On 1 January 1976, the Copyright Revision Law was signed so I thought the anniversary of that signing would be an appropriate day to cover my requests for my blog posts and pictures. I’m pretty lax about copyright. I don’t mind if people repost my materials. I only ask that you do the right thing by giving credit to me/my blog and linking back to my blog so other readers can find me. Thank you for using information respectfully.
Overall, 2022 was a really great year for my family history research. Before I talk about that though, let’s review the goals I set for 2022. Here they are:
“With my business still being less than one year old and my book project in full swing, I think following 2021’s mantra of keeping plans “simple and uncrowded” is a good idea. So here is my simple and uncrowded plan for 2022:
Finish organizing and preserving documents and photos. I have to do that with the lines that are going into my book anyway so I think this is a good strategy.
Print records that are online-only so I have a paper backup in case something were to happen to my online access. Of course, these will then have to be organized/preserved but I think having a paper backup is important. The end goal will be to have a dual set of records – one digital and one paper.
Continue writing blog posts and commit to at least 12. That’s only one per month. I hope to do more but with all that’s going on, I think I’ll stick with this number as a minimum.
Have a complete first draft of my book by December, 2022.
Ancestral focus: my SEELY line.
I hoped for fewer than 5 goals but this is what I settled on. We’ll see how it goes. I hope that your 2022 is blessed and that you meet all your goals plus do a few things you never thought you’d get to do.”
https://honeysuckle-farm.com/2021-report-card/
How Did I Do?
I was able to meet goal one as far as the main family I’m writing about. Beyond that, nothing else got done on goal #1.
On goal #2, I got very little done. I did, however, make quite a bit of progress on my future son-in-law’s family tree and was able to get a bunch of his family photos downloaded for him. So again, some progress but not a lot.
On goal #3, I wrote 29 blog posts plus 25 draft posts that never got finished/published. I also wrote 8 blog posts on my new Ink & Perfume blog that goes with my business. So, a win on goal #3 although I admit, I set my goals toward the low end on that one.
However, I made up for that in goal #4 which was to have a completed first draft book by December. I completed my first draft on November 27th and I am so excited about that!! Several of our ancestral lines are in the book. In the end, I gave up on the idea of a non-fiction family history book (at least for this year) in favor of a middle grade historical fiction novel that my grandsons would enjoy. It was the right decision and it saved my book so I don’t regret it! The book still includes ancestors but in a way that will interest my grandsons.
Goal #5 was to make progress on my SEELY ancestral line, which I did. I took a wonderful trip in December of 2021 to Pennsylvania and was able to do a lot of SEELY research. In the summer of 2022, I got to travel with my husband and was able to continue the Seely research following the family from Pennsylvania into Missouri. I was able to condense that research into some blog posts to share with readers.
I consider 2022 a big success as far as genealogy. I hope to finish writing 2022 blog posts that I started and even some that I didn’t start but intended to share. I got in a ton of research time and a couple of big research trips that I haven’t even shared with you yet.
2023
In 2023, I think the “simple and uncrowded” plan that’s been the norm for this decade is a good idea. This decade seems to be chaotic and unpredictable so far with no sign of changing. So here’s what I’m going with for 2023:
Self-education with a focus on methodology & skills, writing & publishing, organization, and DNA. I plan to try to do one training session per month equating to one topic per quarter.
Organization is a huge overall goal for me in 2023 so I’ll retain the goal of organizing what information I have and take it a step further to include cataloging the information so that when I’m gone someone else will be able to see what I have in my collection.
Writing: I’m going to retain the blog post goal of 12 posts for the year. Considering everything else I have on my plate right now, this seems like a reasonable choice. In addition to the blog, I’ll be revising/editing/publishing book #1 and finishing book #2.
My family focus this year will be the family of William & Hester (MITCHELL) DRAKE.
I hope that your 2022 has been a successful year in at least one area of your life. I pray your 2023 is even more successful.
I was recently reviewing old posts for a 2023 project I’m planning and I came across the blog posts about my paternal 3rd great grandfather, Quincy Adam “Q.A.” BELL and the time he was “tarred and feathered” in the local newspapers for his involvement with the Radical Republican party. To review, you can view part 1 of those posts here, and part 2 here. Part 2 does include some significant updates to the original post, just FYI. I periodically do new searches for information about this event in hopes I’ll find more, but it’s difficult to find anything. I recently landed on some different search terms that I hadn’t tried before and noticed some things that I had previously missed. Just for reference, my line of descent goes from Quincy to his daughter Eliza to her daughter Bess WILLIAMS who is my great grandmother (no relation to my husband’s WILLIAMS).
Radical Repbulicanism & the Party Platform
I came across a newspaper article with the Radical Republican party platform written out and I began to wonder what exactly Radical Republicanism was and what was included in their party platform. Republicans have been vilified in the press for a couple of decades now and the current definition of “radical”…well…things didn’t sound good so I did some research. Radical Republicanism is defined by Britannica as a political party active during and after the Civil War that believed in emancipation of slaves. Later they would advocate for the “equal treatment and enfranchisement of the freed blacks”.1 Pretty radical. (I say that sarcastically.) Missouri was deeply divided politically both during and after the Civil War – much like political parties are today. Living through these last few years, I clearly see how a radicalized press would be able to vilify their opponents. As in the 1870’s, there is prolific and constant name-calling and libelous statements from all parties toward each other. Tensions are high as are emotions, and everything thinks their opinion is correct – just like in 1870.
