Deep Smith Roots: Marena Ann Smith’s Quaker Ancestry and Beyond
By Margaret Robe Summitt, Ph.D.
August 1998
Marena Ann Smith connects to Margaret Robe Summitt’s family tree with her marriage to Elijah Grant Michael in 1853. She wrote a brief account of her life that was published in the Oregon Journal as "Pioneer Writes Own Obituary" after her death in the historic town of Weston, Oregon in 1913: "I, Marena Ann Smith, was born in Vermilion Co., Illinois, January 22, 1837 and moved with my family in 1838 and settled on the Skunk River, five miles from Richmond. The river bottom country was not healthy in that day and in April 1852 my father, Elijah E. Smith, started to the Oregon country to find a more healthful climate. But while crossing the plains he was stricken with cholera and died and was buried July 4 on the Platte River. The ground being so rocky, they could not dig a grave but just had to dig out a big hole, the best they could and wrapped his body in a feather bed and put the rocks in on him. As I remember this it seemed to be the saddest day of my life but mother, brothers and all were bound to go onward toward the west, leaving their beloved loved one buried in the desert surrounded by wild animals and Indians…" She remarks also: "My ancestors were Quakers, and my father had taught us to be kind to the Indians and they would be kind to us."
Elijah Embree Smith’s ancestry can be traced in several branches back to England, thanks to the meticulous records kept by Quaker monthly meetings. One of these ancestral families, moreover, is traced in one published source back to Charlemagne, although without satisfactory documentation. Elijah’s pedigree chart looks like a fan of roots reaching back to the 18th and 17th centuries, but with one long thin taproot touching the source of Catholic Europe.
He had apparently not been a Quaker in good standing since 1823. In that year the men’s minutes of Newhope Monthly Meeting in Greene Co., Tennessee report that he was disowned, reason not stated. In December of the following year he was married to Catherine Brown, who was of German ancestry, and a non-Quaker. Marriage "out of union" with the Society of Friends was grounds for disownment. Unless a Friend "condemned his misconduct" and was examined by fellow Quakers for the sincerity of his repentance, he was no longer permitted to worship with them and his name would no longer appear in Quaker records.
Elijah seems to have come to Illinois about 1827. He purchased an 80-acre tract in 1827 for $100 in Vermilion County, and his son Elbert (or Albert) was born in Illinois in 1829 (1850 Federal Census, Washington Co., Iowa Territory). In 1830 Elijah and Catherine (née Brown) Smith sold land in Vermilion Co., Illinois to her father, Jacob Brown. By 1840 they had left Illinois for Iowa. The 1840 Census lists 12 people in the household: one son born 1835-40, two sons born 1830-35, two sons born 1825-1830; one male born 1810-20 (note that Elijah was born in 1803 and not married until 1824, so this is not him), and one male born 1800-10 (Elijah himself). There were three daughters born 1835-40, one daughter born 1830-35, and one female born 1800-10 (Catherine).
By 1850 the Federal Census of Division Twp., Washington Co., Iowa Territory lists only seven in the family. One son under age 15 had perhaps died, two sons under age 20 had perhaps died or married, the man born 1810-20 was gone, and one daughter under age 15 had perhaps died. The children listed were Albert (Elbert), age 21; Anna, age 17; John, age 15; "Mara Anna" (Marena), age 13, and Malissa, age 10. All the children were born in Illinois except Malissa, who was born in Iowa. Perhaps disease accounts for the loss of some of the children.
His brothers, like Elijah, had been pioneer farmers in Vermilion Co., Illinois. The low-lying land that Marena mentions as having been conducive to disease had been chosen, most likely, because it was easiest to farm. This is implied in a description of his brother Abraham’s choice to live and farm on higher ground: "Abraham Smith was the first to make a farm out on the Ridge. The prairie land north and west of Pilot Grove was the last to be brought into general cultivation. For twenty years after good farms existed along the "Points" and the groves this beautiful prairie lay open, being entirely destitute of cultivation. When Abraham Smith and his brother William concluded to sell their farm at Vermilion Grove and bring the Ridge farm into cultivation, they were cautioned against the folly of going there to live. They were told that no one yet was ever known to live out on the prairie; that he would never have any neighbors, and could not expect to have neighbors or schools. He thought, however, that the land was better for farming purposes than that in the timber, and that he could better afford to haul his rails and wood out to his prairie home than to try to bring the timber land into cultivation. His wife, who is a sister of the Canadys, and who still lives on the place [as of 1879, when Beckwith’s History of Vermilion County was written] says things did look pretty rough when she came here to live on Christmas Day, 1839. They had moved from East Tennessee, and lived a few years near her brother’s at Vermilion Grove. Mr. Smith commenced improving this farm in 1839, and built a house on the east side of the state road, which they moved into in the winter. Four years later he sold this to Uri Ashton, and built the house on the west side of the road where his widow still resides. When he came the stage route from Danville to Paris was already established, and the next spring four-horse coaches were put on the route, and soon a post-office was established, though it was some time before neighbors began to settle near. He was obliged to "keep tavern" and entertain any who came along, as there was no one to send them to. The coaches made a trip a day, going from Danville one day and returning the next. The wolves were so troublesome that they would chase the chickens into the yard" (p. 573).
Mentioned in Beckwith’s History of Vermilion County are some of Elijah’s older brothers: as well as Abraham, there were Jesse, Dr. Isaac Smith, and a William Smith, whom I doubt was really a brother since he is not listed among the children in the monthly meeting records. "Abraham Smith was a Quaker, an active businessman, and a radical abolitionist. He died in 1863…His brother, Dr. Isaac Smith, lived early east of where Gibson’s store now stands at Vermilion Station, and his brother Jesse lived southeast of the Vermilion [Quaker] meeting house, where his son George now lives" (p. 574). According to the Quaker records, the sons of Abraham and Martha (Payne) Smith were: Isaac, born 1 December 1787 at Hopewell Monthly Meeting in Frederick Co., Va., married Lydia Braselton 1 Nov 1809 in Jefferson Co., Tenn.; George, born 14 September 1789 married Jemima Dillon 20 August 1810 in Greene Co., Tenn.; Joseph, born in Washington Co., Tenn. 7 March 1791; Jesse, born 30 June 1794 in the same place, married Mary Carriger 20 Feb 1816 in Sullivan Co., Tenn.; Abraham, born 15 May 1796 in Washington Co., Tenn.; Levi, born 18 November 1799, and finally Elijah, born 16 October 1803. In the original Quaker records, according to the Quakers’ removal of the names of pagan gods from the calendar, months and days of the week were expressed numerically. Elijah’s birthdate would thus be expressed "16th of 10th month 1803," and all Quaker birthdates are expressed in similar form.
It was his middle name Embree that led me (Margaret Robe Summitt) to Elijah’s Quaker heritage. Daunted by the commonness of the name Smith, I conjectured a connection to the Embree family. In East Tennessee there were two Quaker brothers, Elijah and Elihu Embree, about a dozen years senior to Elijah Embree Smith. Although Elijah seems to have been named after Elijah Embree it is Elihu, the more adventurous of the two, who is a significant historical figure. In addition to taking over his father’s iron forge, Elihu sold dry goods as a merchant, maintained a boarding house on the Holston River in Sullivan County (where Jesse Smith married Mary Carriger), and in 1819-20 began publishing The Emancipator, a virulently abolitionist newspaper. All of these ventures, by the way, were financial failures. The Emancipator and the Manumission Intelligencer, Elihu’s other, earlier, newspaper, were the first American newspapers to be devoted exclusively to the abolition of slavery. These were less newspapers in the sense of reporting current events related to the slavery issue than general polemics against slavery. By the time he died in 1820, Elihu was deeply in debt; the following year his brother Elijah Embree petitioned the Tennessee legislature for a loan of money to aid in the promotion of his private business. Saddled with his brother’s debts, Elijah Embree persuaded the legislature five more times to pass laws for his personal financial relief.
