the 18th century and the mid-Atlantic. There is an obvious focus on the families of PA/MD/VA/NC/SC, which is most relevant to my David Kennedy family project.
On the lefthand side of the live map you will see a key. I have tried to color-code the groups where possible to identify clusters that appear to be related. Dots indicate paper-trail research and teardrop-shaped markers mean we have a confirmed DNA test for the individual. So for instance, the light blue markers in the western NC area (refer to live map) are a mixture of dots and teardrops since we have several DNA tests for that line, but we also have a paper trail that allows us to identify additional individuals who are related to that same cluster.
Pale gray dots or teardrops indicate that the individual is not yet identified and/or matched with any other group.
An "X" before an individual's name means I have ruled that line out as being a potential match for my Kennedy family. The star-shaped markers indicate individuals that I feel may be strong leads for our group.
Again, this is a work in progress which is strongly tilted towards assisting descendants of David and Elizabeth Conway Kennedy of Russell County VA, but hopefully it can be of assistance to other families at the same time.
Kennedy's young family in Russell County VA received a report that he had been taken ill during his travels and died suddenly. According to family lore, he was buried where he died, although the exact location has never been determined. Only a few months later his wife, Elizabeth Conway Kennedy, was killed in a dispute with a neighbor, leaving a young son and daughter orphaned. I wrote about that incident in a previous blog post.
We know very little about David Kennedy, but recent DNA testing has disproved the family tradition connecting him to the Augusta County VA family of Captain Joseph Kennedy (or, in fact, to any Kennedys currently participating in the Surname Project)
So I'm coming at the puzzle from both directions in time.
First I connected with modern Kennedy cousins to collaborate and share information on generations from the period of Kennedy's untimely death to the present. That work is ongoing and we will continue to pull together to try to discover the origin of our common ancestor.
Next I connected with Kennedy Surname and DNA Project Administrator James Kennedy to review the current results of the Kennedy Y-DNA tests to see if those could be of any assistance in identifying possible ancestors of our David Kennedy. After communicating with Jim Kennedy, it became clear that no comparisons could be made because no one from our Kennedy family had submitted a DNA test! Kennedy cousin Laura Smith identified three potential direct-line male testers and raised funds to pay for the tests, and after the typical delay of 10-12 weeks we had our answer. No matches. While this was discouraging news in one respect, it allowed us to sweep away decades of erroneous research and start with a fresh slate.
In the mean time, I have been plugging away at creating an interactive map (on Google) to help me sort out various clusters of Kennedys that I run across in my research. Who knew Kennedy was such a prolific surname!? The plotted points on the map are the results of logging the many random references in old books, stray Kennedys found in online data, already-researched Kennedy family groups from Ancestry and similar sites, and Kennedys whose locations can be discerned from the current chart of DNA test results.
The map will always be a work in progress, as there are still very likely hundreds (if not thousands) of markers to be added (I've charted less than 20% of the identifiable DNA tests at this point, for instance).
Bear in mind that this is a project intended to help my extended Kennedy family weed through, identify, and confirm or discard potential connections to our specific line. Therefore many of the comments that I've made in the plotted entries may not seem helpful to all Kennedy lines, however, it is my hope that just making a start at identifying and categorizing some of the known groups may be better than having no map at all.
Although the map is called "18th Century Mid-Atlantic Kennedy Groups" it has suffered from scope creep as descendants scattered to the wind and new immigrants arrived over the span of decades. In general though, I have tried to keep things contained the 18th century and the mid-Atlantic. There is an obvious focus on the families of PA/MD/VA/NC/SC, which is most relevant to my David Kennedy family project.
On the lefthand side of the live map you will see a key. I have tried to color-code the groups where possible to identify clusters that appear to be related. Dots indicate paper-trail research and teardrop-shaped markers mean we have a confirmed DNA test for the individual. So for instance, the light blue markers in the western NC area (refer to live map) are a mixture of dots and teardrops since we have several DNA tests for that line, but we also have a paper trail that allows us to identify additional individuals who are related to that same cluster.