Let’s see exactly what this party’s platform was in 1870. They espoused:
devotion to the Union;
endorsement of President GRANT’s administration;
reduction of taxes at the state and national government levels to a more appropriate price point;
the immediate offering of “Railroad Lands” for sale so as to make the Land Grant fair to everyone;
opposition to any additional Congressional Land Grants in territories west of Missouri in the aid of railroad companies or other monopolies unless the land was offered in the public market at the “customary government price”;
denounciation all forms of repudiation and a demand for faith and integrity from the government;
favoring the government to liberally take care of former Civil War soldiers as well as widows and orphans of deceased soldiers in exchange for the service these men (and women) gave to the country during war;
a pledge to act in accordance with the state platform of the Radical Republican party;
the granting of suffrage to the nation’s people of color as something necessary and just and never to be revoked;
support for a reduction in tariff to an amount that would still provide government revenue but also be fair to the agriculture and manufacturing industries;
and, that no one should be told or required to vote a certain way in regard to enfranchising “the rebels” (i.e. Confederates) and that party fidelity should not be based on how one votes on the issue but rather each person has the right to vote their conscience.
Below is the newspaper article listing the platform. I noticed that numbering went from 10th to 12th so I don’t know if an item was removed or if it was just an error.
Newspapers.com. Article dated 30 July 1870 in the Buffalo Review (Buffalo, MO).2
For these views, they were deemed radical. The Republicans (not the Radical Republicans but the more mainstream faction of the party) held the majority in both the House and Senate in 1870. The Radical Republicans could never quite get organized and eventually ceased as a political party. Although third parties existed in 1870, America had not had a third-party president since 1850-1853 when President Millard Fillmore was in office. Here is a visual representation of political parties in the U.S. from 1870-1900 (although it doesn’t show many of the smaller, more fringe political parties):
I think this quote sums it up best along with the hashtag #EstablishmentElite:
In the election of 1872 the conflict between President U. S. Grant and Horace Greeley has been typically understood as a battle for the soul of the ruling Republican Party.
The Doom of Reconstruction: The Liberal Republicans in the Civil War Era by Andrew Slap.4
A battle for the soul of the ruling Republican Party. Much like 2016 was within the Republican Party, the mainstream Republican Party of 1870 wanted something completely different than the newer, smaller, and less-mainstream Republican factions. It seriously amazes me how much our current political climate mirrors that of my 3rd great grandfather Quincy’s. Will we ever learn from history? Welcome to one more reason why I do this blog. We are doomed to repeat what we do not know or understand.
One journal article described the Marshfield Convention as “[t]he first convention of significance…in the Fourth Congressional District.”5 This was exactly the convention that Quincy BELL attended. The very convention where he was selected to be a permanent officer for the Radical Republican Party Convention in the Fourth Congressional District of Missouri. Tensions were high, and arguments were frequent and emotional. It was a mess to say the least.
“Marshfield Convention”, Buffalo Reflex, 30 July 1870.2
Final Thoughts
I know this isn’t much new information but this information combined with the updated information in the part 2 post linked above at least gives us some more insight about the situation that Quincy walked into in Marshfield in July of 1870. I feel like, in a roundabout way, it also gives us more insight into why a left-leaning newspaper would post an article about him being involved in legal troubles when there is no other information I can find to back that up. To be clear, I did look for me. I was able to schedule a research trip to Columbia, Missouri, to the State Historical Society of Missouri. I looked through the older newspapers that aren’t online and I looked through some books showing court records of Texas County, Missouri, and still haven’t found anything that corroborates that Quincy was in legal trouble of any kind. For now, I’m leaning toward saying Quincy never got into a “scrape” in Texas County and did not flee that county to avoid arrest. These unsupported accusations from a left-leaning newspaper opinion piece leveled against a right-leaning citizen, well…sounds like a pretty standard political hit piece to me. So, until supporting evidence is found regarding Quincy’s alleged criminal activities I’m going to withhold my judgment of him.
I hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little more about our Union Quartermaster Sergeant, Quincy Adam BELL. He’s still a work in progress for me.
Slap, Andrew L., The Doom of Reconstruction: The Liberal Republicans in the Civil War Era, Reconstructing America (New York, NY, 2007; online edn, Fordham Scholarship Online, 10 Mar. 2011), https://doi.org/10.5422/fso/9780823227099.001.0001, accessed 1 Aug 2022.
Barclay, Thomas S. “The Liberal Republican Movement in Missouri”. Missouri Historical Review; Vol. 20, p. 515-564; 1926. Accessed on 1 August 2022 at Google Books.
This week I’m writing about my husband’s paternal STORM family. Although there were STORM families in the Poconos area, I haven’t been able to connect them to Bart’s family. In any case, they were on my list to research because there were STORM descendants in Pennsylvania at some point. While doing a quick survey of what the libraries had on the STORM family, I found a wonderful book called Old Dirck’s Book that had a lot of relevant family history in it for us. Today I’m writing about my husband’s 10th great grandfather, Dirck Gorris STORM. This is an old Dutch line. The line of descent goes like this: Dirck Gorris STORM to Dirck’s son Gregoris, to Gregoris’ son Thomas, to Thomas’ son Abraham, to Abraham’s daughter Rebecca. Rebecca STORM married Peter DEWITT. The line continues from Rebecca’s son John DEWITT, to John’s son Richard, to Richard’s son Frances Milo, to Frances’ son Milo Greenwood, to Milo‘s daughter Lucille. Lucille is my husband’s paternal great-grandmother.
