#52Ancestors: John HUDSON 1736-1789, Pennsylvania

Another post in the year-long challenge, #52Ancestors by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow. Although I am  behind, every post is another post! Today I am sharing information on John  HUDSON, my 4th greatgrandfather on our KUHN lines, 5th greatgrandfather to our children, and 6th greatgrandfather to our grandchildren. There is very little information to be found about John HUDSON/HUTSON, partly as there are a number of Hudson/Hutson men all with same names, generation after generation. However, here is what I've found to date:

John HUDSON was the eldest son the six children of Nicholas HUDSON & Jean/Jane BOWEN, both of whom appear to have emigrated from Wales in the early 1730s. They came to Lancaster County, PA, with John's grandfather George & stepmother Margaret and their adult children.

John's birthdate is estimated 1735/36 in Churchtown, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. [Photo is of 1830s building] No register has been found to date to verify this information. 

On 20 June 1768, John HUDSON married Mary MORGAN [b. 20 Jun 1748], the 4th child of Col. Jacob MORGAN & Rachel PIERSOL. Note that Col. Jacob MORGAN [Sr.] is a well-known Revolutionary War Patriot for whom Morgantown is named.

John and Mary had 7 known children said to have been born in Lancaster county - but note that Morgantown/Caernarvon in Berks county was on the county border with Lancaster County.
 
   1.   Rachel M., b.19 Mar 1769, d. 20 Apr 1849 Pottsville PA; m. 25 Aug 1794
         in  Exeter PA to Morgan A. Lewis [1771-1843]; 9 known children

   2.   Jacob B., b. abt 1772, d. 1823 PA; m. 1798 PA to Elizabeth Porter [-1823];
         no research on children as yet. 

   3.   Nicholas, b. abt 1773, d. 29 Sep 1861 Berks Co. PA; m. 25 Sep 1793
         in PA to Elizabeth McAnnully; no research on children as yet.

   4.   Rebecca [ancestor], b. 16 Mar 1777 Morgantown PA, d. 10 Feb 1844
         Berks Co. PA; m. 17 Jul 1797 Morgantown PA to Edward McCABE
        [1760s Ireland-1814 PA]; 3 known children

   5.   Jonathan [jr.], b. 30 Mar 1781, d. 1820 PA; m. est 1805 to Sarah Williams;
         no further research as yet.

   6.   Sarah, b. 6 Sep 1783; no further research as yet

   7.   George, b. 16 Nov 1785; m. 11 Sep 1808 Reading, Berks PA to
         Anna Williams; no further research as yet.  But note that Jonathan
         married a Williams in same period, likely  sisters. 

John apparently was in Capt. [later Col.] Jacob Morgan's company during the period from March 1777-1780.  

He died unexpectedly, intestate, before 13 May 1789, aged 54 years. His wife Mary was Administer of his account, and she signed a £500 bond to detail a full inventory on 13 May 1789, along with "Jacob Morgan Esquire and Aaron Rattice," who were signatories with her. The inventory [not including his property] signed off on 5 Jun 1789, came to £65 8s 11p. I can find no records of land ownership, but he did have a small farm. There should also be guardians registered for the children, the majority being underage, although I have not found these as yet.

I have not been able to find a cemetery where he might be buried, but it is likely in Caernarvon/Morgantown. 

Mary died only 6 years later, aged 47, in 1795, in Caernarvon, Pennsylvania. Again, I have not found a cemetery burial as yet.  I note that she would have seen only her first child married. No further documents found to date regarding the likely guardians appointed for the younger children.  

John - occasionally listed as Jonathan - does not seem to have left many clues to his life, his interests, nor to how he died so young.  More research is planned, but to date, these are the major points. 

                                     -- / -- / -- / -- / -- / -- / -- / -- / -- / 

If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below and I will get back to you either by email or in the Comments. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues in these family trees.

Blogger - or my computer - is not letting me "reply" to your comments. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented! You truly make my day!! 

John HUDSON, 1735-1789, Pennsylvania, USA

John HUDSON, occasionally written as Jonathon, was born approximately 1735 in Churchtown, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He is my 4th great-grandfather through my mother's KUHN line.

John was the eldest of five sons and 2 daughters of Nicholas HUDSON & Jean/Jane BOWEN, all born in Churchtown, PA.  His father Nicholas, grandparents George and Margaret and other family emigrated to Pennsylvania from Cilgerran, Pembrokeshire, Wales, likely between 1720-1734. Several of these family members have already been written up - use the search tool on the right to find more information on the HUDSON, BOWEN, and MORGAN families in Pennsylvania.

On 20th of June 1768, in St. James Episcopal Church, Lancaster, PA, John married Mary MORGAN, the second daughter of Col. Jacob MORGAN Sr. [photo above, free of copyright]

John owned over 300 acres of land in the county, as well as 3 acres in the township of Caernarvon, less than 2 miles from Churchtown.