Pale gray dots or teardrops indicate that the individual is not yet identified and/or matched with any other group.
An "X" before an individual's name means I have ruled that line out as being a potential match for my Kennedy family. The star-shaped markers indicate individuals that I feel may be strong leads for our group.
Again, this is a work in progress which is strongly tilted towards assisting descendants of David and Elizabeth Conway Kennedy of Russell County VA, but hopefully it can be of assistance to other families at the same time.
 |
| Click here to visit the live map on Google |
Early NC/VA Hendersons: Edward Mosely's 1733 Map of North Carolina and 17th Century Maps of the Delmarva Peninsula
A couple of tools that I have found to be particularly helpful when trying to pinpoint the location of my Henderson families in the 17th and 18th centuries are Edward Moseley's 1733 Map of northeastern North Carolina (primarily the Chowan Precinct), and a collection of 17th-and-18th-century maps of the Delmarva Peninsula that can be found on the website of the Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture.
Unfortunately, the earliest maps of the Delmarva Peninsula are so archaic and inaccurately drawn and oriented as to be nearly indecipherable, but by 1682, the one drawn by John Seller is at least recognizable. The 18th century maps are better. There is also an enlargeable one in the digital collection of the Library of Congress. I believe it dates from 1778 and is called "The Peninsula Between Delaware & Chesopeak Bays, with the said bays and shores adjacent drawn from the most accurate surveys." This one is particularly useful due to the zoom feature.
I stumbled across the Moseley map while trying to locate the Meherrin Creek referred to in this 1737 Bertie County land record witnessed by a JOHN HENDERSON:
Book 3 p. 363 William Moore to Benjamin Hill
19 January 1737 100 acres on N side Meheron Creek. Wit: J Bonde, John Laman, JOHN HENDERSON. "Know...that I Judith Moore...have for five pounds...by Coll Benjamin Hill relinquished all my Right Title and Interest to within land. 19 January 1737. Wit J Bonde, John Laman, JOHN HENDERSON. November Court 1738.
While I don't know that this John Henderson is connected in any way to the Delmarva Hendersons or to either of the two Onslow County Henderson groups, it is a point of interest that James "Isaac" Henderson's 1770 will was witnessed by John Bond and _____ Moor. The names Bond and Moor/Moore are frequently connected with the handful of other very early northeastern NC Henderson records I have been able to find.
The name Edward Moseley is well-known in the old Chowan and Bertie precincts of North Carolina. Moseley, the Surveyor General of North Carolina before 1710 and between 1723-1733, was born in England in 1683, and was active in the early politics of the colony. Moseley immigrated into Charleston and began his career as an Ordinary Court Clerk under Governor James Moore. He would marry judiciously (Anne Lillington Walker, widow of former governor Henderson Walker) and rise through the political ranks, ending up in Albemarle County where he began his surveying and legal careers. A feud between Moseley and Governor Charles Eden arose when Moseley accused Eden of collusion with the pirate Blackbeard (circumstantial evidence seems strong). As a result of the libel, he was heavily fined and banned from public office for several years.
Nevertheless...the man drew a good map.
Learn more about Edward Moseley's 1733 Map.
Learn more about Edward Moseley's life and political career.
Unfortunately, the earliest maps of the Delmarva Peninsula are so archaic and inaccurately drawn and oriented as to be nearly indecipherable, but by 1682, the one drawn by John Seller is at least recognizable. The 18th century maps are better. There is also an enlargeable one in the digital collection of the Library of Congress. I believe it dates from 1778 and is called "The Peninsula Between Delaware & Chesopeak Bays, with the said bays and shores adjacent drawn from the most accurate surveys." This one is particularly useful due to the zoom feature.