Monroe County Historical Association
One of my early research locations in Pennsylvania was the Monroe County Historical Association in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. They had a lot of information about our Pennsylvania lines and I spent quite a bit of my time there. I found an old book on their shelves called Old Dirck’s Book. It traces Dirck STORM’s line from the “earliest recorded date” down through my husband’s Thomas STORM listed above. Here is one of the first pages of the book. Our Thomas is #11.
Old Dirck’s Book Raymond William Storm. Did you see that Thomas STORM is another Sleepy Hollow line?? Love it! He connects to the same VAN TASSEL line that my husband’s DEWITT’s connect to!1
This old book has some wonderful maps in it. This one being one of them:
From Old Dirck’s Book at Monroe County Historical Association.1
I learned from the book that Bart’s STORM family were Vikings in the earliest generations.1 Very cool!
The STORM and MONTFOORT armorials:
Armorials of the six allied families including the STORM family. From Old Dirck’s Book by R. W. Storm.1
Dirck’s American Adventure
Old Dirck was born shortly after his father returned from war with the Spaniards. The year was 1630.1 Old Dirck was the fifth (in a row) in a direct line of STORM men to hold the name Dirck. I’m guessing this is why he has the nickname of “Old Dirck”, to differentiate him from the other Dirck STORM men. Dirck was born in his mother Deliana ‘s hometown of Leyden, Netherlands where his father was elected to the Leyden City Council after he returned from the war with Spain.1
Life was good for Old Dirck growing up in the Netherlands. He chose a mercantile/trade career with his uncle as his life’s occupation and he was good at it. I’m sure the fact that Holland was in a depression factored into his decision to take up the family business but also, it was the only job available to him because of the economic depression and he was fortunate to have it. In 1655, Old Dirck married Maria VAN MONTFOORT, a hometown girl from Leyden and from a good family. They had a couple of children and by then, things had worsened in Leyden. Economic conditions were bad and Protestants were being driven out of Leyden as well. The author of Old Dirck’s Book states that families immigrating from Leyden to America at this point in time were immigrating to find better economic conditions rather than for freedom of religion but he also maintains that both were an issue in Leyden. Whether it was economics or religion, the Dutch founded the West Indie Company and began emigrating.1
Old Dirck’s signature on a 1658 land deed done shortly before he left for America.2
By 1660, the economic downturn was so bad that Old Dirck’s uncle started closing down stores and Old Dirck found himself suddenly unemployed during an economic downturn. His uncle was able to pull through and get him a job as a Town Clerk in a nearby town though. The location was less than optimal and the pay was dismal and soon the family found themselves looking for a different opportunity. At about this time the West Indie Company’s Nieuw Nederland colony in America was beginning to show signs of prosperity. After 1 1/2 years in Osch as a Town Clerk, Old Dirck called it quits. Old Dirck and his family returned to Leyden to say goodbye to their families there and then they set sail for Nieuw Nederland colony in America. They sailed on the ship De Vos (translates to ‘The Fox’) on 31 August 1662 from Amsterdam, Holland.1 After 9 generations, the STORMS were leaving Holland. As it turns out, out of all the STORM brothers and sisters, only Old Dirck’s line survived.1 That gamble on emigrating to America paid off for all of us.
(Side note for researchers: Not all researchers agree that Old Dirck was the same as the Dirck STORM from Osch. See documents at Findagrave.com.2 I read through what documents were available to me and made the best decisions I could as to which information to include or exclude.)
The passenger list of the ship De Vos showed Dirck STORM “from the Mayory of Bosch” (in the Province of Utrecht, Holland, according to Get NJ website; Dirck was 32 years old at this time); his wife “Mrs. Dirck” (Maria VAN MONTFOORT STORM), and their sons “Child Dirck” (Gregoris, 6 years old), “Child Dirck” (Peter, 4 years old), and “Child Dirck” (David, 1 1/4 years old).4 Maria was pregnant with the couple’s 4th child as they journeyed from Holland to America. It’s presumed she lost the baby while aboard the ship because the baby is never recorded as a passenger on the ship and is never in any subsequent records of the family. Researchers have recorded the baby as a female child.5
Other interesting passengers of note on the ship for that voyage were the ACKERMAN family, said to best friends with the STORM family. Ammerens CLASEN, the sister of Tjerck Claesen DeWIT (Bart’s paternal 10th great grandfather). There is possibly one other CLAESEN sibling and possibly a DeWITT family member on board the ship but I did not take the time to verify these last two relationships.4
I wish I could convey to you how tiny the ships were on which these emigrants sailed to America. The book gives a decent description but until you’ve stepped onto a ship like what these people sailed on, you will never understand the courage it took to get here.
Today, a very small freighter is 5,000 tons; a small liner, 15,000; some – the great leviathans- top 80,000….
The Mayflower of the Pilgrims was only 180 tons…”Santa Maria”…100 tons; “Nina” and “Pinta”, each 60.
Old Dirck’s Book.1
180 tons at most on the vast ocean. It gives me shivers just thinking about it! If my family had depended on me to emigrate on a “ship” like that we’d still be in a foreign country!! They were on little sailboats basically. But they made it!
As they were nearing land in their new country on 14 November 1662,6 the white beaches of New Jersey and Long Island came into view. The narrow strand of Sandy Hook led into the Nieuw Amsterdam harbor where they would finally land. On the starboard side was “Langh Eylandt” – better known today as Long Island. Upon arriving, Old Dirck abandoned the heraldic arms of his family and chose a new personal seal.1 A brand new start in a brand new country. That appeals to me. I love his spirit!