He and Mary had 7 children:
   1.  Rachel M., b. 19 Mar 1769, d. 29 Apr 1849 Pottsville, Shuylkill, PA;
            m. 25 Aug 1794 to Morgan A. Lewis [1771-1843]; 9 children
   2.  Jacob B., b. abt 1772, d. 1823 PA; m. 1798 to Elizabeth Porter.
   3.  Nicholas, b. abt 1773, d. 1851 PA; m. 25 Sep 1793 to Elizabeth
            McAnnully.
   4.  Rebecca, [ancestor] b. 16 Mar 1777, d. 10 Feb 1844 PA;
            m. 17 Jul 1797 to Edward McCABE [c.1767-1814]; 3 children
   5.  Jonathan, b. 30 Mar 1781, d. 1820; m. Sarah Williams; no information
   6.  Sarah, b. 6 Sep 1783; no information
   7.  George, b. 16 Nov 1785; m. 11 Sep 1808 to Anna Williams.

Between March 1777 and March 1880, John fought in the Revolutionary War against the British troops. He fought with the Berks County soldiers, in his brother-in-law Capt Jacob Morgan Jr's company.

In September 1789, John died in Caernarvon, aged 54. The cause of his sudden death meant he had no will, and died intestate. A bond was required, and a full inventory of his belongings - not land - were valued at £65. 8, 11. I was sad to see 1 Negro man [no description] was listed along with other farm items and was valued at only £1. 2, 6.

His wife Mary died only 6 years later, aged 47.  Again, this is a very young age to die, and the family was fairly well off, so perhaps there was disease in the region. I have no information on cause of death, nor a will for Mary. I would expect there should be bonds and perhaps a guardian assigned as the several youngest children were not yet of age.

More research in the Wills/Probate/Guardians files is needed to clarify what happened to his lands and belongings after John's sudden death, followed by Mary's death. And obviously I will be searching more information on their children's lives as adults.

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 If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues in these family trees.

Blogger - or my computer - is still not letting me "reply" to your comments, for some unknown reason. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented!  You truly make my day.

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, #11: Elizabeth ABREY

Following the challenge of writing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, issued by Amy Johnson Crow, here is my 11th installment, for Elizabeth ABREY, wife of the immigrant settler, my 6th great-grandmother on my maternal lines.

I have so little information on Elizabeth, that I'm embarrassed.  Which is why I'm writing about her - this tiny bit. I have only her first name;  her surname is unsubstantiated by any quality documentation. 

Her husband was Thomas MORGAN, b. abt 1659 in the northern part of Wales, Caernarvonshire [possibly], in Wales.  All their boys were apparently born in Wales, again possibly in Caernarvonshire:
 - Thomas, abt 1697  - Note: Thomas is NOT listed in his father's will of Dec 1740, and is not confirmed as his eldest son, to date. The following four sons are listed on the will:
 - John, abt 1700-1754
 - William, abt 1705-1768
 - Francis, 1710-1779
 - Jacob [direct ancestor], 1716-1792 [Revol.War, Col.]

As far as is known, the MORGAN family immigrated about 1718, settling in Pennsylvania.  Most information on Thomas is based on descriptions of his youngest son, Col. Jacob MORGAN and his exploits.

Several genealogies and historical records of early settlers in PA show that the family settled on the north bank of the Conestoga Creek, in what is now Berks county, with 400 acres of land in late 1718, settled in 1719.  This tract of land was in Caernarvon Township area - a map of the township is available with names of the principal land owners.  The land is very close to the site of Morgantown, laid out by his son, Jacob Morgan

Elizabeth?  She is not mentioned - except for her first name, listing her as his wife [living] at the time of Thomas' will, 6 Dec 1740, probated in Philadelphia, 25 Mar 1741. 

The only information I have about her is from a number of family trees who have no documentation attached.  Her birth date is estimated only - looking at the birth years of her 4 or 5 sons - to be likely 1668-1675, place unknown but likely in same area as her husband Thomas.  Their marriage date is also unknown, but likely to be approximately 1695.  Her death date is not listed anywhere that I have found as yet, but is likely to be from 1741-1750.

The Morgan family settled in the Caernarvon area of PA with a large number of Welsh immigrants: Jenkins, Piersol, Morgan, Davis, Evans, Bowen, Hudson, Williams, Allen, Martin, and others.  I have an early .pdf map of the area with drawing of land plots, Warrants from early 1700s onwards. Contact me if you wish a copy of this map. 

If you have any information or questions about Elizabeth ABREY, wife of Thomas MORGAN, the immigrant settler, do contact me via calewis at telus dot net, and/or comment below.