I stumbled across the Moseley map while trying to locate the Meherrin Creek referred to in this 1737 Bertie County land record witnessed by a JOHN HENDERSON:
Book 3 p. 363 William Moore to Benjamin Hill
19 January 1737 100 acres on N side Meheron Creek. Wit: J Bonde, John Laman, JOHN HENDERSON. "Know...that I Judith Moore...have for five pounds...by Coll Benjamin Hill relinquished all my Right Title and Interest to within land. 19 January 1737. Wit J Bonde, John Laman, JOHN HENDERSON. November Court 1738.
While I don't know that this John Henderson is connected in any way to the Delmarva Hendersons or to either of the two Onslow County Henderson groups, it is a point of interest that James "Isaac" Henderson's 1770 will was witnessed by John Bond and _____ Moor. The names Bond and Moor/Moore are frequently connected with the handful of other very early northeastern NC Henderson records I have been able to find.
The name Edward Moseley is well-known in the old Chowan and Bertie precincts of North Carolina. Moseley, the Surveyor General of North Carolina before 1710 and between 1723-1733, was born in England in 1683, and was active in the early politics of the colony. Moseley immigrated into Charleston and began his career as an Ordinary Court Clerk under Governor James Moore. He would marry judiciously (Anne Lillington Walker, widow of former governor Henderson Walker) and rise through the political ranks, ending up in Albemarle County where he began his surveying and legal careers. A feud between Moseley and Governor Charles Eden arose when Moseley accused Eden of collusion with the pirate Blackbeard (circumstantial evidence seems strong). As a result of the libel, he was heavily fined and banned from public office for several years.
Nevertheless...the man drew a good map.
Learn more about Edward Moseley's 1733 Map.
Learn more about Edward Moseley's life and political career.
 |
| Edward Moseley's Map of NC, 1733 |
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Merging Margarets (Margaret J. Ramey Osborne Wheatley)
Originally published March 25, 2014
It's been a while since I have had a chance to work on genealogy, but I hope to ramp up my old pastime this year and get a new website online. I've added quite a few tidbits here and there during the years since my last major update and I think it's time to get the new stuff out there.
This week, though, I had a pressing genealogical matter to attend to. Oddly enough, while Tom and I were in Italy earlier this month, we met a couple with the surname of Wheatley (this was an American couple, not an Italian couple). I mentioned that my great-great grandmother's sister, Margaret J. Ramey, had married a Wheatley, and since this couple was from Maryland, I wondered if there was a connection. Mr. Wheatley said he guessed probably not since he was originally from Wise County, Virginia.
Well faint, and fall over dead. Small world, indeed.
Although he wasn't familiar with my GGG Aunt's husband, John W. Wheatley, the Wheatleys are a relatively small family, so I thought I'd have another look at GGG Aunt Margaret's file and see if I could find out more.
A lot of new information has come online since the last time I worked on her documents, so imagine my surprise when I discovered that she was not the "late bloomer" I had assumed when she married John Wheatley at 38 - she was a widow with four children! And just to make the story even better, I had unknowingly duplicated her in my database. She was the Margaret Ramey ("parents unknown") who married my GG-grandfather Jonathan Corder's double-first cousin, Hiram Osborne, in 1854. How is that for a tangled web?
So in other words, double first cousins (Hiram Osborne and Jonathan Corder) married sisters (Margaret J. Ramey and Emily A. Ramey, daughters of Henry Ramey and Prudence Robinette Ramey).
Hello! "Merge documents!"
Hiram Osborne died in the fall of 1865. Although he was a confederate soldier, it is unclear to me whether his death was war-related since it came several months after the end of the war. Relatively little is known of their four children, Andrew J., Emaline, Winfield and Savannah. Savannah was living with her Ramey grandparents in Gladeville in 1880, and later she married Patrick Wells and had one daughter that I can find. Other than that, I have very little on these double-and-triple cousins of mine. If any of their descendants see this post, please provide what information you can.