He eliminated the fishes…and substituted a storm-tossed ship at sea…borne on a shield similar to the one in the family’s ancient coat-of-arms, topped by a helmet and a pair of wings…Dirck took for his motto an old Dutch word “Vertrouwt” which means “Have Trust”.
Old Dirck’s Book.1
Old Dirck’s new personal seal after arriving in the Colonies.1
Life in the New World
Despite being one of the “earliest of American scholars”,7 Old Dirck had a difficult start in the new country and he bounced around Nieuw Amsterdam (the present-day area of New York City)8 for awhile. When Old Dirck first arrived in Nieuw Amsterdam, he rented a house owned by Elizabeth VAN DRIESSEN. He had considerable trouble finding work and was unable to pay the rent for the house so after 2 years, he moved out (in 1665). He moved to a less expensive home on Beaver Street where he opened a tavern.9 (See the yellow circle on the map below.)
New Amsterdam in 1662. Note Dirck’s Tavern location inside the yellow circle on the map. Now let your eyes travel north to De Wal Street – better known to you as Wall Street. He was THAT close to Wall Street! See just north of Wall Street where it says “The Palisade or Wall”? The Dutch built a wall there. That’s how Wall Street got it’s name.1
Mrs. VAN DRIESSEN claimed he moved out “by stealth” and she sued him for back rent. Unfortunately for Old Dirck, the tavern wasn’t enough to provide for his family either. However, Carel DE BEVOISE, someone who was an old family friend from Old Dirck’s days back in Holland, offered Old Dirck a job in 1669 as the Assistant Town Clerk in a little town called Breuckelen (better known to you as the present-day borough of Brooklyn). Old Dirck took the offer and moved his growing family to Breuckelen. Less than a year later, Old Dirck’s good friend Carel died and Old Dirck took over the Town Clerk job that Carel had before he passed away. Old Dirck took over the Town Clerk position on 15 December 1669. While he was Town Clerk, he bought a farm at Bedford and then another farm at Nieuw Lots. He moved to Nieuw Lots in 1677 and became Town Clerk of nearby Flakbosch (now known as Flatbush).9 While in Nieuw Lots he also taught the young Dutch children in a little log cabin for four years.10 You can see these three towns on the map below along with two other places of importance to Old Dirck that are circled in red.
The Long Island of Old Dirck’s day. 1669-1695. Note the locations relevant to Old Dirck in the red circles. The areas near the red circles include Breuckelen (aka Brooklyn) and Flakbosch (aka Flat Bush). Bedford (to the north east of Brooklyn) was another area relevant to Old Dirck and his family.1
By 1691, Long Island was becoming too anglicized for the STORM families. Old Dirck’s children were grown and living on their own. That year he was invited to go to the newly formed Orange County, New York as the County Secretary and Clerk of the Courts. He accepted the invitation and, at age 61, he hopped in a canoe, crossed the East River, went around the tip of Manhattan, and up the Hudson River to Orange County.9
Old Dirck took office in a log courthouse at Tappan, New York, in the forest on Sparkill Creek. He stayed there until 1703 when he retired at age 73. Meanwhile, after Dirck took the job at Tappan the majority of his children (including Bart’s ancestor, Gregoris) moved to the opposite side of the Hudson to Philipse Manor in Westchester County, New York, directly across the river from Tappan. This is now the Sleepy Hollow area of New York and also the place where Bart’s family intermarried with the VAN TASSEL family (as in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow because yes- the VAN TASSELs were real and Washington IRVING decided to put one of them in his novel!).9
Winding Down a Life
Retirement didn’t mean that Old Dirck stopped doing things. He chose to live out the remainder of his years with his two younger sons, Peter and David, in Yonkers, New York, rather than with Gregoris in Philipsburg, New York. After his retirement the Dutch Reformed Church in Sleepy Hollow invited Old Dirck to compile their records and he accepted.9 (One newspaper article states that Old Dirck was the first Parish Clerk at the Sleepy Hollow church and was keeping church records as early as 1697.11) The records were written in Dutch. “The First Record Book” was published on 3 November 1715 when Old Dirck was 85 years old. On 17 April 1716 Old Dirck signed the 8th and last book of records of the church. It was also the last record of Old Dirck. In spite of the many records he had created and maintained in his lifetime, there is no record of Old Dirck’s death. It is assumed he died in 1716 at age 86.9 Gregoris, his son and Bart’s direct ancestor, had died 5 years earlier at the age of 55. Thomas, Bart’s direct ancestor and the son of Gregoris, was 14 years old when he lost his dad and 19 when he lost his grandfather (Old Dirck) thus making Thomas the head of the family at age 19. In between ages 14 and 19, Thomas got married. At age 17, he married Christina VAN WEERT.1
At the end of his life, Old Dirck was buried in the Old Dutch Burial Ground in Sleepy Hollow, Westchester County, New York.12 You may sometimes see his burial location as Tarrytown because this was the name of the town before it was changed to Sleepy Hollow.13 His son, Gregoris (Bart’s 9th great grandfather), is also buried there in the Old Dutch Burial Ground and has a shared stone with his father, Old Dirck.14
Dirck and Gregoris STORM’s headstone. Image found at FindAGrave.com.15
Thomas (Old Dirck’s grandson and Gregoris’ son and Bart’s 8th great grandfather) is buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery nearby.16
Thomas Storm’s grave at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.16
Thomas’ son Abraham (Bart’s 7th great grandfather) also lived in Tarrytown (aka Sleepy Hollow) and Abraham’s daughter Rebecca STORM DEWITT lived in Tarrytown for a time as well.5
Final Thoughts
I highly recommend a trip to Sleepy Hollow, New York, if you can swing it. It’s on my bucket list for sure! You can visit the Old Dutch Church and Burial Ground as well as the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. They’re right next to each other. If you can’t go there, you can look online. You can find information at the Visit Sleepy Hollow website.17 You can also do an internet search for Old Dutch Church videos and Sleepy Hollow walking tour videos. There are some good videos out there that will give you a good idea of what the terrain and town look like. If you do get to go, do some pre-trip research. There are preserved properties that are important to the STORM family history that you can tour. You wouldn’t want to miss it! Plus there’s an entire town named for our STORM family – Stormville, New York!
