52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, No. 39: Joshua HOTCHKISS, early CT

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is my 39th installment, Joshua HOTCHKISS, 1651-1722, Connecticut.  Joshua is my 8th great-grandfather on my maternal lines. 

Joshua is another ancestor who was a very early settler in Connecticut with his parents. He was one of 6 boys and 1 girl of Samuel HOTCHKISS and Elizabeth CLEAVERLY, who married on 7 September 1642 in New Haven, CT. The family appeared to be comfortably middle-class in England, and educated. Samuel, Joshua's father. is believed to have arrived in Connecticut on the ship "Hector" in 1637; however other sources state he arrived in 1642.  That  latter date may be simply due to Samuel's residence in 1642 when he married.  Much of my information on the Hotchkiss family group comes from the following: Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families;  The Hotchkiss Family, First Six Generations: Descendants of Samuel Hotchkiss (ca. 1622-1663) of New Haven, Connecticut;  Genealogies of Connecticut Families Vol.2 by Gary Boyd Roberts; New Haven Vital Records, among other records [online].  

Joshua was born 16 Sep 1651, East Haven, Connecticut.  His first marriage is noted to be in 1677, when he married Mary PARDEE.  Mary, born 18 Feb 1657/58 in East Haven, was the daughter of George PARDEE & Martha MILES. Much has been written about the PARDEE family who left Pitminster England and settled in New Haven around 1644.  

At several points, Joshua was a Sheriff in New Haven.  In addition, he fought in King William's War (and was apparently a pensioner of it.)

Joshua and Mary had three children that we know of, born in New Haven, CT:  
1.  Mary, b. 14 Dec 1679, who apparently died as an infant.
2.  Stephen (Deacon), 25 Aug 1681; m. Elizabeth Sperry on 12 Dec 1704; children
3.  Martha [ancestor], b.14 Dec 1683; m. Thomas BROOKS 25 Mar 1702 in Wallingford, CT; Martha d. after 1755 in Cheshire CT; Thomas d. of smallpox, 20 Jul 1732.

Unfortunately Mary PARDEE Hotchkiss died before 1685.  Joshua then married Hannah Tuttle in perhaps 1688. I need to clarify the six additional children of Hannah and Joshua - there are issues with the birthdates and places for several of the children. Apparently Hannah died in 1718, and Joshua married once more, in 1719, to Mary [surname either Sanford or Ashbun].  

Joshua died 22 Dec 1722 in New Haven, CT, and there is a headstone in the cemetery attached to Center Church on the Green, New Haven, CT.  Details may be found by clicking through on FindAGrave.  

As is only too obvious as I complete this year-long challenge, I have much research still to do on these ancestors! 

If you have information or corrections, please do not hesitate to contact me via calewis at telus dot net or in the Comments below.  Thank you so much for stopping by.  

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, No. 38: Francis PETTEGREW, 1669-1747

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is my 38th installment, Francis PETTYGROVE/PETTIGREW.  He is my 6th great-grandfather on my maternal lines, and was born and settled in the Kittery, Maine, region. 

Earlier Pettygrove families spelled their surname variously: as Pettegrew or Pettigrew, later as Pettigrove, and in my recent ancestors, as Pettygrove. All variants are found currently in the United States. Because the name appears to be of French origin, some have assumed that Francis came from France, but this assumption has not been proven.  Perhaps long before Francis was born, a French Pettigrew settled in England?  

Francis PETTYGROVE was apparently born about 1669 in Kittery.  In 20 Oct 1706, he married, first, Elizabeth BALL Hammons, the widow of Edward Hammons. Elizabeth's parents were John Ball and wife, Joan/Joanna. Elizabeth brought to the marriage her daughter by Edward, Joanna Hammons, b. 20 Apr 1701. 

Francis and Elizabeth had 7 children that we are aware of, born in Kittery:

1. Mary, b 12 Oct 1707, m. Francis Allen
2. John, b 3 Dec 1708, m. Mary____
3. Francis, b 27 Jan 1709/10, m. Elizabeth Hutchins
4. *Thomas [ancestor], b 27 Sep 1713, m. Mary HUTCHINS 12 Feb 1729/30, 9 children
5. William, b 29 Jun 1716, m. Lydia (?Ball); Wm d. abt 1748
6. Joseph, b 20 Sep 1719, d. bef 1747
7. Benjamin, b 9 Jun 1723

Note that the Hutchins wives of #3 and #4 above, are apparently NOT sisters. Two Hutchins brothers, Enoch and John, were very early settlers in Kittery, and it is likely the women are cousins. However, this has yet to be proved. The 3rd Hutchins wife, in the paragraph that follows, also needs to have her paternity determined.

Elizabeth BALL Hammons died several years after her youngest son, Benjamin, was born.  Francis married, second, another Elizabeth - widow Elizabeth HUTCHINS Davis.  There were apparently no children of this second marriage. I have yet to determine the relationships between the three Hutchins women who married into the Pettygrove family! 

Francis is listed in 1703 as having a land grant in the Kittery area.  After marrying Elizabeth BALL Hammons, his father-in-law, John BALL, deeded a house & 30 acres for them.  Later, in 1717, John BALL conveyed the whole of his land to his son-in-law, for maintenance of himself and his wife Joan/Joanne, during their lifetimes. 

Francis died approximately 1747, in Kittery.  His 2nd wife, Elizabeth Hutchins Davis, and the "two surviving sons waived adm. in favor of Francis Allen".  Note that Francis' eldest daughter, Mary, married Francis Allen.  I do not have a death date for Francis' 2nd wife, Elizabeth Hutchins Davis, nor do I have burial information for Frances and his two wives.

Most details have come from Old Kittery and Her Families (by Everett S. Stackpole), and Genealogical Dictionary of Maine & New Hampshire (by Sybil Noyes, Charles T. Libby, & Walter G. Davis). 

If you have more information, or corrections to the above details, please do not hesitate to contact me via calewis at telus dot net or in the Comments below. Thanks for stopping by.

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, #37: Street Chidsey Welton, CT

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is my 37th installment, my 1st cousin 4x removed: Street Chidsey Welton.  And of course, the reason I am writing about him is because of his unusual name. 

Street Chidsey Welton's mother was Nancy Graves, the 6th child of my 4th greatgrandparents, Stephen GRAVES and Ruth JEROME [whose father was the intriguingly named Zerubbabel JEROME].  What can I say? I love unusual names and we have a few in this particular family group. I've done very little research on this collateral line - only enough to be sure of siblings and cousins of my main line. Nancy Graves married Miles Welton; Chidsey was his grandmother Welton's maiden name.

Street Chidsey Welton was born 8 Sep 1816, in Connecticut, 5 months after his parents married on the 15 Feb 1815. The list of children in Nancy Graves & Miles Welton's family were:
  Street Chidsey  b 8 Sep 1816, m. Sep 1841 Adeline Smith; 2 children known
  Ximines b. 6 Dec 1817 [d. 9 Aug 1822];  
  Albert b. 7 May 1820, m. Susan A. Bidwell 26 Jan 1842 in Litchfield CT
  Carlos b. 3 Apr 1822, m. Maria E. Peck Nov 1846
  Ximines Alanson b. 17 Mar 1824, m. Harriet Frances Root 4 Sep 1853 Guilford VT; 4 children
  Ruth Adaline b. 14 Jul 1826, d 17 Dec 1862 (unmarr?)
  Nancy Ann b 25 Jan 1830, m Ralph Humphrey Nov 1853 Litchfield CT; 4 children
  twins: Major G[raves] b 21 Jun 1832
             Marvin b 21 Jun 1832, m. Amanda before 1871, 1 daughter known
  Emily Warner b 17 Apr 1836, m. John Boyd 25 Nov 1858 Logan KS; 4 children

Street married Adaline "Addy" Smith on 6 Oct 1841, apparently in Orange New Jersey, although I can find so record to date of this marriage.  They lived for a time in Henry County, Illinois, where Street had 200 acres of land.  They appear to have had 3 children, but the eldest died before the age of 5; the other two were born in Illinois.  

1. John Smith, b 10 Feb 1843, CT; d 20 Dec 1847
2. Theodosia, b 1848, IL
3. Alanson, b Apr 1849, IL; m 1868 to Alvira A., in Cambridge IL; 4 children

Street and his family are found in Henry County Illinois in the 1850-1880 Censuses.  His occupation is listed as Carpenter for the first few, then on the 1880 Census he is listed as "Dealer in Lumber".  Note that on the 1870 Census his real estate holdings were valued at $10,000 with his personal value at $1,500. 

He and Addy show up on the 1885 Census in Hernando, Florida [part of the metro area of St Petersburg]. And right beside him, is listed his son A. Welton 36 yrs old with wife A.A.[Alvira].  

Although I can find more on Alanson and his family, I cannot find more information on the only girl, Theodosia whose birth year is a year older than Alanson. She shows up on the 1860 Census aged 12, but disappears after that.  

Street's burial memorial stone "WELTON" has his initials and birth/death years, plus his wife's details. He died in 1907, Addy in 1911. They died in St Petersburg, and were buried in the Saint Bartholomew Episcopal Cemetery.  

If you have more information or details of Street Chidsey Welton's family, I would be happy to receive anything you wish to share.  Questions can be answered via direct contact, calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments section below.  I welcome any corrections to my details here, as well.  Thank you for stopping by.

GRANDPARENTS - with a nod to the USA National Grandparents Day, yesterday

Grandparents, as well as a few great-grandparents.                                                                                                     

Beginning with the first page in the photograph album my mother made for all three of us kids, for one Christmas present.  It took her the whole year to do it, in about 1972 or thereabouts.  All three of us had similar photos in 'our' albums, but we also had many specific to us.  "In the Beginning" is the first page in my album, lettering done by Mom.  

Top right on this first page is my maternal great-grandmother (my mother's mother's mother) Clara Augusta "Gussie" GRAVES Terwilliger, 1857-1955.  Mom typed her age as 100, but she died at age 98, not long after this photo of her living in Florida.  We knew her in the family as "Madee" pronounced Maud'ee, a corruption of the Spanish word Madre for mother. 

Below her on this first page is a tintype from Barrow-in-Furness, Lancs, UK, celebrating my paternal grandparents' 1898 engagement, William John "Jack" GILLESPIE, 1876-1964, and beside him, Harriette BUNN, 1879-1962.  Look to the bottom for Jack Gillespie's parents.

Bottom left on this first page is my maternal grandfather, Charles Edward KUHN, 1876-1945. My maternal grandmother, his wife, is below this 1960s photo, Marguerite Josephine "Daisy" TERWILLIGER Kuhn, 1880-1973.  We knew her in the family as "GramPete" from a nickname as "Peter" a corruption of the Spanish word for little girl, Pepita.  

Next is GramPete's father, James Grover "Grove" TERWILLIGER, 1856-1929.  His wife is Madee in the top right photo on the "In the Beginning" page, above.

On the bottom is Grove Terwilliger's father, James M. TERWILLIGER, 1825-1909.

And here we have my Irish paternal great-grandfather, my father's father's father, George GILLESPIE, 1851-1941.   And here on the right, his wife, my great-grandmother, Catherine ARMSTRONG Gillespie, 1853-1923.

I am very pleased to have even these few photos of my grandparents and great-grandparents. As you can see, many of them lived to a good long life.  Another greatgrandmother lived to 102, a number of others lived well into the 90s. 

Any questions and comments may be added in the Comments section below.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Not so WORDLESS WEDNESDAY -Grade 1 Class Photo - 1949

Me - Grade 1 at Laura Secord Elementary School, in Vancouver BC.

My wonderful Grade 1 teacher was Miss Hudson, whom I ran into again when I was a public health nursing student. What a treat to see her so many years later and see what an inspirational teacher she continued to be with her students.

Curly-top hair, missing a front tooth, and wearing saddle shoes... And I am pretty sure Mom sewed the skirt/suspenders I'm wearing, as she made us new clothes for school each year.

In September, I walked into Grade 1 already knowing how to read, and having done some math at home as well.  The family story is that I browbeat my 15-months' older sister into teaching me what she'd learned at school, when she came home each day.  I don't remember that, (she does!) but I do know I've always loved to learn, always wanted to read. Certainly that beginning made my first few years of school very easy.

Happy First Day of School to everyone... unless your kids went to school at the end of August.

Here in Vancouver BC, we always went back to school the day after Labour Day, a stat holiday.  It made me think that "New Year's Day" should be September 1st, rather than January 1st.  New beginnings, new possibilities...

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, #36: Arnold ORMSBEE

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is my 36th installment, Arnold ORMSBEE, my 4th great-grandfather on my mother's lines.

I know virtually nothing about my 4th great-grandfather. Until earlier this year, I didn't even have his name.  A very helpful volunteer for FindAGrave, Tom C., helped by adding information from the Oakwood Cemetery burial record books. Simply gold, such treasure to find another name in the family line.  This ORMSBEE line has been quite a brick wall for me for years, but now I have a few crumbs of clues.

Arnold ORMSBEE seems to have been married to a Hannah - but this is not yet proven.  I'm not certain where he was born, nor when he was married, but I do know he and his wife had at least two sons, as well as several daughters (unknown names):

1. Jacob [ancestor], b.21 Jun 1806, Pompey, Onondaga, NY; m. Sabra TOWERS about 1824, 5 children.
2. Stephen Decatur, b. 13 Jan 1816, Pompey, Onondaga, NY; m. Martha Durston; 3 children

The family may be found in listed in the Manlius' Census, even though both Jacob and Stephen say they were born in Pompey (beside Manlius).  A history of Manlius may be found by clicking here:  http://history.rays-place.com/ny/onon-manlius-ny.htm   

I found Arnold on the 1810 Census for Manlius, as follows: 

As you can see here (referring to blank forms) there are, 
Males: 2-under 10 yrs, 1-10 to 16, 1-26 to 45
    i.e., Arnold, plus 2 little boys (Jacob 4, plus unknown son), and 1 roughly teen son unknown
Females: 3-under 10, 1 16-26 yrs
    i.e., Arnold's wife (age seems rather low - she would have married extremely young?), plus 3 little daughters unknown to me

Here he is in the 1820 Census, again for Manlius:   

As you can see there are, in the Arnold Ormsbee household:  
Males:  1-under 10 yrs, 1-10 to 16, 1-16 to 18, 1-45 and up
    i.e., Arnold, and 3 sons, under 18 yrs of age (Jacob 14, Stephen 4, & an unknown older brother)
Females: 1-under 10, 1-10 to 16, 1 from 26-45
    i.e, Arnold's wife, and 2 daughters under 16 yrs of age, unknown to me
And there was 1 person "engaged in Manufacturing"
    i.e., Arnold? 

Hmmm. I thought Arnold was a farmer for some lost-to-me reason.  I clearly need to check out more records and newspapers to find out what "manufacturing" he might have been working at in Manlius.  

Arnold disappears after 1820 as a head of household.  An Isaac (I.F.A. Ormsbee) is listed on the 1830 Census and he may be an older brother.  I haven't researched him as yet.  

Both Stephen Decatur and his older brother, Jacob, worked as carpenters in the area. One might wonder if their father, Arnold, also was skilled with carpentry or some similar work. Interestingly, Stephen named his only son James Arnold Ormsbee, carrying on the same name. I have discussed Jacob ORMSBEE in a previous blog post: click here. 

Although both Stephen and his family, and Jacob and his family, are buried in Oakwood Cemetery in different plots and sections, I have not found burials of Arnold, nor other Ormsby/Ormsbee sons or daughters whom I can identify as having Arnold as a father. Challenging.

If you have any information or details - or suggestions - please do contact me via calewis at telus dot net or by Comments below.  I love to hear any ideas you may have.  And if you also have these Ormsbee's in your family, I'd love to see you.