The upshot of the pressing genealogical matter was that I got distracted from my original Wheatley mission, but I learned that my GGG Aunt Margaret was left a widow with three small children and an infant during the year the unpleasantness between the states came to a close. She remained a widow for nearly 10 years before remarrying to John W. Wheatley on 19 January 1875 in Wise County.
I will be updating a combined Person Sheet for Margaret J. Ramey Osborne Wheatley with additional details this year.
It's been a while since I have had a chance to work on genealogy, but I hope to ramp up my old pastime this year and get a new website online. I've added quite a few tidbits here and there during the years since my last major update and I think it's time to get the new stuff out there.
This week, though, I had a pressing genealogical matter to attend to. Oddly enough, while Tom and I were in Italy earlier this month, we met a couple with the surname of Wheatley (this was an American couple, not an Italian couple). I mentioned that my great-great grandmother's sister, Margaret J. Ramey, had married a Wheatley, and since this couple was from Maryland, I wondered if there was a connection. Mr. Wheatley said he guessed probably not since he was originally from Wise County, Virginia.
Well faint, and fall over dead. Small world, indeed.
Although he wasn't familiar with my GGG Aunt's husband, John W. Wheatley, the Wheatleys are a relatively small family, so I thought I'd have another look at GGG Aunt Margaret's file and see if I could find out more.
A lot of new information has come online since the last time I worked on her documents, so imagine my surprise when I discovered that she was not the "late bloomer" I had assumed when she married John Wheatley at 38 - she was a widow with four children! And just to make the story even better, I had unknowingly duplicated her in my database. She was the Margaret Ramey ("parents unknown") who married my GG-grandfather Jonathan Corder's double-first cousin, Hiram Osborne, in 1854. How is that for a tangled web?
So in other words, double first cousins (Hiram Osborne and Jonathan Corder) married sisters (Margaret J. Ramey and Emily A. Ramey, daughters of Henry Ramey and Prudence Robinette Ramey).
Hello! "Merge documents!"
Hiram Osborne died in the fall of 1865. Although he was a confederate soldier, it is unclear to me whether his death was war-related since it came several months after the end of the war. Relatively little is known of their four children, Andrew J., Emaline, Winfield and Savannah. Savannah was living with her Ramey grandparents in Gladeville in 1880, and later she married Patrick Wells and had one daughter that I can find. Other than that, I have very little on these double-and-triple cousins of mine. If any of their descendants see this post, please provide what information you can.
The upshot of the pressing genealogical matter was that I got distracted from my original Wheatley mission, but I learned that my GGG Aunt Margaret was left a widow with three small children and an infant during the year the unpleasantness between the states came to a close. She remained a widow for nearly 10 years before remarrying to John W. Wheatley on 19 January 1875 in Wise County.
I will be updating a combined Person Sheet for Margaret J. Ramey Osborne Wheatley with additional details this year.
Ruth Henderson m. David Ramey 1700 Frederick County VA. Or not.
Originally published July 11, 2011
Since I am a Henderson (on my father's side, obviously), I am intrigued by the possibility that I might descend from Hendersons through my maternal line as well. Years ago I came across a post online that named the wife of David Ramey (s/o James and Elizabeth Ramey) as "Ruth Henderson." Since much of the other information the poster provided on the Ramey line seemed generally correct, I went with it, making a note to verify the name and connection. Easier said than done.
The Ruth Henderson in question was supposedly born in about 1750, and married David Ramey in "1770, Frederick County, VA." I'm reasonably familiar with the inhabitants of 18th century Frederick County, VA and Henderson is not a name that shows up to any great degree, but still, I made a trip to the library to put my hands on a copy of Frederick County, Virginia Marriages 1771-1825 by Eliza Timberlake Davis. I realize that my method is Old School since you can search and browse the book online using Google, but I'm in a tactile mood. I realize too that we're looking for a marriage that happened in 1770, but if Hendersons were in Frederick County getting married in 1770, then they were probably still there, getting married in 1771 and years following so I might get some idea of the family group they belong to.