I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about Old Dirck STORM. Every time I say his name I think of Bart’s Aunt Jean who always called our son (Derek) ‘Dirk’. I guess since Dirck translates to Derek she got it mostly right. Enjoy the final day of your weekend and remember to love your people.
Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog
Resources
Storm, Raymond William. Old Dirck’s Book.
Findagrave.com. Entry for Dirck Storm. Accessed 16 July 2022.
“At Sleepy Hollow. The Historic Old Dutch Church Still Stands”. Kansas Agitator, Garnett, Kansas. 15 Feb 1901, Page 7. Accessed online at Newspapers.com on 16 July 2022.
Wikipedia entry for New Amsterdam. Accessed on 15 July 2022.
Cassidy, Henry. Catharyna Brett: Portrait of a Colonial Businesswoman. Collections of the Dutchess County Historical Society, New York. Vol 13, 1992. Found online at the ISSUU website. Accessed on 15 July 2022.
Reverend Thomas DUNGAN, Sr. was my maternal 9th great grandfather. He married Elizabeth WEAVER. As I said in my previous post, my mom’s family was thick as thieves in the Poconos and foothills in the 1700’s and this line is right in there with the PARSONS, BRINKER, and SEELY families! The line of descent for me goes from Thomas and Elizabeth to their son Jeremiah, to Jeremiah’s son George, to George’s son Jeremiah, to Jeremiah’s daughter Sarah. Sarah DUNGAN married Zebulon SMITH and they were my 5th great grandparents. Sarah and Zebulon’s daughter Elizabeth married Squire DALE and they were my 4th great grandparents. Elizabeth and Squire had a daughter named Sinthia who married James P. BULLOCK and they were my 3rd great grandparents. The line of descent continues through Sinthia and James’ son James M., to James M.’s daughter (and my great grandmother) Laura BULLOCK RITER. Fun fact about Thomas and Elizabeth: they had 38 grandchildren!1 Now wouldn’t THAT make for an interesting Cousin Camp in the summer?!
Dungan Family Roots
Thomas was born about 1634 in London, England. Thomas’ father, William, was a perfumer and a London merchant. An interesting side note about William: one researcher believes William died due to a disease associated with the plague but not of the plague itself due to wording in his burial entry and the fact that no “P” (for ‘Plague’) was noted beside his name.9 William is said to have come from a Dublin, Ireland branch of the DUNGAN family that was “ennobled by Queen Elizabeth”.2 (Other accounts say the family is from County Kildare, Ireland.3 Still other accounts say this DUNGAN line is not of noble lineage at all.9 (I’ll be covering this again in a future blog post.)
According to information at Geni.com, “The Dungan genealogy was traced by researchers in the early 1900’s back to Emperor Charlemagne, 800 A.D.”3 I found the lineage written out in a book on Ancestry.com.4
The line from Charlemagne to Rev. Thomas DUNGAN.
Thomas’ mother, Frances LATHAM DUNGAN, was the daughter of Lewis LATHAM who was the Sergeant Falconer to Charles I.2
Thomas Dungan & Elizabeth Weaver
Thomas immigrated to the U.S. in 1637 with his mother and other family. They settled in Newport, Rhode Island.2 He married Elizabeth WEAVER about 1663 in Rhode Island. Elizabeth had also been born in England and immigrated to the U.S. prior to 1663. Thomas died in 1687 in Cold Springs, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth lived another 10 years and also died in Cold Springs. I was unable to find their burial locations. All traces of the church Thomas founded and also it’s accompanying cemetery where they were buried have disappeared with time. Together, Thomas and Elizabeth had 9 known children – William, Clement, Elizabeth, Thomas Jr., Rebecca, Jeremiah (my 8th great-grandfather), Mary, John, and Sarah.
Thomas held smaller elected offices between 1656 and 1681 including being the Representative from East Greenwich to the Rhode Island Assembly. In 1677, just before he came the Representative to the Rhode Island Assembly, he was named as a Patentee in the charter of the town of East Greenwich. Thomas also served as a Sergeant in the Newport Militia.
In 1682, he sold his East Greenwich, Rhode Island, property of 100 acres to his nephew and conveyed his homestead in Newport, Rhode Island (a 50-acre property) to someone else. Shortly after that he moved to Pennsylvania and settled at Cold Springs, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Cold Springs & the Baptist Beginnings
In Cold Springs, Thomas founded a Baptist church – the first of its denomination in Pennsylvania. He was also the first Baptist preacher in Pennsylvania. He pastored the church he founded until his death in 1688.5, 6 The famous Pennypack Church (also written as Pennepack or Pennepeck)7 was an outgrowth of Thomas DUNGAN’s little Baptist church in Cold Springs. I was unable to locate the church nor was I able to find anyone who could tell me where the church had been. It has been lost to time as has the cemetery associated with the church.