The Embree family proved a dead end, but it did lead me eventually to conclude that the Smiths may also have been Quakers. Monthly meeting records in East Tennessee have been collected, albeit incompletely, in Vol. 1 of Hinshaw’s Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. The birthdates of Abraham and Martha (Payne) Smith are given, respectively, as 12th of 7th month 1757 and 13th of 8th month 1764. These are the very same dates that appear in the Bible record of Elijah’s son John T. Smith of Seattle (Mary Catherine Michael Kirk cites this as the source for her "Geneology," and it was one source cited by her brother William Sears Michael for the genealogy that he copied by hand into his ledger book, the other source being records of John’s brother Isaac Smith). I wish I could see the original monthly meeting record rather than Hinshaw’s typed copy; Elijah’s birthdate is the same as in the Bible record, only the name in Hinshaw is transcribed as Eliza. I am sure this is an error. The original record appears on page 6 of the records of Newhope Monthly Meeting in Greene County, Tennessee, where are cited both parents’ birthdates as well as those of a dozen children from Rachel through Sarah. Rachel, the eldest, was born 28th of 6th month 1784, while Sarah, the youngest, was born 25th of 10th month 1806 (Elijah was the eleventh child). Newhope Monthly Meeting was established in Greene County on the 28th of 2nd month, 1795, by direction of New Garden Quarterly Meeting and Westfield Monthly Meeting in Surry County, N.C. This is near, if not actually part of, that part of North Carolina that eventually became part of the state of Tennessee. Abraham and Seth Smith, his brother, were members of Newhope before the establishment of the monthly meeting, or became members soon afterward, according to Hinshaw’s introduction to the Newhope section. Other members at this early date included the Smith family’s relatives John Bowater Beals and Jacob Beals.
The Smiths were members of Westfield Monthly Meeting for only about five years (1791-ca.1795) prior to coming to Newhope. The Westfield Monthly Meeting records include a certificate of removal received on the 20th of 1st month 1791 for Abraham Smith and wife Martha, and children Rachel, Hannah, Isaac and George. This certificate was dated 7th of 6th month 1790 from Hopewell Monthly Meeting in Frederick Co., Virginia. These four eldest children were born at Hopewell, and presumably the children born between 1791 and 1795 (Joseph and Jesse) were born at Westfield.
An excellent source on the Hopewell records has recently been reprinted by Heritage Books: Hopewell Friends History 1734-1934, Frederick County, Virginia: Records of Hopewell Monthly Meeting and Meetings Reporting to Hopewell. Two Hundred Years of History and Genealogy Compiled from Official Records and Published by a Joint Committee of Hopewell Friends assisted by John W. Wayland. It was originally privately printed in 1936 at Strasburg, Va. The Hopewell meeting house was located just north of Winchester, Va., in the Shenandoah Valley. It was situated between Back and Opeckon Creeks, tributaries of the Potomac. Here was recorded the marriage of Abraham Smith and Martha Payne: "Abraham Smith, son of Joseph Smith, Deceased, of Frederick County in Virginia, and Martha Payne, Daughter of George Payne of Berkley County in Virginia; 16th day of 10th month, 1783; at Hopewell." Below the bride’s and groom’s signatures, which appear in the top of the right-hand column, are the signatures of their parents: George Payne and Rachel Payne, and Rachel Smith, Abraham’s mother. This placement of the parents’ signatures is customary on Quaker marriage certificates. No minister officiated at the ceremony, the marriage being solemnized by consensus of the families and the monthly meeting members. Everyone present customarily signed the certificate; the nearest relatives’ names usually appear below the parents’ names in the right-hand column. Thus following the parents are the names of Jacob, Seth, Levi, and Mary Smith , Abraham’s siblings. Then come Henry Payne, Hannah [Payne] Haslet, Sarah and Alice Payne, Martha’s siblings. Afterward come John, Katharine and James Cowgill (Katherine I have not identified, but John and James were Martha’s first cousins, the children of Henry and Ruth [Johnson] Cowgill). The next name, Isaac Haire, I have not identified, but the last two names in the column are Richard and Mary [Cowgill] George, Martha’s maternal aunt and uncle. Other relatives on the certificate include Martha’s uncle and aunt, Henry and Ruth [Johnson] Cowgill, and a Joseph Smith, whom I have not identified but may well be a relative of Abraham.
Hopewell Friends History is a rich source of information about the bride’s and groom’s relatives. Just by studying the marriage certificates, the birth and death records, and the removal certificates one can learn a great deal about collateral lines. My purpose here, however, is to focus on Abraham’s and Martha’s direct lines, so I leave it to the interested researcher to pursue these side paths.
The Smith Family
I will take up Abraham Smith’s ancestral lines first because I do not have as much information on them as I do on Martha Payne’s. "Jos. Smith, w. Rachel & ch." were received into Hopewell 5th day, 6th mo. 1775 on a certificate from West River Monthly Meeting in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. This is the same Joseph Smith who is identified in the Hopewell Friends History index as born in 1728 and died in 1781. The Hopewell record shows that he was born in 1728 and died at Hopewell the 16th day, 9th month 1781. His son Nathan was born 20th day, 6th month 1759 and died at Hopewell the 3rd day, 9th month 1781. His son Caleb was born 7th day, 10th month 1771 and died at Hopewell the 5th day, 9th month 1781. These death dates imply some communicable disease claimed the lives of Joseph and two of his sons in September 1781.
West River was the site of the first monthly meeting in Maryland, established in 1672. "For many years thereafter it was held, alternately, at West River, on the Western Shore, and at Tredhaven, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland" (Hopewell Friends History, p. 227). The West River records include a removal certificate received 20th of 6th month 1765 for Joseph Smith, wife Rachel and children Isaac, Jacob, Abraham, Nathan, Seth and Levy, and issued by Warrington Monthly Meeting in Pennsylvania. While they lived in Maryland their son Caleb was born (7th of 10th month 1771). This information is found in Book A page 271, West River Monthly Meeting Record, Meeting at Cliffs, Calvert Co., MD (I found it in the form of a slim yellow volume, a typescript on onionskin paper, at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, titled "Abstracts from Book of Marriage Certificates of West River and Cliffs Monthly Meeting" call no. 975.2 K28a). The Smiths lived in Maryland for only about ten years (1765-1775).
I have not found a birth record for Abraham Smith in Pennsylvania. His parents were married at Huntington Monthly Meeting in York County, Pa., so he may have been born there. His birth record is not included in the published source 100 Years at Warrington: York County, Pennsylvania Quakers Marriages, Removals, Births & Deaths (Newberry, Warrington, Menallen, Huntington and York Meetings), comp. by Margaret B. Walmer (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1989). The marriage certificate reads: "Joseph Smith of Warrington in the County of York and province of pencilvania son of John Smith deceased and Rachel Beals of huntington in the County and province aforesaid Daughter of Jacob Beals…at Huntington this seventh day of the 12th month in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty two" (pp. 5-6). Jacob and Mary Beals, the bride’s parents, signed the certificate; Jacob Beals Jr., William Beals, William Smith and Jane Smith were witnesses.
The year 1752, of course, is the year of the calendar change. For Quaker researchers, who are already accustomed to make a mental adjustment to numerically expressed months, this change may perhaps be taken in stride. Eleven days were taken from the old calendar so that the first day of 1752 became March 25th. Dates prior to 1752 which fall between the 1st of the 11th month [January] and the 24th of the 1st month [March] are thus usually expressed with a slash, as in 1750/51. For those dealing with dates which come after March 24th it may be helpful to remember that prior to 1752 the Latin names of the fall and winter months actually correspond to the numerical order of the month; i.e. September is in fact the seventh month, October is the eighth month, and so on. When you see the abbreviations o.s. (old style) and n.s. (new style) they refer to dates before and after this calendar change.