The results weren't encouraging. Only one entry - 27th May 1788, Mary Henderson to Henry Louder (possibly Souder). No additional details. This couple may have died childless because no one seems to be looking for them, and there is almost nothing about them online. Well, at least there was a Henderson living in Frederick County 18 years after our target date. Can't rule the Hendersons entirely out of Frederick.
There is supposedly another book that covers 1738-1850 (Frederick County Marriages 1738-1850 by Vogt and Kethley), but the library doesn't seem to have the more comprehensive volume and I can't find it online. I should go up to the Handley Library in Frederick County, but I don't have time today so I try the next best thing - Ancestry.com.
I try searching for any Ruth Henderson marrying anywhere in Virginia in 1770. Nothing. Absolutely nada in Virginia. I try any Henderson marriage in Virginia in 1770 looking for contemporary Hendersons - bound to find something - and I do. James Henderson m. Mary Booker in 1767. These are the Amelia County VA Hendersons. Gut says "no." The Genealogists Gut Instinct (GGI) is a powerful -- and frequently fallible-- thing. I have learned to distrust mine, but still, I move on.
A Mary Henderson m. James Finley in Virginia in 1778, but no county is given. I do a little more poking around and find that Mary and James were from Augusta County. That's about as precise as saying they were from "Virginia." Perhaps less so. The boundaries of Augusta originally stretched from the Blue Ridge to the Great Lakes to the Mississippi, so it doesn't help us nail much down, but Augusta and Frederick counties were both formed from Orange County in 1738, and part of Augusta later was combined with Frederick, so again, we can't rule out this Augusta County family of Hendersons. I find a Finley genealogy onlineand it seems that these Finleys mixed with Hendersons down through the generations. Capt. James Finley's 1800 will, made in Wythe County VA (where he received land for his revolutionary war service) mentions a nephew, Jonathan Henderson. Hmmm...this family is moving in the same geographical direction the Rameys (and most of the rest of the colony) moved. I'll keep them in the hopper and do some more looking.
The internet connection at the library is slow so I decide to go home and keep looking from the comfort of the sofa. I have Genealogical Attention Deficit Disorder (GADD!) and tend to get easily distracted, heading off on ancestral tangents. This time I'm going to try to stick to the mystery of Ruth Henderson Ramey until I either solve it or disprove it...Oh look! There's a squirrel! I wonder who it's ancestors were...?
Comments:
Nerissa Short said...
Laura Henderson said...
Laura Henderson said...
Since I am a Henderson (on my father's side, obviously), I am intrigued by the possibility that I might descend from Hendersons through my maternal line as well. Years ago I came across a post online that named the wife of David Ramey (s/o James and Elizabeth Ramey) as "Ruth Henderson." Since much of the other information the poster provided on the Ramey line seemed generally correct, I went with it, making a note to verify the name and connection. Easier said than done.
The Ruth Henderson in question was supposedly born in about 1750, and married David Ramey in "1770, Frederick County, VA." I'm reasonably familiar with the inhabitants of 18th century Frederick County, VA and Henderson is not a name that shows up to any great degree, but still, I made a trip to the library to put my hands on a copy of Frederick County, Virginia Marriages 1771-1825 by Eliza Timberlake Davis. I realize that my method is Old School since you can search and browse the book online using Google, but I'm in a tactile mood. I realize too that we're looking for a marriage that happened in 1770, but if Hendersons were in Frederick County getting married in 1770, then they were probably still there, getting married in 1771 and years following so I might get some idea of the family group they belong to.
The results weren't encouraging. Only one entry - 27th May 1788, Mary Henderson to Henry Louder (possibly Souder). No additional details. This couple may have died childless because no one seems to be looking for them, and there is almost nothing about them online. Well, at least there was a Henderson living in Frederick County 18 years after our target date. Can't rule the Hendersons entirely out of Frederick.