This picture was found on FindAGrave website but I was never able to locate the place when I was in Pennsylvania this past May.8
One last item on Findagrave was a photograph of the recorded will of Thomas DUNGAN. I always hesitate to say what is someone’s signature but this does appear to be his signature since it doesn’t say “his mark”. So, for what it’s worth, Thomas DUNGAN’s signature on his will (bottom right corner):8
I always like to look through wills of my ancestors to see what they owned when they died. Thomas’ will recorded on 1 February 1688 lists household goods of “Linnen, wooling, Bedding, brass, pewter” but it specifically excluded his son Clement’s bed, his daughter Marie’s bed, and two brass kettles. As I was searching the internet for pictures I came a cross a costumer’s blog. If you’d like to see how the working men were dressing in 1688, I recommend clicking over to the Costume Historian blog. The post I linked shows a drawing of a sweep as he would have been dressed in 1688. If you’re interested in what the bed and mattress would have looked like in the 17th century around the time that Thomas died, I recommend going to the Pennsbury Manor website. They have a great article about it which you can read at the link. They also link out to a site that shows you how to stuff the mattresses. Look at picture at the bottom of the Pennsbury Manor article. Who can remember seeing mattress ticking like that at Granny BATES’ house?? Finally, the one specific item on the list – a brass kettle. At William Dykes Antiques website I found a brass kettle listed as late 17th-early 18th century and it stated this form was the earliest kettle form and that this kettle was of Dutch or English origin.
Since I’m going in order of the names I researched in Pennsylvania, that means next week I won’t be writing about my mom’s family but I’ll be back to her family again soon. I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know Thomas DUNGAN as well as the SEELYs and BRINKERs and PARSONS. My maternal Poconos ancestors have been fun to learn and write about. We’ve covered approximately half of my research out of a 10-day research trip to Pennsylvania. I’m looking forward to bringing you the remaining stories soon. Once I tell all the Pennsylvania stories we’ll move on to my trip to Missouri. It’s been an exciting summer of research. I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I have been. One last note for my cousins descending from Thomas DUNGAN: be happy! Ancestors in his paternal and maternal lines typically lived to about 100 years old. You have good genes, cousins!
Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives blog
Resources
Dungan Family of Pennsylvania. Monroe County Historical Association, Stroudsburg, PA.
Davis, William W. H. History of Bucks County, Pennyslvania, from the Discovery of the Delaware to the Present Time. Accessed on the Internet Archive on 8 July 2022.
Mom’s family was thick as thieves in the Poconos area of Pennsylvania! That includes the families of my 5th great grandparents, John SEELY and Katrin (Katherine) BRINKER. I talked about the BRINKERs in the previous post. Now I want to talk about the SEELYs.
John SEELY’s parents were Samuel J. SEELY, Jr. and Mary DeHAVEN. Samuel was born 4 April 1710 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut. Mary was born in 1714 in Trappe, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Trappe is now a suburb of Philadelphia. Samuel and Mary married sometime in 1729-1730 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. They had 6 children that I am aware of – William, Isaac, John, Samuel, Sarah, and Jonas. The line from Samuel and Mary is: Samuel and Mary’s son John, John’s son George, George’s son Charles, Charles’ daughter Mary and Mary’s son (and my great grandpa) Albert BATES.
Just for background, all the stories I’ve been telling recently about Easton and the Indian raids, etc. – all of that still applies to Samuel so keep it in mind. You can find a brief history and one researcher’s interpretation of the documentation available on Samuel SEELY here. This particular SEELY cousin (Sandra McGINNIS) has a very interesting Facebook blog where she celebrates hers and her husband Ed’s ancestors with biographical Facebook blog posts. In the post I linked above she gives a brief biographical sketch of Samuel SEELY. She and I haven’t come to all the same conclusions but I respect her work and contributions to the family history and encourage you to go take a look at her post about Samuel SEELY. You can also find information about Samuel SEELY on Kevin SHOLDER’s website at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~rdrunner/web_data/p52607.htm.
Some researchers say Samuel was an Ironmaster. He served as a wagon master during the French and Indian Wars. He owned a considerable amount of land including 196 acres plus 68 “perches” of land. At the end of his life, he was a tavernkeeper. This job as a tavernkeeper is what would take his life and that’s what I want to talk about today – the tragic end of Samuel SEELY. Samuel SEELY’s murder was the earliest recorded murder in Monroe County, Pennsylvania.
Smithfield Township map showing the Seely land with Seely Grove and Seely Pond marked. Image found at Ancestry.com.
The Tragic End of Samuel Seely
There is a place in Easton, Pennsylvania called Gallows Hill. Lehigh Valley Live confirms that it takes it’s name from the public hangings that used to take place there very early in Easton’s history. Today you’ll find St. Bernard’s Catholic Church there. It’s on South Fifth Street if you ever get a chance to go to Easton. The most famous executions that took place at Gallows Hill were the executions of three soldiers from General John SULLIVAN’s expedition. Their more immediate commander was Lieutenant Colonel Adam HUBLEY. If you’ll remember, John SULLIVAN was the one that basically took over Brinker’s Mill in Sciota when he went through there on his “take-no-prisoners” quest to quell the Iroquois uprising. Andreas BRINKER’s granddaughter, Katrin or Katherine – my 5th great grandmother – married John SEELY, the son of this post’s Samuel SEELY. It all connects.
The Lehigh Valley Live website briefly mentions the execution of the three soldiers but it’s so sanitized it would be easy to read over it and forget it but don’t! It has so much meaning to our family history.