I am still trying to find more information about Joseph’s father, John Smith. According to the marriage certificate of his son William Smith and Jane Underwood, John Smith had died before 1747 (Sadsbury Monthly Meeting, 29th of 8h month 1747–here the month is in old style, meaning that this occurred in the month of October). Sadsbury Monthly Meeting was in Lancaster County, Pa. The Sadsbury records include the reception of a removal certificate for John Smith dated 3rd day, 5th month 1738 from Goshon [sic] Monthly Meeting. Gilbert Cope, the Quaker researcher, notes that the first Monthly Meeting at Sadsbury was held on the 6th day of the 12th mo. 1737/8 (FHLC film #0389403). Thus Goshen is presumably an older meeting than Sadsbury. I have not found John Smith in records prior to 1747. See Sadsbury Monthly Meeting records included in vol. 3, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Church Records of the 18th Century, ed. F. Edward Wright (Westminster, MD: Family Line Pubs., 1994). See also the following films available through the LDS Family History centers: Pennsylvania, Lancaster Co., Little Britain Twp., Church Records, Society of Friends, Chester MM (Chester, PA): Abstracts #0389402; Chester MM, Lancaster Co., Darby, Sadbury [sic] and Nottingham meeting records 1682-1868, #0389403; Chester Co. MMs #0389404; Chester, Darby, Goshen, Little Britain, London Grove, New Garden, Nottingham meeting records & New Garden inscriptions, #0389405.
The Beals Family
Joseph Smith’s wife Rachel Beals descends from some of the earliest Quaker settlers of the border area between Pennsylvania and Maryland. Rachel was born about 1726; I do not have birthdates for her brothers William and Jacob. Jr. I used the International Genealogical Index and the Ancestral File in some cases here; although I know I should document these dates against the Monthly Meeting records, I have not done so in all cases. In Rachel’s case, I have been trying to track down IGI Batch F508003, Film 1553537, sheet 22 and also fiche Z0001. The F means that estimated information has been added to the form. Possibly the birthdate of 1726 was estimated from some other record. This was not taken from a birth record but from a "miscellaneous" record.
In the case of Jacob Beals, I checked the Chester Monthly Meeting records (LDS film 389,405) for his birthdate, which I found to be 28th of 7th mo. 1689. Remember the calendar change, which means that in 1689 the 7th month was September. The person who entered this information into the Ancestral File (AFN:GWTW-81) assumed that the 7th month was July, which is incorrect. The Ancestral File gives his birthplace as Chester, Delaware Co., Pa., marriage to Mary Brooksley as 20 Jun 1714 at Nottingham MM in Chester Co., Pa., and death date of 1763 in York Co., Pa. Mary’s surname appears in the Ancestral File as Brooksley or Brooksby or simply Brooks, each with the same marriage date and place. Since this marriage date in the Ancestral File was taken from an original record presumably reading ‘20th 6th mo. 1714," I need to verify that the 6th month as originally recorded meant August and not June.
John Bales, Jacob’s father, was one of sixteen Quakers who was granted a lot of about 500 acres in the "Nottingham Lots," which were surveyed in 1701/2. This settlement was a bold move on the part of William Penn in his boundary dispute with Lord Baltimore; after the Mason-Dixon Line was surveyed, it was no longer part of Chester Co., Pa. but became part of Cecil Co., Md. In "Early Settlers of the Nottingham Lots," an article by A. Day Bradley in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly vol. 70 no. 4 (Dec. 1982) the genealogy of 21 early settlers and their immediate families is presented.
John Bales and Mary Clayton, daughter of William and Prudence, were married in 1682 at Burlington Meeting. John, an emigrant from England, assisted in laying out Philadelphia. Grantee and settler of lots 36 and 37, his will was probated at West Chester in 1726.
Bradley’s footnotes should be consulted for further sources on the history of Chester and Cecil counties, John Bales’s part in the laying out of Philadelphia (Burke’s Landed Gentry 1939 ed.; American Section, p. 2554), and the East and West Nottingham township tax records and Quaker Monthly Meeting records.
I do not find the marriage record of John Bales and Mary Clayton in Charlotte Meldrum’s Early Church Records of Burlington County, New Jersey vol. 1.
Beals and Clayton Ancestry
The information on John and Mary’s ancestry I have taken comes mostly from the Ancestral File, which needs to be verified against official Monthly Meeting records. John Beals’ Ancestral File no. is D3N5-X6; Mary Clayton’s is D3N5-ZC. Another Mary Clayton is listed under number LXZ5-FG but with no ordinance info. John Beals’s parents are said by the Ancestral File submitter to be Thomas Beals and Sarah Edge. According to genealogist Stewart Baldwin, however, there is no evidence that they were John’s parents. Thomas Beals is said to have been b. 1625/30 in England and died in Pa. His Ancestral File no. is GWTW-CJ. Sarah Edge (AFN:GWTW-DP) b. Sep 1657 in Barrow, Cheshire, England, dau. of George Edge (AFN:NTXD-JP) and unknown mother, is said to have married also a William Beals (AFN:NTX8-GS) b. about same time as Thomas. Another Ancestral File line has William Beals and Sarah Edge as the parents of the John who m. Mary Clayton, as well as possibly a Thomas Beals b. maybe 1679, d. 17 Oct 1769. This gives John and Mary’s marriage info. as 11 Jan 1682 in Chester Co., Pa.
I have recently learned that the Edges were the ancestors of Sarah Bowater, who married John Beals, Jr. They are not our ancestors.
George Edge (AFN: NTXD-JP) is said to have been born in Frodsham, Cheshire, England 28 Oct 1614 and christened the same day. He d. 22 Mar 1676 in Cheshire, England. His children as listed in Ancestral File are:
i. John (AFN: 1TH8-SJ) b. 10 Oct 1648 at St. Andrews, Holborn, Middlesex, England (this would seem to be near or within present-day London) m. Jane (AFN:1TH8-TP) in Chester Co., Pa, d. 10 Jul 1711 at Providence, Lackawanna, Pa.
ii. Mary (AFN:NXWP-SF) b. 20 Oct 1650 in England
iii. Daniel (AFN:NXWP-TL) b. 29 Oct 1652 in England
iv. Joseph (AFN: PDS1-66) b. 29 Dec 1652 in England, d. 27 Jul 1711 in Chester Co., Pa. Note only a 3-month gap between births of Daniel and Joseph. Did someone confuse the 10th month (December) with October?
v. Another Joseph (AFN:NXWP-VR) is given bd of 9 Oct 1654 in England.
vi. Sarah b. Sep 1657 at Barrow, Cheshire, England m. Thomas Beals and William Beals
vii. Sarah (AFN:1ThB-1T) b. Jul 1657 at St. Andrews, Holborn, Middlesex, England, m. Thomas Bowater (AFN: BGRQ-BF) 4 Oct 1685 in Pa.; she d. 26 Apr 1692 in Pa. The different birthplace and too-close birthdate to the other Sarah makes this Sarah seem to me really out of place in this family.
viii. Martha (AFN:NXWP-WX) b. 6 Jan 1658/59 in England; d. 24 Aug 1673 in England
ix. Rebecca (AFN:NXWP-X4) same bd and place as sister Martha above.
x. Rebecca (AFN: PDS1-9P) b. 15 Nov 1658 at Barrow, Cheshire, England
xi. Nathaniel (AFN: NXWP-Z9) b. 16 Feb 1671 in England
George Edge’s parents are said to be Richard Edge (AFN: NTXD-M7) b. 15 Mar 1580 at Great Barrow, Cheshire, England, m. 27 Oct 1602 to Alice Bushell (AFN: NTXD-HJ) at Frodsham, Cheshire, England. Alice Bushell was b. 7 May 1579 at Frodsham.
Richard Edge’s parents are said to be Thomas Edge (AFN:NTXD-KV) b. 1548 and Ellen Pycke (AFN: NTXD-L2) b. 1555. Alice Bushell’s parents are said to be Thomas Bushell (AFN: NXWQ-7M) b. abt 1546 and Margaret Helsbie (AFN: NXWQ-7M) b. abt 1550.