There is supposedly another book that covers 1738-1850 (Frederick County Marriages 1738-1850 by Vogt and Kethley), but the library doesn't seem to have the more comprehensive volume and I can't find it online. I should go up to the Handley Library in Frederick County, but I don't have time today so I try the next best thing - Ancestry.com.
I try searching for any Ruth Henderson marrying anywhere in Virginia in 1770. Nothing. Absolutely nada in Virginia. I try any Henderson marriage in Virginia in 1770 looking for contemporary Hendersons - bound to find something - and I do. James Henderson m. Mary Booker in 1767. These are the Amelia County VA Hendersons. Gut says "no." The Genealogists Gut Instinct (GGI) is a powerful -- and frequently fallible-- thing. I have learned to distrust mine, but still, I move on.
A Mary Henderson m. James Finley in Virginia in 1778, but no county is given. I do a little more poking around and find that Mary and James were from Augusta County. That's about as precise as saying they were from "Virginia." Perhaps less so. The boundaries of Augusta originally stretched from the Blue Ridge to the Great Lakes to the Mississippi, so it doesn't help us nail much down, but Augusta and Frederick counties were both formed from Orange County in 1738, and part of Augusta later was combined with Frederick, so again, we can't rule out this Augusta County family of Hendersons. I find a Finley genealogy onlineand it seems that these Finleys mixed with Hendersons down through the generations. Capt. James Finley's 1800 will, made in Wythe County VA (where he received land for his revolutionary war service) mentions a nephew, Jonathan Henderson. Hmmm...this family is moving in the same geographical direction the Rameys (and most of the rest of the colony) moved. I'll keep them in the hopper and do some more looking.
The internet connection at the library is slow so I decide to go home and keep looking from the comfort of the sofa. I have Genealogical Attention Deficit Disorder (GADD!) and tend to get easily distracted, heading off on ancestral tangents. This time I'm going to try to stick to the mystery of Ruth Henderson Ramey until I either solve it or disprove it...Oh look! There's a squirrel! I wonder who it's ancestors were...?
Comments:
Laura:
Hello! I believe I have some info regarding a Ruth Henderson married to David Ramey (his birth 1750.) My search has led me to your blog somehow?!?!
My name is Nerissa (Short) Behrmann and have traced my Grandmother's ancestors (she was Maude Ramey Short, Harlan, KY)to the David Ramey married to Ruth Henderson, Fredrick Co., VA - they had 2 children: Daniel "The Monarch" Ramey Sr. born 1778 and Timothy Ramey born 1786 (my Great x5 Grandfather) who married Nancy Penix June 15, 1806.
I (or my cousin) haven't been able to trace Ruth Henderson's side of the family. I am brand new to this Genealogy stuff so please forgive me if I am completely off about our connection. So, basically if we are of the same Ruth Henderson I can get you beyond that :) I just can't trace any further of the Hendersons. I look forward to hearing from you if this is a help.
Nerissa
Hello! I believe I have some info regarding a Ruth Henderson married to David Ramey (his birth 1750.) My search has led me to your blog somehow?!?!
My name is Nerissa (Short) Behrmann and have traced my Grandmother's ancestors (she was Maude Ramey Short, Harlan, KY)to the David Ramey married to Ruth Henderson, Fredrick Co., VA - they had 2 children: Daniel "The Monarch" Ramey Sr. born 1778 and Timothy Ramey born 1786 (my Great x5 Grandfather) who married Nancy Penix June 15, 1806.
I (or my cousin) haven't been able to trace Ruth Henderson's side of the family. I am brand new to this Genealogy stuff so please forgive me if I am completely off about our connection. So, basically if we are of the same Ruth Henderson I can get you beyond that :) I just can't trace any further of the Hendersons. I look forward to hearing from you if this is a help.
Nerissa
Hi Nerissa, thank you for getting in touch. I have the Rameys traced back to Adam (well, practically), but would love to add your line down from David and Ruth to my database if you would like to share. I'm really just trying to place this possible Ruth Henderson with her proper Henderson family.
If you'd like to contact me directly, you can send me an email at [genealogy at laurahenderson.com].
If you'd like to contact me directly, you can send me an email at [genealogy at laurahenderson.com].
Decided to revisit the Ruth Henderson myth-tery. I'm beginning to think it is one. While most sources say David Ramey married a Ruth Henderson in 1770 in Frederick County, VA, I can find no record of such a marriage (yet). There are very few contemporary Hendersons in the vicinity of Frederick County, only a large group from the nebulous environs of "Augusta County." From that group springs the only viable Ruth Henderson that I have been able to find, and she married a John Stiffy around 1789-80 and moved to Tennessee. I tried searching for a marriage between David Ramey and a Ruth Stiffy - just in case - but no cigar. I'm about ready to remove the name "Ruth Henderson" from my data unless someone can produce some documentation...
Hunting for Fauquier Corders in Stafford County VA
Originally published June 13, 2011
This past Friday (June 10, 2011) I drove down to Spotyslvania County, VA to meet with Bob Corder, founder of the National Corder Family Association and long-time researcher of the Corder line that traces back to William Corder b. ca. 1702. Having over the years exhausted all of the low-hanging Corder records, Bob and I decided it was time to drag out the ladders and begin shaking the limbs higher up (or further back, in this case).
My Edward Corder is first found in Virginia in an Orange County petition dated February 22, 1738. Orange County was formed from Spotsylvania in 1734 so I had hoped that a careful search of Spotsylvania records might yield something new for the Greenway Court line.
Bob and I strategized at the Spotyslvania Courthouse Cafe and realized that he was unlikely to find anything relevant to the Fauquier line in Spotsylvania, since Fauquier was formed in 1759 from Prince William (formed in turn from Stafford in 1731). We decided to press north about 15 miles to Stafford and seek our fortune there.
Stafford's records begin in the last decade of the 17th century. It's a sensational thing to hold in one's hand papers that last felt the scratch of a pen in the year 1699. I pulled out the oldest Will Book I could find (1699-1709) while Bob settled in with the oldest Deed Book. A cursory search of the county's digitized indices had yielded nothing, but a cross-reference of names from the first few pages of these older books revealed that there were many, many names mentioned in the deeds, wills and inventories which did not appear in the county's computerized data. This was very good news indeed. There were literally thousands of pages of possibility stacked on the shelves in front of us - all we had to do was start reading.
We quickly accustomed ourselves to the spidery script, and while Bob stayed on task, rapidly skimming the pages in search of the Corder name, I began to familiarize myself with the residents of Stafford County, Virginia in the year 1699. Prominent among them were George Mason, grandfather of the revolutionary patriot of the same name, John Washington, son of emigrant Lawrence, and William Fitzhugh, who represented Stafford in the house of Burgesses. Common surnames at the turn of that century were Withers, Newton, Burkner, Thompson, Waugh, Massey, Wright, and Downing. For several hours I snooped through the worldly goods of these old Virginians and by the end of the day Bob was nearing the 300th page of his book while I finished a far second on page 132 of mine.
While neither of us hit the mother lode -- this time -- I did find one entry with a familiar name: John Ashby (probably formerly of Lancaster County VA). In the same record was a name that looked like it could be either John Condon, Cordon, Cordor or Condor. We know that the Ashby's were one of the earliest settlers of the area that would later be home to both (apparently unrelated) lines of the Corder family, so it's a name I always watch for.
Bob and I will re-group in the winter and return to Stafford to carry on a line-by-line search of the records in which Bob will, no doubt, outdistance me again as I tarry in centuries past.
This past Friday (June 10, 2011) I drove down to Spotyslvania County, VA to meet with Bob Corder, founder of the National Corder Family Association and long-time researcher of the Corder line that traces back to William Corder b. ca. 1702. Having over the years exhausted all of the low-hanging Corder records, Bob and I decided it was time to drag out the ladders and begin shaking the limbs higher up (or further back, in this case).
My Edward Corder is first found in Virginia in an Orange County petition dated February 22, 1738. Orange County was formed from Spotsylvania in 1734 so I had hoped that a careful search of Spotsylvania records might yield something new for the Greenway Court line.
Bob and I strategized at the Spotyslvania Courthouse Cafe and realized that he was unlikely to find anything relevant to the Fauquier line in Spotsylvania, since Fauquier was formed in 1759 from Prince William (formed in turn from Stafford in 1731). We decided to press north about 15 miles to Stafford and seek our fortune there.
Stafford's records begin in the last decade of the 17th century. It's a sensational thing to hold in one's hand papers that last felt the scratch of a pen in the year 1699. I pulled out the oldest Will Book I could find (1699-1709) while Bob settled in with the oldest Deed Book. A cursory search of the county's digitized indices had yielded nothing, but a cross-reference of names from the first few pages of these older books revealed that there were many, many names mentioned in the deeds, wills and inventories which did not appear in the county's computerized data. This was very good news indeed. There were literally thousands of pages of possibility stacked on the shelves in front of us - all we had to do was start reading.
We quickly accustomed ourselves to the spidery script, and while Bob stayed on task, rapidly skimming the pages in search of the Corder name, I began to familiarize myself with the residents of Stafford County, Virginia in the year 1699. Prominent among them were George Mason, grandfather of the revolutionary patriot of the same name, John Washington, son of emigrant Lawrence, and William Fitzhugh, who represented Stafford in the house of Burgesses. Common surnames at the turn of that century were Withers, Newton, Burkner, Thompson, Waugh, Massey, Wright, and Downing. For several hours I snooped through the worldly goods of these old Virginians and by the end of the day Bob was nearing the 300th page of his book while I finished a far second on page 132 of mine.
While neither of us hit the mother lode -- this time -- I did find one entry with a familiar name: John Ashby (probably formerly of Lancaster County VA). In the same record was a name that looked like it could be either John Condon, Cordon, Cordor or Condor. We know that the Ashby's were one of the earliest settlers of the area that would later be home to both (apparently unrelated) lines of the Corder family, so it's a name I always watch for.
Bob and I will re-group in the winter and return to Stafford to carry on a line-by-line search of the records in which Bob will, no doubt, outdistance me again as I tarry in centuries past.
Jonathan O. Corder's Confederate Pension Application Posted
Originally published February 26, 2010
I've just added a new PDF to the "Original Documents" section of the Edward Corder Memorial Library. Jonathan O. Corder's Civil War pension application contains much valuable information to help us trace his service during the four years of the war. The pension application was made during the summer of 1916, when Jonathan was 73 (and earning only $20.00 per annum as a farmer). Due to a series of frequent and convoluted transfers and splits of command of his cavalry unit, the state of Virginia required some clarification from the applicant, so we're fortunate that there was some correspondence between Jonathan and Richmond wherein he explained a service record that would have otherwise been very difficult to follow. (Sort of like that sentence.)
Jonathan was one of the sons of Elijah Corder Jr. and Nancy Osborne Corder of Scott County, VA (and my gr. gr. grandfather).
You can find the PDF near the bottom of the page at this page.
I've just added a new PDF to the "Original Documents" section of the Edward Corder Memorial Library. Jonathan O. Corder's Civil War pension application contains much valuable information to help us trace his service during the four years of the war. The pension application was made during the summer of 1916, when Jonathan was 73 (and earning only $20.00 per annum as a farmer). Due to a series of frequent and convoluted transfers and splits of command of his cavalry unit, the state of Virginia required some clarification from the applicant, so we're fortunate that there was some correspondence between Jonathan and Richmond wherein he explained a service record that would have otherwise been very difficult to follow. (Sort of like that sentence.)
Jonathan was one of the sons of Elijah Corder Jr. and Nancy Osborne Corder of Scott County, VA (and my gr. gr. grandfather).
You can find the PDF near the bottom of the page at this page.
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