The most famous executions were the hangings of three soldiers in the Sullivan Expedition. William McCoy, Patrick Drogan and Daniel Monaghan were hanged on June 12, 1779, for the murder of a tavernkeeper near Stroudsburg.
That tavernkeeper that was murdered? That was my maternal 6th great grandfather, Samuel SEELY. Why was he murdered? Who were the people that murdered him? I had so many questions when I learned of his murder.
Off the Beaten Path
Samuel’s tavern was “off the beaten path” – at least for Sullivan’s Expedition, it was. No one that I’ve read or studied is really sure how 3 soldiers from Sullivan’s Expedition ended up at Samuel’s tavern, but they did. Looking at a map, Brinker’s Mill (which, if you’ll remember was taken over by Sullivan for his campaign’s/soldiers’ benefit) is 19 miles away from Echo Lake where Samuel lived (about 30 minutes’ drive time but considerably longer if you’re walking or on horseback). At the time of his murder, Samuel owned 196 acres plus 68 “perches” of land in Lower Smithfield Township.
Locations relevant to Samuel SEELY’s life and murder. Google maps screenshot with my edits.
I want to show you what the Seely Grove/Seely Pond (now Echo Lake) looks like just so you have an idea.
Seely Grove video 1, Middle Smithfield, Pennsylvania.Seely Grove, Middle Smithfield, Pennsylvania.Seely Grove/Seely Pond area, Middle Smithfield, Pennsylvania.
I tried researching the three men. It’s as if they dropped onto Earth to murder Samuel and then vanished again. No trace of them whatsoever. They were said to be from Colonel Adam HUBLEY’s regiment. Whatever happened, the men ended up at Samuel’s tavern wanting drinks. Samuel, for whatever reason, refused to serve the soldiers the alcohol they demanded. For this, William McCOY, Patrick DROGAN, and Daniel MONAGHAN killed him.
The Documents That Remain
Only a couple of documents survive from the court case according to Monroe Legal Reporter. In this handful of documents we receive all the information we may ever know about Samuel’s murder. We know he was killed in 1779. The murder happened less than 2 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In fact, one of the Supreme Court Justices who upheld the guilty verdict and death sentence was also a signer of the Declaration of Independence (Chief Justice Thomas McKEAN). We know the Justices met on 17 May 1779 in Easton, Northampton, Pennsylvania for the May term of the Oyer and Terminer Court. In the original trial, all 3 men (McCOY, MONAGHAN, and DROGAN) pled not guilty. The jury was called 18 May 1779. They found all 3 men guilty and the men were sentenced to be hung. The justices upheld the verdict and sentencing and the hanging was set for 12 June 1779. All 3 men were hung on that date at Gallows Hill in Easton, Northampton, Pennsylvania between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Page 1 of Samuel SEELY’s story from the Monroe Legal Reporter.Outcome of the case where the three soldiers were ordered to be executed on Gallows Hill in Easton, Pennsylvania.
As far as I can tell, the three men who were Justices at that time were Thomas McKEAN, William Augustus ATLEE, and John EVANS.2 Other attorneys and judges were named but these were the Supreme Court Justices. I was surprised that all the jurors were named in the documents. Just something I noted: the anniversary of the hanging of these three men was a mere 5 days ago from the day I started writing this blog post.
In addition to the names listed above, the book Pennsylvania’s Traitors and Criminals During the Revolutionary War3 and also in the Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania4 (from which I’m quoting), lists the following Esquires so I’m not sure if they’re attorneys or judges:
PHILAD’A, Wednesday, May 26, 1779.
PRESENT:
His Excell’y JOSEPH REED, Esq’r, President. Hon’ble GEORGE BRYAN, Esq’r, Vice President.
Joseph Hart, John Macky, James Read, Jac’b Arndt, & Matt’w Smith, Esqu’rs.
A Transcript of the record of conviction of William McCoy, Dan’l Monaghan, & Patrick Drogan, late of the County of Northampton, before the Judges of the Supreme Court held at Easton, for the County of Northampton, on the seventeenth day of May, inst., of Murder, and the sentence of the Court thereupon “that they, the said Will’m McCoy, Dan’l Monaghan, & Patrick Drogan, be hanged by the Neck ’till they be dead,” being read;
On Consideration,
Ordered, That Saturday the twelfth day of June next be appointed for the execution of the said sentence between the hours of ten of the Clock of the Forenoon & two of the Clock in the Afternoon of the same day, at the usual place of Execution, & that a Warrant, under the less Seal of the State, signed by the President & attested by the Secretary, be accordingly issued.
The Hon’ble the Congress of these United States having transmitted to this board the following resolution, Viz:
“In Congress, 22d May, 1779.
The final word in the sentencing related to the murder conviction of the men who murdered Samuel SEELY in Smithfield, Pennsylvania, in 1778. This information is also available in the Colonial Records, Vol. 12.5
Digging Deeper: The Officers’ Journals
I decided to continue looking one last time before I published this post and I found a book of Officers’ journals. The journal entries were written at the time of the hanging so I feel the information is more reliable than what I had previously found. Harvard University has a copy of the book of journals online at Hathitrust. It’s entitled, Journals of the Military Expedition of Major General John Sullivan Against the Six Nations of Indians in 1779 with Records of Centennial Celebrations.11 Captain Daniel LIVERMORE’s entry for 12 June 1779 gives a few different details about the execution carried out on this date:
Saturday, June 12. This day, at four, P.M., the troops parade to attend the execution of three criminals, inhabitants of this State, convicted of murder and highway robbery. They were tried before the civil authority, and have been under sentence eleven months. Nothing more worthy of notice this day.
This was the first time I saw any indication of a crime other than murder. It’s also the first time I’m seeing information that Samuel was killed in 1778, not 1779. If this journal is to be believed (and I think it would be much more reliable since it was written at the time of the event), a robbery occurred in addition to a murder. Perhaps the murderers had their drinks after all. Even more disturbing though was the entry for the following day in this journal:
Sunday, June 13. This day, one of the criminals executed yesterday, was dug up and dissected of which I was a spectator. Nothing further worthy of notice this day.
This is the only place I’ve found any of these details in a months’ worth of researching. So although the details were grim, I’m glad I stuck with it. There is nothing I’ve found that gives details about these men’s burials other than what is written in this journal. There is no record of their final resting place, no record of family, nothing. While I detest the acts they committed, I can’t find it in my heart to wish them an eternity of anonymity. I wish the journal writer had named the one that was dug up or stated where the three soldiers were buried. I suspect they were buried at Gallows Hill which means they are under the Catholic Church that now stands there. However, no one will ever know unless some other documents are located by researchers in the future. While I’m sad that I don’t know exactly where my Samuel (the murder victim) is buried, I’m glad that at least part of the information is now out there as to the final resting place of the murderers.
Sergeant Thomas ROBERTS gave his account of the triple execution in a journal he kept. I retained the spelling used in the journal:
12th. theare was three Solgers hanged for Murder I never saw so many Specttators in my Life I think. According to my opinion theare was 4,000 that night one was taking up again [the Doctor] Cut his arm and Leg and Examined him and the next night then buried him again.
The triple hanging caused quite a stir in Easton. Sergeant Major GRANT noted that the “whole of the Troops on the ground were present at this melancholy occasion”.9 I am thankful that all these officers kept journals no matter how brief their entries were. It provides just a couple of extra details that would not have otherwise been retained about the murder.
One additional thing I noted in the records were that two of Samuel’s sons, Jonas and Isaac, were called as witnesses in the case. It’s horrifying to think that Samuel’s sons witnessed his murder and then had to testify about it.
Final Notes
While I have not found any information that I can say is definitively about the three men who murdered Samuel SEELY, I have found some intriguing information that future researchers may want to follow up on. I believe the possibility is strong that this book talks about the same William McCOY who murdered Samuel. The book is William McCoy and His Descendants by Lycurgus McCoy. You can find the book online at the link. I believe the correct William McCOY can be found beginning on page 22.8
I like to walk away from a story with a lesson or principle to make your life (and mine) better. The thing that’s on my mind tonight is that life is so precious and so fleeting. Treat everyone as though you’re speaking to them for the last time because when it really is our “last time”, we don’t typically get advance notice of that. You never know when the last time is THE “last time”. So speak with love, show charity to others, and pray for forgiveness for yourself and others. Life is so short. Love your people.
Corbly, Don. Pennsylvania’s Traitors and Criminals During the Revolutionary War. Accessed on Google Books on 18 June 2022.
Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania. Supreme executive council, Minutes. 1853. Accessed online at Google Books on 18 June 2022.
Hayburn, Timothy. Who Should Die?: The Evolution of Capital Punishment in Pennsylvania,1681-1794. Accessed online at the Lehigh University Library website on 18 June 2022.
The History of Easton, Penn’a, from the Earliest Times to the Present, 1739-1885. Accessed online at Internet Archive on 18 June 2022.
McCoy, Lycurgus. William McCoy and His Descendants. Accessed online at Forgotten Books on 18 June 2022.
Hoffman, Luther S. The Unwritten History of Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Accessed online at Digital Books and at Penn State University Library. Both accessed on 18 June 2022.
Cook, Frederick. Journals of the Military Expedition of Major General John Sullivan Against the Six Nations of Indians in 1779 with Records of Centennial Celebrations. Accessed online at Harvard University/Hathitrust on 7 July 2022.
This week I wanted to tell you about another branch of my mom’s family – Andreas BRINKER and Jacob BRINKER, my maternal 7th and 6th great grandfathers respectively. However, a quick Google search left me shocked. I’ve found no less than 3 researchers who’ve done an amazing amount of research and writing about Andreas and Jacob. I don’t think I can build on or add to all that they’ve done! So, I’m going to add in what few documents I found plus the pictures and video I took and I’m going to link you out to other researchers. I’ll give you a very brief background first.
Andreas BRINKER and his son, Jacob Michael BRINKER (originally spelled BRUNGGER and also I’ve seen it spelled BRÜNCKER) were my maternal 7th and 6th great grandfathers. The line goes from Andreas to his son Jacob Michael (a Revolutionary War veteran) to Jacob’s daughter Katherine BRINKER SEELY to Katherine’s son George Washington SEELY to George’s son Reverend Charles George SEELY to Charles’ daughter Mary Ann SEELY BATES who was the mother of my great-grandfather, Albert Lewis BATES. You can tell how the name changed to BRINKER if you listen to the pronunciation of the name BRÜNCKER.
Andreas was born in Rumikon, Elsau, Zurich, Switzerland on 9 July 1699. Sadly, he lost both his parents when he was 3 years old. I haven’t been able to learn who raised Andreas. On 26 April 1720, Andreas married Regula Zehnder HERTER. Their 5th child was Jacob Michael BRINKER. Jacob was born 9 November 1727 in the same place as his father. Jacob married Susannah HINKEL (also spelled HINCKEL or HINKLE). