Tuesday, December 23, 2014

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, No. 52: Rev. Christopher YOUNGS, c.1585 - c.1647

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is the 52nd ancestor, the last post in this challenge, and virtually the last direct ancestor in my Index: the Reverend Christopher YOUNGS, b. abt 1545 in Southwold, Suffolk, England, and d. before 1647 in Southold, Suffolk, New York. 

I do not have Christopher YOUNGS' parents information, but it is highly likely they also lived in and around Southwold. It may not be possible to go further back in time.  Southold NY celebrated their 250th anniversary in 1890 and I was able to find some interesting details in their celebration booklet. Included is the following statements noted in a published letter from the Southwold Vicarage, Suffolk, July 22, 1890, signed [Rev.] Proby L. Cautley, Rural Dean of North Dunwich and ex-Diocesan Inspector of Schools:
"The names of Tuthill, Youngs, Moore, King and Whitaker are still extant amongst us, and the Palmers, Rogers and Hurrs have from time immemorial been very common here.  Enclosed are extracts from the Parish Register Book, whidates back to 1602, of the King, Harrison, Moore, Youngs and Whitaker families, .... I am having the old Register Book copied, which I propose, when finished, presenting to the church or town of Southold."    Note that this book is now in the custody of the Town Clerk in Southold, L.I.

It has been noted in several family histories published in the late 1800s, which include details about the Youngs family, that he was born in 1545, and died 1626, but it is challenging to prove this information. For instance the date of probate for his will was the 5th month of 1647 (July), and it is much more likely that he died not long before this time, e.g., Jan or Feb 1646/47. It is very clear that I need to do more specific research on this YOUNGS family, to tease out more details.  

Christopher and several of his sons became Vicars, so we might assume they were all reasonably well educated in England.  And indeed, Christopher YOUNGS attended Oxford University according to their records, and received his BA 1564, his MA in July 1566.  Christopher married Margaret [unknown surname] in England likely after receiving his education and his vicarage appointment.  Because their children were born from 1605-1616, I do wonder if the Christopher Youngs who graduated in 1564-66 is actually the father of the Immigrant. 

Children of Christopher and Margaret, all born in Suffolk, England, but not confirmed as yet, except for Martha:
  1. Joseph, bap 22 Oct 1605, Ubbeston.
  2.  Mary, bap. 7 Aug 1607, Ubbeston.
  3.  Margaret, bap 28 Nov 1608, Ubbeston.
  4.  Christopher (jr.), bap. 11 Oct 1610, Westhall.
  5.  John, b. abt 1612, Southwold.
  6.  Martha [ancestor], bap. 1 Jul 1613, Southwold; m. Thomas MOORE (jr), 9 children
  7.  Elizabeth, bap. 31 Jul 1616, d. 31 Jul 1616, Southwold.
  8.  Ward, bap 31 Jul 1616, d. 31 Jul 1616, Southwold.

The Rev.YOUNGS and their children, travelled to the colonies before 1650, along with the families listed above, quoted in the letter.  They settled in Southwold, Suffolk, New York - in the northern part of Long Island, New York.

Christopher likely died in 1646 or 1647 - i.e., Jan or Feb of 1646/47, and his will is probated, filed in Salem in the 5th month of 1647 [July].  Apparently his wife, Margaret lived longer, although I do not have a death date and place for her. 

Our direct ancestor, their daughter, Martha YOUNGS, married Thomas MOORE (jr) about 1635-1638, in Southwold, Suffolk. These families knew each other very well before emigrating from England.

Oh-so-clearly, I need to do more research, and there should be a few more records as well.  Perhaps a record of marriages for Christopher (Sr) YOUNGS and Margaret, or for Martha YOUNGS and Thomas MOORE - in England.  In Salem MA, I may be able to find actual registers of births, marriages, and deaths.  I would definitely like to put to rest the question I have about the father of this Rev. Christopher YOUNGS.  

If you have information or places for me to keep digging, do let me know!  I am thrilled to correct my misinformation or 'best guesses' as to dates, places.  You may contact me at calewis at telus dot net or in the Comments section below. 

This is the last of the 2014 Challenge:  "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks".  

Another genealogy blog challenge will be starting in 2015, but with a theme for each week's post.  Look for my first post January 5th, 2015. 

Happy New Year in 2015 - May you be surprised in many wonderful ways this coming year.  

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, No. 50: William HEALY, 1613-1683

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is my 50th installment, William HEALY, 1613-1683 in early Massachusetts.  He is in my ex-husband's RICE line, his 7th great-grandfather, 8th for our children. 

His parentage is still disputed.  Mrs. Carl W. Carrier, in her book Healy History (revised 1968), states that William HELE ...  "is evidently a descendant of Hugh HALE, progenitor of the Cornwood line of Hale's in Devon [England]."   

It is known that he had arrived in Massachusetts before 1640, since he was admitted to the church at Lynn, MA in 1640.  He moved to Marshfield where he became a freeman in 1643; then to Roxbury in 1649.  He joined the church in Cambridge after all those moves, the Lynn church finally dismissing him to the Cambridge church.  

William appears to have been born about 1613, arriving in Massachusetts from England between 1635-1639.  He was a landholder, and was active in the local church.  From 1674-1682 he worked  as a Jailor or 'keeper'; he was the official "flogger".  He was removed from office 29 Dec 1682 for "gross misconduct" - having (apparently) been found copulating with "heavily pregnant strumpet Mary Lovell".  He was sentenced to be severely whipped 20 stripes, and was an inmate of the prison for 6 months, dying in prison.

William married five times, children are listed with their mothers in chronological order:
1643 - Grace Ives b. est 1620 England, d. 1649 Roxbury, MA; 3 children born in Roxbury MA
     1. Hannah, bap. 7 Jul 1644, d. 1667; m. 27 Oct 1665 to John Eastman 
     2. Samuel, bap 14 Feb 1645/46, d. Jan 1646 Roxbury
     3. Elizabeth, bap 14 Nov 1647; m. 10 May 1672 to Jonas Gregory

1650 - Mary Rogers, b. 1628 Devon Eng, d. 29 Nov 1652 (father Rev. Nathaniel Rogers); 2 children born in Roxbury MA
     4. Sarah, bap 2 Mar 1650/51, d. 10 Oct 1653 Cambridge 
     5. William, bap 11 Jul 1652, d. 1689 Cambridge

1653, Oct 14th - Grace BUTTRICE (Butrys) [ancestor], b. abt 1633 England, father Nicholas Butrys; d. 1660, Cambridge MA; 4 children:
     6. Grace, bap 1 May 1654, d. 2 Oct 1730; m. 15 Jul 1680 to John Ireland
     7. Mary, bap 4 Nov 1657, d. 27 Dec 1657
     8. Nathaniel [ancestor], bap 6 Feb 1658/59, d. 2 Jun 1734; m. Rebecca HAGAR 14 Jul 1681; 11 children
     9. Martha, bap 9 Mar 1660, d. 1735 Boston; m. 10 Dec 1707 to John Cunnabell

1661, 5 Aug - Phebe Greene, b. abt 1636 England, d. 1672; father Bartholomew Green; 3 children:
    10. Samuel, bap 21 Sep 1662, d. aft 1732 Hampton Falls NH; 4 marriages, 3 children
    11. Paul, bap 3 Mar 1664, d. 12 Apr 1717; m. 1694 Elizabeth.
    12. Mary, bap 29 Oct 1665, d. 16 Sep 1728; m. 12 Nov 1702 to Jacob John Watson

1677 - Sarah Cutting, b. abt 1630, d. 25 Oct 1699 Newbury Ma; 1st, 1651 to James Brown, d. 1676; 2nd to William HEALY on 29 Nov 1677; no children.


Oh my, so many children died young, most mothers died young. Despite that, there are many descendants of William HEALY and his 3rd wife, Grace BUTTRICE/BUTTRESS/BUTRYS, our ancestor.  Note that it was common to use the name of a deceased child again for a subsequent later child (i.e., Samuel - b./d. 1645-1646 & 1662;  i.e., Mary - b/d 1657, & 1665).


The Compendium of American Genealogy, Vol.VII, p.857, Immigrant Ancestors; accessed online, Ancestry.com, provides the following brief history:
HEALY (Hele, Healey), William  (1613-83), from Eng. ca. 1638;  member of ch. at Lynn, Mass., 1640;  at Roxbury, 1643, at Cambridge, 1653; prison-keeper, 1672-82;  m 1643, Grace Ives (d 1649);  m 2d, Mary Rogers; m 3d, 1653, Grace (1634-60), dau. Nicholas Buttrice; m 4th, 1661, Phoebe (d 1662), dau of Bartholomew Greene (d 1638), of Cambridge; m 5th, 1677, Sarah (Cutting) Brown, dau. John Cutting, widow of James Brown.

Further sources were found as in the History of Cambridge, Healy History (mentioned at beginning), Records of the Church of Christ in Cambridge, Vital Records of Cambridge, Vital Records of Newbury, Vital Records of Roxbury, NEHGS Register articles, and more.  

This was a challenging post simply because there is so much more to his life stories as noted in various histories and articles which I could have included - plus his 5 wives and 12 children!  

If you have further information on William HEALY, or corrections to offer, I would be happy to receive them. Contact me via calewis at telus dot net or in the Comments below.  Thanks for stopping by to comment!  

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, No. 51, Benjamin CLAP, 1710-1793

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is the 51st ancestor, Benjamin CLAP, 1710-1793, in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts.  Only one more to research and write as I did an extra one in order to have the Christmas season free for family! 

I have very little evidence on this ancestor, and am not entirely convinced he belongs here, but... some records seem to indicate he's the right man.  Benjamin would be the 5th great-grandfather to my ex-husband through his mother's RICE line, 6th great-grandfather to our children.  Note that Clap is sometimes spelled with two Ps.  

I only know his name in relation to a daughter, Abigal [sic], who married Joshua Baily in Scituate. There appears to have been a second (Lieut.) Benjamin Clapp born and buried in Stoughton MA, about 23 miles west of Scituate. That particular Benjamin Clap is definitely not "my" Benjamin.  I can keep those different families separate because of several of the children.  Massachusetts Vital Records, Marriage Records, give names and details, but no images (Ancestry, Family Search), however the details help to distinguish the several Clap/p and Baily families in the region.

Massachusetts Birth records for Scituate show Benjamin CLAP born 26 April 1710, of father Joseph CLAP (no mention of his mother).  He apparently had a sibling named Joseph Clap (jr).  

Benjamin CLAP was married to Grace TILDEN on 23 Oct 1734, in Scituate MA. She may be a descendant of the original Tilden ancestor, Nathaniel; he arrived in March 1634/5 with wife Lydia, 7 children, and 7 servants!  Three children's records naming Benjamin and Grace have been found to date, all born in Scituate:
  1.  Abigal [ancestor],  b. 21 Aug 1735, d. abt 1790 MA; m. 2 Oct 1756 to Joshua BAILEY, 3 children known
  2.  Benjamin (jr), b. 13 Oct 1737
  3.  Elijah, b. 6 Oct 1746   

Note: the significant gap between the 2nd and 3rd child; there may be missing children, or other reasons for this gap.  I have not looked for children/marriages for the two boys, or other children, to date.

The 1790 Census for Scituate (5 pages, 3 columns) states there were 2856 persons in the village, and I was able to find only one "Benj Clapp".  Other Clapp names in Scituate on the1790 Census were Augustus, Constant, David, Desire, Dwelley [truly - clear as a bell],  Elijah, James, John, Joshua, Lewis, Samuel, Sarah, Silvanus, William, and Zilpha.  Augustus, Zilpha and Benjamin were all listed beside each other, with Lewis a few lines above. 

With probate records, land records, and more, I might be able to find out who belongs with whom, but that can keep for another research trip through Massachusetts early records.  So far, it's clear that Augustus Clapp was Town Clerk for a period of time in the early 1800s, but I haven't looked for his parents. Hmm, in 1793, he shows up on a Plymouth county MA Probate Docket for Benjamin Clapp of Scituate.  Clearly there is some sort of relationship here.  It's slow going browsing through the MA estate files and probate dockets, not impossible, but needs careful searching.

It's also important to note that there are several Abigal-named women who married a Bailey in Scituate:  one  married a John Bailie 19 Feb 1700, another married a Willliam Baily 24 Dec 1741, and one married Joshua in 1756 (our ancestor).
Massachusetts registers for Scituate show that in 1793, sometime before Oct 21st, Benjamin Clapp died.  His name is third in the list for deaths in 1793; no actual 1793 dates were written down on the register until late in October, for some reason.  The previously mentioned (Lieut.) Benjamin Clapp in Stoughton MA apparently died 11 Oct 1793.  A number of family trees state that my Benjamin who married Grace died 11 Oct 1793 - so I believe there has been some ongoing confusion between the two.  From the hand-written register, it looks significantly more likely that Benjamin died in the first month(s) of the year 1793.  

As is usual with this challenge, I have so many records to search, for several significant people.  I have now found - I believe - that Benjamin's father is Joseph, and Joseph's father is Samuel - who had 8 or 9 children!  Busybusybusy - my brain is churning.  I do love trying to read very old hand-written registers, as the cleric tries to squeeze everything on the paper, yet save room for more details of other children.  

If you have further information on the Scituate MA ancestor, Benjamin CLAPP, I would be quite thrilled to read more details.  I'll do more research of course, but a few more bread crumbs would be very welcome!  You may contact me via calewis at telus dot net or in the Comments below.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Surname Christmas Tree

Another Saturday Night Genealogy Fun activity from Randy Seaver 
It's oh-so-clear that I haven't a clue how to get this photo the 'right' size for the blog.  I've saved to PowerPoint, saved it as a .jpg, jiggled and wiggled it, and still it's too small or too large.  Sigh.
But -  but here it is!

Click on the tab above blog  "Surnames & Places" for more info on my genealogy surnames.





Friday, December 5, 2014

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, No. 49: Benjamin GRAVES, 1645-1724

Following the challenge from Amy Johnson Crow to write a post weekly, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, here is my 49th installment, my 7th Great-grandfather, Benjamin GRAVES, son of the immigrant, John GRAVES. 

John GRAVES is the #166 family line in the GRAVES FAMILY ASSOCIATION lineages.  DNA is being used to clarify the relationships between the various "Graves/Greaves" immigrants who came early to the New England colony in approximately 1635ish, settling in Concord, Massachusetts. We have no information about his wife, and can only assume she died at some point after the 3rd child. The FindAGrave memorial on John states his wife was Joan Anne (Joanne) Bird, but I have not found/seen proof of this statement. 

Benjamin GRAVES, b. 1645 in Concord, was the eldest of the three siblings: John b. 1647 - d.after 1692, Sarah b. 1650 - d.1694. All the children married and had children as well.

On 21 Oct 1668, in Concord, Benjamin married Mary HOAR(E); she was b. abt 1648 in Concord, 2nd daughter of John & Alice HOAR(E).  Record from New England Marriages Prior to 1700.





Benjamin & Mary had the following children, born in Concord except for the last child born in Saybrook, Connecticut:
  1.  Mary, b. 18 Jan 1669/70, d. 22 Oct 1736 Marlborough MA;  in Sudbury CT, m. 1 Apr 1691 Benjamin Rice, son of Edward Rice & Anne/Agnes Bent; 9 children.  Note - Mary & Benjamin Rice line links to my children's father's direct Rice line. 
  2.   Elizabeth/Mehitable, b. 25 Apr 1671, d. 4 Apr 1730 Lyme CT; in New London CT, m. 20 Dec 1706 Joseph Beebe, 10 children
  3.   Ruth, b. 25 Nov 1674, d. 12 Nov 1755; In Saybrook CT, m.(1) 25 Jan 1699/00 John Webb, 7 children; m. (2) William Merriam 7 Nov 1711, 4 children
  4.   Benjamin (jr), b. 2 Mar 1676/77, d. 30 Dec 1752 Colchester CT;  in 1698, m. (1) Ruth Sterling, 5 children; abt 1711 m. (2)  Mary Haynes, 8 children
  5.   Joseph [ancestor], b. 1 Sep 1679, d.after 2 Apr 1756 New Cambridge CT; m. abt 1718 to Sarah [unknown]. 3 known children
  6.   Joanna, b. 2 Feb 1680/81; no further information on Joanna.
  7.   John, b. 1683, d. 29 Dec 1766 Walpole NH; m. 30 May 1710 Killingworth CT to Hannah Farnum, 11 children
  8.    Rebecca, b. abt 1685 Saybrook CT; m. 12 Dec 1706 in New London CT to Jonathan Daniels

He provided service in the Indian Wars, fighting in Capt. Wheeler's Concord Company in 1675, and again did military service in 1676.  

Benjamin and his younger brother John, along with others, purchased in May 20, 1681 from Christopher Hall, "all the mines and minerals of one kind and another, found, or to be found, or that may be found, on his land in Groton Mass, at a place called Cold Spring, near William Longley's house, with liberty to dig, delve or use theland and to erect buildings."  No record apparently exists to show that Benjamin actually developed these mineral rights.  

He and his family moved to Saybrook MA about 1684, and bought lands in the north part of Saybrook (Pattaconke) in January 1703.  

On Mar 18 1715 he deeded half his farm lands to his second son Joseph, and on Sep or Nov 14, 1716 deeded other lands to his third son John.  It is not clear why he did not deed lands to his eldest son Benjamin, but he may have already provided land or goods to him at an earlier date. 

It is assumed he died shortly after Nov 1716, but although there are various individuals showing a 1715 or 1716 death, I have not found a record of his death.  Another date shown by several researchers suggests it was before 23 Mar 1723/24.  A date of 5 Jun 1697 is given for his wife's death, Mary Hoar(e), on a memorial page at  FindAGrave, for the Old Burying Ground, Concord, Massachusetts.  I have not found a record stating such.

Details from above may be found on the Graves Family Association, under John Graves of Concord #166; History of the Hoare Family in America;  Concord Register; New England Marriages Prior to 1700.  


If you have additional information or details, I would appreciate learning more about Benjamin GRAVES, b. 1645.  Corrections are very welcome and received gratefully.  And do contact me via calewis at telus dot net or through the Comments below.  Thank you for visiting.

Welcome!

Family, friends, and others - I hope you enjoy these pages about our ancestors and their lives. Genealogy has become somewhat of an obsession, more than a hobby, and definitely a wonderful mystery to dig into and discover. Enjoy my writing, and contact me at celia.winky at gmail dot com if you have anything to add to the stories. ... Celia Lewis