I am not ready to draw any conclusions about the Beals line beyond John Beals, based solely on this information.
Regarding the Claytons, I think I can do no better than to refer to Cheska Wheatley’s research on the Quaker Claytons as presented in "The Quaker Clayton Family" and "Beware of Erroneous Clayton Research!" Both documents are available on the Internet at:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/6630/claytonfam.html
and are linked to Joanne Rabun’s Quaker Corner homepage on RootsWeb. Wheatley makes the case that the parents of Mary Clayton who married John Beals were William Clayton and Prudence Lanckford, not Prudence Mickel as is sometimes reported (as in the Ancestral File). William and Prudence were married 7 Nov 1653 at St. Pancras Parish, Chichester, England. Prudence was "of St. Peters the Less Parish, daughter of William Lanckford of Broughton Parish, Hampshire." Wheatley notes "this marriage was copied again by Louis E. Jones in 1982 from the St. Pancras Parish, Chichester, Sussex Parish Register Calendar by V. London, 1945." William was baptized 9 Dec 1632 at Boxgrove, Sussex. He married Prudence Lanckford 7 Nov 1653 at Pancras Parish in Chichester, Sussex. William was jailed in Sussex on 7th day 12th mo 1663 for meeting with other Quakers. "Having refused to pay his fines, William was jailed for six months in the House of Correction in the town of Arundel," Wheatley notes.
Children of William and Prudence:
i. William Clayton b. 11 3m 1656 in Sussex (recorded at Lewes and Chichester MM); d. 22 2m 1727 at Chichester, Chester, Pa. Married before Feb 1684/5 Elizabeth Bezer, dau of Edward Bezer and Ann Fry. Their ch: William, Richard, Rachel Clayton Howell, Edward, Ambrose, Thomas and Elizabeth Clayton Davis.
ii. Prudence Clayton b. 20 8th mo 1657 in Sussex (recorded at Lewes and Chichester MM); made will 17 Nov 1726 at Chichester, Chester, Pa. and d. by April 1728. Married 20 11th mo 1678 at Burlington MM in NJ to Henry Reynolds (1655-1720), son of William Reynolds and Margaret Exton. Children: Margaret Reynolds Moulder, Mary, Francis, Prudence, Deborah, William, Henry, John, Hannah Reynolds Browne, and William Reynolds Jr.
iii. Joseph Clayton b. 11 12th mo 1659 recorded at Lewes and Chichester MMs, Sussex. Married 5 2nd mo at Sussex to Elizabeth Balzer and probably remained in England.
iv. Honour Clayton b. 16 1st mo 1661/2 at Rumboldswyke, Sussex; m. 8th 6th mo 1679 James Brown of Marcus Hook, NJ, at Darlington meeting house, Burlington MM, NJ. Honour was still living in 1715 when James made his will at Nottingham Twp., Chester Co., Pa. Children: James Jr., William, Clayton, Jeremiah, Margery Brown Piggott, Daniel, and Mary Brown Butterfield.
v. Mary Clayton, twin of Elizabeth, b. 29 6th mo 1665 at Rumboldswyke, Sussex. Second marriage intentions declared at Chester MM in Pa. 1st 11th mo 1682 with John Beals; they were actually married probably within the following month.
vi. Elizabeth Clayton, twin of Mary, b. 29th 6th mo. 1665 at Rumboldswyke, Sussex; d. 30th 7th mo 1665.
vii. Hannah Clayton b 12th of 10th mo 1667 at Rumboldswyke, Sussex, d. 8th mo 1668 and is buried at Michael Lighton’s Burial Ground in Sussex.
William Clayton, husband of Prudence Lanckford, was the son of William Clayton and Joan Smith. He made his will 1 Feb 1658/9 at Pancras Parish, Chichester, Sussex. "This document indicates that he was a timberman residing in the Parish of Pancras without the East Gate of Chichester, Sussex. He married first on 30 Oct 1631 Boxgrove Parish, Sussex to Joan Smith who was buried 27 Apr 1644 at Boxgrove. He married next 6 Jan 1644/5 at Boxgrove to Elizabeth Simmons who died 6 Oct 1660 according to the records of Lewes & Chichester Monthly Meeting and was buried at Rumboldswyke Steeple House Yard."
Some of the children of William Clayton and Joan Smith were:
i. William who married Prudence Lanckford.
ii. Joan, baptized 23 Aug 1635 in Boxgrove, Sussex and was bur 20 Jul 1644 shortly after her mother died.
iii. Elizabeth baptized 11 Feb 1637 at Boxgrove, Sussex
iv. Richard baptized 13 Sep 1640 at Boxgrove, Sussex; said to have married 29 Jan 1657 Rudgwick, Sussex to Joan Knight.
v. Thomas baptized 26 Feb 1642 at Boxgrove, Sussex, was a minor in 1659 when his father’s will was made.
Wheatley gives no information on the parents of William Clayton who married Joan Smith. According to the Ancestral File, his parents were Thomas Clayton (AFN:KSDN-8L) b. 1560 in Sussex; d. 1630/31 in Chichester, Sussex; m. 1589 in England to Margaret Cholmondy (AFN:KSDN-9R ) b. about 1560. Thomas is further said to be the son of John Clayton (AFN:S7NT-CP) and an unknown wife (AFN:S7NT-DV). These may belong to a different line of Claytons.
The Payne Family
Returning to the family of Martha Payne, wife of Abraham Smith, we find that her parents were George Payne and Rachel CowgIllinois Martha’s 1783 marriage certificate at Hopewell Monthly Meeting identifies her father as George Payne of Berkeley County in Virginia. The birthdate I have for Martha, 13 Aug 1764, comes from the Bible record of her grandson John T. Smith and from Hinshaw, not from the Quaker Monthly Meeting where her birth was recorded. When George and Rachel’s certificate of removal was received at Hopewell on 3rd of 11th mo. 1777, it listed children Rachel, Martha, Sarah, Alice and George. They had come from Deer Creek Monthly Meeting in Harford Co., Md. I have not checked the Deer Creek meeting records for Martha’s birth record. The first five children of George and Rachel had their births recorded at Nottingham MM in Cecil Co., Md.:
i. Hannah b. 14th of 12th mo 1753; married Robert Heslett
ii. Jesse b. 6th of 7th mo 1755; married Mary Sarah Tucker, according to the Ancestral File (AFN: 11V3-3GL)
iii. Henry b. 5th of 3rd mo 1756; married Mary Elizabeth Kurtz, according to Ancestral File submission of Bob L. Anderson, who gives birthplace of these children as Fawn Twp., York, Pa. (AFN: 17L9-5ZG)
iv. Joseph b. 11th of 1st mo 1758,
v. Mary, b. 6th of 11th mo 1758; married Benjamin Manifold; d. 1826. Of the other children, we know that
vi. Rachel married Abraham McCleary contrary to discipline in Frederick Co., Va., 6th of 5th mo 1782;
vii. Martha married Abraham Smith at Hopewell 16th of 7th mo 1783; she died after her husband.
viii. Sarah married John Squibb or Squibbs contrary to discipline 7th of 5th mo 1787 in Frederick Co., Va.
ix. Alice married Levi Smith, son of Joseph Smith and Rachel Beals, and hence Abraham Smith’s brother, 4th of 6th mo 1789 at Hopewell; she died at Hopewell before 1812;
x. George Payne, Jr. was a witness to his sister Alice’s marriage, and he was disowned by Hopewell MM 1st of 3rd mo 1802, no reason given. He married Elizabeth Dillon of North Carolina.
George Payne and Rachel Cowgill were married at Nottingham MM in Cecil Co., Md. on the 26th of 3rd mo. 1752 (New Style), at "a public mtg of sd people at James King’s." Both were listed as being of West Nottingham Preparatory Meeting. My source is a typescript of Nottingham MM records: "Maryland Quaker Records: Nottingham Monthly Meeting, Cecil County" that I found at the Salt Lake library. George was the son of Josiah, deceased, and Martha; Rachel was the daughter of Henry of Drumsmore [sic; should be Drumore] Twp., Lancaster Co., Pa. The name is written Payne in George Payne’s marriage certificate; in the Nottingham Men’s Minutes (where his father and brothers are concerned) it is written Paine, and in the Women’s Minutes it is written Pain. Comments William Wade Hinshaw: "the correct name is doubtless Payne" (initials WWH follow the discussion of these variations).
George’s will, dated 23 January 1799, was filed in Berkeley County, Va. I do not have a copy, only an abstract; I need more information about George while he was living there in the 1780s-1790s.
George’s parents were Josiah Payne or Paine, and Martha Shepard. The birth and death records of New Garden MM (Chester Co., Pa.) list their children as follows:
i. Josiah (Jos. ) b. 3rd day 8th mo 1716; he was disowned 1758 by West Nottingham.
ii. Mary, b. 7th day 2nd mo 1718;
iii. Matthew b. 20th day 3rd mo 1719, married out of union, as reported in West Nottingham PM: he "hath let out his affections to a woman not of our Society & is m to her by a Priest;" he at first told the committee to "do as they please" about disowning him; the matter rested until 16th of 6th mo 1753, when he made acknowledgement, which was accepted as satisfaction.
iv. Alice b. 22nd of 10th mo 1720 married 1741/2 Henry Cowgill at Nottingham MM; she was his second wife (Mary Boulton was his first). Rachel Cowgill, wife of George Payne, was a daughter of Henry Cowgill by his first marriage;
v. Martha b 10th of 10th mo 1722 married Eleazer Cowgill 1739 at Nottingham MM; Eleazer was a son of John Cowgill and his second wife Rachel Baker (John and Rachel were Rachel Cowgill Payne’s grandparents);
vi. Elizabeth b. 5th of 12th mo 1724; she was reported 18th of 7th mo 1752 by West Nottingham PM as having married out of union to Isaac Coulson, "and it is supposed they are guilty of fornication;" both were disowned the 21st of 10th mo 1752;
vii. Hannah (also called Ruth?) b. 27th 2nd mo 1726; married out of union to a Savage; at this time she lived in York Co., Pa., as is stated by the West Nottingham PM minutes 21st 8th mo 1756, regarding the appointment of William Cox to visit and counsel her;
viii. George, b 4th of 10th mo 1728, married Rachel Cowgill, daughter of Henry of Drumore Twp.
ix. Joseph b. after 1730? was disowned for joining the Army to fight Indians 15th of 5th mo 1756.
Josiah Payne was a taxable at West Nottingham in 1718, having property valued at 16 pounds, on which he paid 4 shillings and threepence per pound. When Josiah bought land in 1726, Joseph Kirkbride, a prominent Friend from New Jersey, was referred to as his "kinsman" (email 4-20-99 from Thomas Hamm tomh@earlham.edu). Meldrum’s early New Jersey church records refer to a Joseph Kirkbride, but indicate he was a resident of Bucks Co., Pa., and a "sometime" resident of New Jersey. So far no connection between Josiah Payne and Joseph Kirkbride is known. Josiah was appointed overseer for West Nottingham Preparatory Meeting, 19th of 4th mo 1731; he served in this capacity until his death, which was before 1752. On 19th of 6th mo 1738 West Nottingham PM reported that Josiah had a lapse in conduct: he had been "overtaken with strong drink, and did both sing and dance." He acknowledged his misconduct and it was accepted 21st of 8th mo 1738.
The History of York County, Pennsylvania, in mentioning Josiah Payne and Martha Shepard, reports that both were "natives of England," and that Martha was a Quaker minister. William Sheppard, William Sheppard, Jr., and Henry Cowgill were witnesses to George Payne’s 1799 will; these Sheppards are the only potential Shepard relatives of Martha’s I have found. According to Ancestral File submitter Bob L. Anderson (618 East 10th, Sedalia, MO 65301) Martha was born in Holland ca. 1690-1692. Martha’s Ancestral File no. is 11V3-BRN.
Joyce Turner's "Joyce Shannon's Genealogy" WorldConnect entry on Josiah Payne contains the following information on Josiah Payne: From page 305 of 'History of Berkeley County West Virginia' by Willis F. Evans, "Josiah Payne and Martha Shepperd Payne, his wife, migrated to America from England about the beginning of the 18th Century, to New Garden Townshop, (sic) Chester County, Pennsylvania. They removed to Berkeley County just before the breaking out of the American Revolution, and settled in the vicinity of Hopewell Meeting House, now Hopewell, Va. The older members of the family were of the Quaker faith." From page 745 of 'As Far as we Know...A Look at Bunker Hill' by the Bunker Hill Historical Committee, "Josiah Payne was the first of this Payne family to live in America. About the year 1700 he was kidnapped by a press-gang and forced to serve in the British Navy. As a Quaker, he was opposed to military service. When his ship docked in Philadelphia, he deserted and fled south until he reached Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Eventually he married and fathered nine children-many of whom subsequently moved west or south. In 1750 his son, George, with wife Rachel Cowgill headed south and settled in Virginia on the Opequon Creek about 3 miles east of present Ridgeway, West Virginia." From Jesse Payne's Memories, "My Great Grandfather was kidnapped in England and brought to America probably about 1700 to 1710." This is all the detail that Jesse gives; he does not even mention Josiah’s name. Jesse also says "His son, George, born and married in Pennsylvania to Rachel Cowgill, a very skilled woman. Removed to Berkly Co. Va. and from there to Tennessee, where both died."
Bob L. Anderson has submitted an ancestry of Josiah Payne that goes back into England. According to his submissions, Josiah Payne (AFN:11V3-BWH) was born 1690 in England. Josiah’s father was Josiah Payne (AFN: 11V3-CQW), born 29 Sep 1662; birth recorded at St. Martin’s, Leicestershire, England. His mother was Sarah Whitnell (AFN: 11V3-CLS), born ca. 1666 probably at Scraptoft, Leicestershire, England. The parents of Josiah Payne, Sr. were John Payne (AFN: 11V3-C3P) born 2 Feb 1640/41 at Medbourne, Leicestershire, England and Patience (AFN: 11V3-BZW) b. ca. 1644 probably at Medbourne, Leicestershire, England. John Payne’s parents were Michael Payne (AFN: 11V3-C19) b. ca. 1614 and Elizabeth (AFN: 11V3-C2H) b. ca. 1613.
The Cowgills of Pennsylvania
Rachel Cowgill, the wife of George Payne, was the daughter of Henry Cowgill of Drumore Township, Lancaster Co., Pa. This was Henry’s residence at the time of Rachel’s marriage in 1752. As far as I can tell, this is the same Henry Cowgill who married (1) Mary Boulton and (2) Alice Payne. According to the Ancestral File submission of Elizabeth Stookesbery Myers, these are one and the same person. I trust her research based on my acquaintance with her as a Quaker researcher. Henry’s Ancestral File number is X26T-FD. The following is a timeline of Henry Cowgill:
Born about 1704 at Middletown Monthly Meeting, Bucks Co., Pa. (George E. McCracken, The Welcome Claimants: Proved, Disproved and Doubtful, p. 141), oldest child of John Cowgill and his second wife Rachel Baker.
Married 1st Mary Boulton: "Henry Cowgill, son of John Cowgill of Duck Creek, New Cassel County, Penna and Mary Boulton, dau of Edward Boulton late of Mansfield Twp., Burlington County, m. 4th da, 4th mo, 1724" at Burlington Monthly Meeting in Burlington, N.J. (Charlotte D. Meldrum, Early Church Records of Burlington County, New Jersey, p. 55).
By Mary Boulton, Henry is known to have had: 1) Sarah, mentioned in her grandmother Boulton’s will dated 25 Feb 1740/1; she may have been the same Sarah Cowgill who m. Thomas Smith at Buckingham, 11th of 4th mo. 1753 (McCracken, p. 141; the will of Sarah (Pancoast) Boulton is recorded in New Jersey Wills 2:54). I have not identified this Thomas Smith.
2) Rachel Cowgill, also mentioned in her grandmother Boulton’s will (McCracken, p. 141). I believe this is the Rachel who married George Payne.
Married 2nd Alice Payne: "Henry Cowgill of Kent Co., Province of Pennsylvania, and Alice Pain, daughter of Josiah of Nottingham in Chester County, Province of Pennsylvania, were married on the 4th day 1st month 1741/42 at Public Meeting of Friends at Nottingham" (Alice L. Beard, Births, Deaths and Marriages of the Nottingham Quakers 1680-1889, p. 135). Kent County is today in Delaware, just south of New Castle County. Alice Payne was the sister of George Payne who married Henry‘s daughter Rachel. Cowgills and Paynes who signed the marriage certificate were: Josiah Pain, Martha Pain, Eleazer Cowgill, Elizabeth Cowgill, and Josiah Pain, Jr.
At the time (1752) of Rachel Cowgill’s marriage to George Payne, Henry resided at Drumore Twp., Lancaster Co., Pa.
At the time of his son Henry’s marriage to Ruth Johnson in 1761, Henry Cowgill resided in Little Britain Twp., Lancaster Co., Pa. Henry Jr. was the son of Henry Cowgill and Mary, deceased. The witness list was unreadable (Beard, p. 164).
Henry had died by the time of his son John’s marriage to Catherine Sheppard (1772); John was the son of Henry Cowgill, deceased, and wife Alice of Fawn Twp., York Co., Pa. Cowgill witnesses were: Rachel, Henry, Alice and Martha. (Beard, p. 175). I would not be surprised to find that Catherine Sheppard was a relative of the Martha Shepard who married Josiah Payne.
John Cowgill, Henry’s father, was born in Yorkshire, England and came as an indentured servant to Cuthbert Hayhurst on the Lamb of Liverpool (Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd series 19:586; cited in McCracken, p. 140). The Lamb was one of the 23 ships in William Penn’s fleet of 1682, sailing out of Liverpool (130 tons, John Tench or French, master); it was loaded 26 June 1682 and arrived at Philadelphia 22 October 1682. This 1682 visit was the first one Penn was to make to his American colony. Many ships’ passenger lists have been reconstructed with regard to the Welcome, which was Penn’s ship; the prestige value of having a Pennsylvania ancestor on the Welcome is comparable to that of having a New England ancestor on the Mayflower. Some reconstructions have placed the Cowgills on the Welcome, an error that McCracken has effectively disproved. McCracken concluded that all of the Cowgills except Ralph, John’s eldest brother, came on the Lamb; Ralph came on the Friends’ Adventure.
John’s first marriage was to Bridget Croasdale, 19th of 8th mo 1693 at Neshamineh, Bucks Co., Pa. Bridget was born the 7th of the 8th mo 1671 and died 26th of 2nd mo. 1701, the daughter of Thomas and Agnes (Hathornthwaite) Croasdale. Their children were i) Elizabeth, b. 24th 6th mo. 1694, m. 1715 William Brown; ii) Thomas, b. 21st 3rd mo. 1696, d. in Kent Co., Delaware before 7 Dec 1749; his wife was Sarah Clayton, daughter of Joshua and Sarah (Needham) Clayton iii) John, b. 8th of 6th mo 1698, m. (1) 16th of 12th mo. 1720 Lydia Clayton, sister of Sarah Clayton above, and (2) Hannah, who survived him; iv) Ellen, b. 14th of 10th mo. 1700; d. 15 Jan. 1772; m. (1) 1719 Thomas Browne, (2) Lewis Clothier.
Hank Stuebing has researched descendants of Bridget Croasdale and John Cowgill and has written "The Descendants of Ellin Cowgill: 1682-1800." I tried to contact him to purchase a copy of his book in 1998, but his email address was invalid. I have since gotten in touch with Mr. Stuebing and have a copy of his book on order. He emailed me that he is very skeptical about the theory that Ellen Cowgill’s maiden name was Stackhouse. It could have as easily been any of the other 20 surnames on the Settle Certificate.
John’s second marriage was to Rachel Baker, the widow of Job Bunting and daughter of Henry Baker. Rachel was born in West Darby, Lancashire, England, 23rd of 2nd mo. 1669. John and Rachel were married in the 11th mo. of 1703/4. John’s Bucks County land patent was issued 14 June 1712 but by then he had already removed to New Castle County. He and his wife Rachel, widow and executrix of Job Bunting, granted a deed on 18th December 1707, while residing at Trevore in Bensalem Township.
John’s Ancestral File number is CLS6-M9; Rachel Baker’s is L4DQ-25.
Rachel’s father, Henry Baker, was a prominent Friend in Lancashire, England, and suffered persecution there for his principles. He and his family, "from Walton in Lancashire," arrived at Philadelphia on the Vine of Liverpool the 17th day of the 7th mo., 1684. "Henry Baker was foreman of the first grand jury of Bucks County in 1685, and a member of the commission appointed September, 1692, to divide the county into townships. He was made a Justice of the Bucks County Court, by order of the Provincial Council of 2nd day, 11th mo, 1689/90. He was also a Member of the Provincial Assembly in 1685, 1687, 1688, 1690, and 1698." His residence in Bucks Co. was about 500 acres on the Delaware River in Makefield Twp. He also owned land in Wrightstown, Newton and Falls Twps., and was one of the original lot holders in the borough of Bristol (Sources: Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography vol. 30, pp. 491ff.; also Immigrants to America Before 1750. This information was gleaned for me by my friend Amiee Pritchard of Los Angeles, a Henry Baker descendant).
The Cowgill Emigrants
McCracken in The Welcome Claimants discusses the "Settle Certificate," a certificate of removal issued 7th of 4th mo. 1682 by Settle Monthly Meeting in Yorkshire for a group about to leave for America. The original of this document cannot be located. It covered seven families in eight households, these being largely related to each other (McCracken, p. 22), a common occurrence as we have seen among Quakers living in close proximity. Retranscriptions of the document contain discrepancies as to which individuals were covered by it. One of the families named in the certificate was the Cowgills, headed by the widow Ellen Cowgill and including her children, names and number not specified. The widow Cowgill was perhaps a sister of Thomas Stackhouse, another person named on the certificate. One version of the certificate was printed by Dr. John W. Jordan, Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (New York, 1911 1:297), probably based on a transcription of the Middletown, Bucks Co., Monthly Meeting records. McCracken discusses the reasons the Cowgills and other families were thought to have come on the Welcome. Jordan, although a supporter of the Cowgills’ Welcome passage, "nevertheless pointed out that the widow’s eldest son Ralph had come as a servant on the Friends’ Adventure" (McCracken, p. 24). "Ralph’s passage on this ship was doubtless arranged by his master, Randulph Blackshaw, who with his family, came on the Submission." McCracken reaches the "inescapable" conclusion that the Settle Friends crossed the Atlantic on the Lamb, not only because it sailed from a northern port, but because, as research has shown, the English Port Books show that four of the families named in the Settle certificate had loaded merchandise on the Lamb.
In Jordan’s account of the Pembertons he includes one on the Cowgills, in which he refutes some bad accounts of the Delaware Cowgills and expressly states that no trace of the Cowgills had been found in any Yorkshire Friends records, nor any trace of the widow’s deceased husband, not even his first name. "Jordan thought, however, that Thomas Stackhouse, whose will mentions sisters Ellen and Jennett, was probably referring to Ellen Cowgill who had a daughter Jennett. It is also claimed that Ellen Cowgill had died by 1701 but on what evidence is unknown to me" (McCracken, 134-35).
Ellen’s children were 1) Ralph (pronounced Rafe), born ca. 1668 (says Jordan); m. 1st Sarah Blackshaw in 1689 (his former master’s daughter; she d. 15th of 7th mo. 1694), and 2nd at Burlington MM in New Jersey, Susanna Pancoast, sister of Sarah (Pancoast) Boulton mentioned above. For a discussion of the Pancoast family see below. Jordan states, but does not show evidence, that Ralph Cowgill died between 13 and 20 of 6th mo. 1756 (McCracken, p. 135).
A daughter named Mary seems to be fictitious, due to her absence on any primary document. A Mary Cowgill, however, is said to have married John Gilbert in Bucks Co. (see W.W.H. Davis, History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania [1876] p. 66).
2) Jane Cowgill married in 1685 Stephen Sands, of Bucks County, who also came on the Lamb. She was buried 26th of 9th mo. 1699. Thomas Stackhouse was a witness to Stephen Sands’s will, dated 25th of 11th mo 1730 and probated 15 Feb 1732/3. Stephen’s second wife was Elizabeth Norcross, married at Middletown 9th of 8th mo. 1701.
3) Jennett Cowgill married Bernard Lane at Burlington MM (second intentions, 25th of 12th mo. 1687/8); he died in 1715.
4) John Cowgill married 1) Bridget Croasdale and 2) Rachel (Baker) Bunting.
5) Edmund Cowgill married 1) at Middletown MM to Catherine Blaker, 29th of 3rd mo. 1702, and 2) to Ann Osborne at Burlington MM, 6th of 8th mo. 1707.
Ellen’s husband was said to have been Ralph Cowgill, who was hanged in 1682 for being a Quaker. His execution took place in England. I first came across this information in a document entitled "Cowgill" by Chester A. Cowgill, who does not give his source (Salt Lake film #0974080). It is also stated by Ellen Logan Sands in her Genealogy of the Sands, Cowgill, Rober, Wager, Rittenhouse, Logan, Carver, Carter, Magill, Mower and Related Families (1939) that Ellen‘s dates are 1636-1705 (baptized Nov 1673) and that she and Ralph were married in 1656. This information has been posted by Steven Beckler of Medford, Oregon on his website, but with the caution that no primary source verifies that Stackhouse was Ellen’s maiden surname.
The Stackhouse Connection
Some researchers have accepted the assumption that Ellen Cowgill was the sister of Thomas Stackhouse, while others merely state the possibility of a connection without drawing conclusions. In a paper submitted to Donald O. Cowgill for the Cowgill Cousins Meeting in Dover, Delaware in 1987, Eugene Glenn Stackhouse states: "The most significant assumption about Ellen, stated by both Jordan and William R. Stackhouse [Stackhouse: an Old English Family, Sometime of Yorkshire, 1905 and W.R. and W.F. Stackhouse, The Stackhouse Family, 1935 ], is that she was the sister of Thomas Stackhouse, Sr. and aunt of Thomas Stackhouse, Jr., and John Stackhouse, all of whom came on the Lamb…This assumption is based on the will of Thomas Stackhouse, Sr., in which he gave his sister "Ellin" one shilling, which was assumed by these authors to be too little to send back to England. However, he also gave his sister "Jennet" one shilling, but I can find no record of her in Bucks County nor any indication that she came over. Was her shilling sent to Yorkshire?…We cannot conclude that Ellen Cowgill was the sister of Thomas Stackhouse, Sr., nor can we conclude that her husband’s name was Ralph (which many writers have assumed). We can’t even conclude that Ellen was a Quaker before she was recorded in the Settle Certificate" (in Eugene Glenn Stackhouse, Stackhouse: an Original Pennsylvania Family, published by the author, 1988, p. 81).
About Thomas Stackhouse we can say for certain that he died in Belmount, Bensalem Twp., Bucks Co., Pa. His will was dated 26th of 9th month 1705 and probated 31 Aug 1706. He names loving wife Margaret (Atkinson, a second wife) sole executrix, gives 1 pound to nephew Thomas Stackhouse and 3 pounds to nephew John Stackhouse, and the sum of one shilling each to brother John Stackhouse, sister Jennit, and sister Ellin. The small sum left to these heirs suggests that they were present in Bucks Co., since to send so small a sum to England would be expensive, "but we have seen no evidence of them in Bucks County records," comments McCracken (note 5, p. 491). It is not clear to me whether Ellen Cowgill was even to be found in Bucks County at this date, or even if she was alive at all in 1706. No death date for her has been proven. The brother John Stackhouse has not been found. The sister Jennit MAY have been the Jennet Stackhouse who m. Richard Scott at the house of Jane Birket in Slainmerow, Yorkshire, 9 April 1696. The Birket name is significant because William Birket, a presumed relative of Jane, married 31st of 8th mo. 1667 Jane Waln of Newton, Yorkshire; the Waln family also appears on the Settle certificate (McCracken, p. 519). So it seems that the Stackhouse, Waln and Birket families knew each other.
I do not know of any detailed genealogical study of early Quakers in Yorkshire. Eugene Glenn Stackhouse lists some Cowgills who appear in seventeenth-century Yorkshire records, but does not discuss them at all. Near the town of Settle in Yorkshire is a hamlet called Cowgill, which would seem the geographical place of origin for the Cowgill surname. Of this name and place in Yorkshire I have found only the comments of George Redmonds, Yorkshire Surnames. Series Part Two: Huddersfield & District (1993). In the seventeenth century, according to Redmonds, Cowgill was a very uncommon surname. Probably, therefore, all English Cowgills share a single common ancestor. Its geographic origin was the location now known as Cowgill, formerly spelled Colgill, lying in the township of Bordley.
"This has been an area of Scandinavian settlement in the 10th century," and this early spelling "seems likely to represent the old Norse personal name of Kolli plus the old Norse word for Gil: i.e. KollisgIllinois The L of Colgill was vocalised in both the placenames and the surname in the Tudor period, and this is a feature of the local speech. The words ‘old’ and ‘cold,’ for example, are pronounced ‘oud’ and ‘cowd.’ The name has, therefore, nothing to do with cows, except by association, and did not develop from other places now called Cowgill which are, in fact, derived from the word ‘cow.’"
It seems to me that a genealogist of McCracken’s tenacity is needed to give an account of the growth of the Society of Friends in that part of the West Riding. And, as Quaker researchers have found, intermarriages created a close web of family ties in Quaker communities both in England and early America. McCracken points out the family connection between the Cowgill, Stackhouse and Hayhurst families. Margery Hayhurst, the sister of Cuthbert, was Thomas Stackhouse, Sr.’s first wife (married 4th mo. 1682). Mc Cracken also finds a possibility that Stackhouse was in some way related to Thomas Croasdale (p. 489). Bridget Croasdale was, of course, the first wife of John Cowgill, who came as Cuthbert Hayhurst’s indentured servant. If Ellen Cowgill was in fact the sister to Thomas Stackhouse, Sr., then her son John would have been bound in service to his aunt’s brother Cuthbert Hayhurst, who would have had thus a further stake in seeing him reared properly. Therefore I am willing to go farther than Eugene Glenn Stackhouse and aver that there probably was a family connection between Ellen Cowgill and the Stackhouse family. Of its exact nature, however, I cannot be sure.
If we were certain that Ellen was Thomas’s sister, we would have the key to a pedigree leading back to Charlemagne. One would wish, however, that Dr. Arthur Edwin Bye, who compiled it, had been more critical of his sources and provided detailed documentation (A Friendly Heritage Along the Delaware: The Taylors of Washington Crossing and some Allied Families in Bucks County. New York: Vantage Press, 1959). Eugene Glenn Stackhouse includes Bye’s Stackhouse pedigree in his book, with the caution that its accuracy may be uncertain. Certainly Bye is the only known source for descendants of Charlemagne through his daughter Bertha and St. Angilbert. It is also possible, however, to trace the Stackhouse pedigree, albeit relying heavily on Bye, through Charlemagne’s son King Louis I, the Pious.
Back of Charlemagne, too, we find his ancestors include Bl. Pepin of Landen and his wife St. Begga and daughter St. Itta, and also St. Arnulf, Bishop of Metz. I have entered into my database a pedigree as far back as Clodion I (A.D. 400).
A Mormon cousin researching the Smiths and their antecedents has sent me a pedigree of Charlemagne reaching back to Adam himself. This is through Lagos the Rabbit (brother of Alexander the Great) and Priam, King of Troy. It had no documentation. I have not entered it into my database.
The First Quakers of New Jersey - Boulton and Pancoast Families
On June 10, 1677 the Kent from London, bearing 230 passengers, touched land at New Castle on the Delaware River. These Quakers were to be the founders of Burlington, New Jersey, or West Jersey as it was called then. "It is said the first meetings were held under the sail of the Kent, where also James Brown and Honour Clayton were married" (Amelia M. Gummere, "When the Friends Came to Burlington," Bulletin of the Friends Historical Association [Friends Bulletin] 17 (1928): 12; see also her "Friends in Burlington," Salt Lake film no. 974,961). Honour Clayton was a daughter of William and Prudence Clayton discussed above. Settling in Burlington around this time were the Boulton family: Edward Boulton and his wife Ellen, and son Edward, about 6 years old (Ancestral File no. X395-9X). This is their only child I know of. Edward, Sr., died at Burlington 26th of 9th mo. 1699; his wife Ellen had preceded him in death 7th of 5th month 1694. (Hinshaw, vol. 2, p. 167). Edward Boulton Jr. married 23rd of 2nd mo. 1696 to Sarah Pancoast at Burlington, and had children: 1) Edward b. 14th of 1st mo. 1698; 2) Sarah b. 16th of 8th mo 1702; 3) Isaac b. 20th of 3rd mo 1704, and Mary, b. 1706. Before her marriage to Henry Cowgill, Mary Boulton requested a certificate of removal from Burlington MM to Duck Creek MM, her husband’s meeting of residence. The certificate was granted 3rd of 4th mo. 1724, and Mary was married to Henry the following day. "Henry Cowgill, son of John Cowgill of Duck Creek, New Cassel County, Penna and Mary Boulton, dau of Edward Boulton late of Mansfield twp, Burlington County, , m. 4th day 4th mo 1724" (Meldrum, vol. 1, pp. 106, 55). I do not know the location of the Boulton family’s origins in England. The Quakers who came on the Kent, however, were in two groups: one from Yorkshire and the other from London. The land in Burlington Township from the Rancocas Creek to Timber Creek was selected as the London Tenth, and from the Rancocas north to the Assunpink at Trenton, as the Yorkshire Tenth. The location in which the Boultons held land might thus give a clue to the region of England they came from.
Sarah Pancoast was the daughter of John Pancoast and his wife Elizabeth. Of the accounts of this family I would recommend Bennett S. Pancoast, The Pancoast Family in America (Woodbury, NJ: Gloucester County Historical Society; Salt Lake film no. 1005008). She was the sixth child, the family consisting of James (whose life ended in tragedy), Mary, Ann, William, Elizabeth, Joseph (b. 1672), Sarah, Hannah and Susannah (who was the second wife of Ralph Cowgill, son of the widow Ellen (Stackhouse?) Cowgill).
John Pancoast, with two sons (minus James) and six daughters, arrived at Burlington, West New Jersey, in October, 1680, on the ship Paradise, William Evelyn, Master. The father brought with him a certificate of removal dated 13th of 3rd mo. 1680 from Bugbrooke Monthly Meeting, near Ashton, Northamptonshire. They knew that brother James was somewhere in Maryland, for he had written to them. James, before they emigrated, had been apprenticed to a watchmaker in London, but was kidnapped by a press gang and put on a vessel bound for Maryland. There he was sold by the ship’s captain as an indentured servant to some gentlemen in Maryland, of Prince George’s County. James wrote home to his family that his new master "treated him with great kindness and as one of the family he was not treated as a Servant," and that "when his time was out he continued to reside in the family of his Master, who advised him to take up vacant land, which he did" (1802 testimony by Mary (Pancoast) Hewes and her brother Edward Pancoast, descendants of William, William, and John, in the Maryland case "Pencott’s Lessee vs. Addison"). This old grant, known as "Pencotts Invention," lies in the District of Columbia today. It was for 700 acres, granted February 7th, 1686.
The wife of John Pancoast (maiden name unknown) had died in England. In his removal certificate his name is spelled Panckhurst. "This supports the idea that our ‘Pancoast’ spelling was adopted by John and explains why ‘Pancoast’ is not found as a family name in England" (Bennett S. Pancoast, p. 1). John’s father was Joseph Panckhurst, and his grandfather was the Rev. Samuel Panckhurst of Ashton, Northamptonshire. Presumably this grandfather was of the Church of England. I would like to use parish records to trace him, only Northamptonshire parish records have been largely unavailable through the LDS family history centers. The story I heard was the the Bishop of Northamptonshire, on religious grounds, had refused the Mormons permission to film them. My friend Thelma Cagle, while working as a volunteer in the British section of the Salt Lake library, found an ordinance map of the Bugbrooke and Ashton area, as well as Bennett S. Pancoast’s book and other materials. But no further information on John’s wife or his ancestors.
While in England, John had signed "The Concessions and Agreements of the Proprietors, Freeholders and Inhabitants of the Province of West New Jersey," dated March 3, 1676. William Penn, along with John and about 150 other men, had drawn up this document, which was the first constitution of lower New Jersey. When he arrived in New Jersey, John took up 162 acres at the mouth of the east branch of Assiskunk Creek, adjoining the land of fellow signer Thomas Barton. In 1681 John was appointed Regulator of Weights and Measures for Burlington County. The following year he was selected Constable for the Yorkshire Tenth, and in 1685 he was a member of the Assembly of West Jersey at Burlington. His cattle were marked with the "Left eare slit ye Right cut out" (court record, 8 Aug. 1686). In 1688 his neighbor Thomas Barton of Birch Creek named John one of the four executors of his wIllinois The 1692 "Keithian Agitation" (a controversy among Quakers, the exact nature of which I do not know) involved certain issues which Quaker ministers had been preaching against; John signed the document (4-7 Sept. 1692) that asked Quaker ministers to cease their criminations (some of these events in John’s life I have taken from Thelma Beck Ellis, "Pancoast Family": Trenton, NJ, 1965, Salt Lake microfilm 349739).
John Pancoast married his second wife, Ann Snowden, in the fall of 1682 (second intentions, 2nd of 8th mo. 1682). In 1689, again a widower, he married his third wife, Jane Chapman (8th day, 7th mo.). Jane, as the widow of Thomas Curtis, had married John Chapman, who died within a few months. When she married John Pancoast, less than five months later, they were reproved for their haste by the Burlington Meeting of Friends. John Pancoast died in December of 1694 and his widow later married her fourth husband, Thomas Crosse. John Pancoast’s will is dated 30 November 1694; he died prior to December 12.
To return to the tragic ending of James Pancoast: some time after his brothers and sisters settled in New Jersey, they advertised for him. After some time they received a letter from him in Maryland, and he traveled to see them. His two brothers in New Jersey asked him to sell his lands in Maryland and live near them, and they offered him some land if he would come. He left for home, in a state of peace and great satisfaction I would suppose, at being able to renew these family ties. But he was never to see them again. As he was crossing the Potomac River on his return to Maryland, he was drowned. His brothers, once more inquiring for him, learned that he was dead, and their heirs eventually brought suit to recover his lands (Ellis’s source is an article by Frank Willing Leach from the North American, Sunday, 16 Feb 1913). The Pancoasts won their suit in the lower court and probably also in the Court of Appeals, where the case was entered in the June term 1805.
Thus far I have traced the Quaker roots of Elijah Embree Smith. I present this compilation for my Oregon cousins Leroy Whiteside and Dee Curtis, and for others working along these lines.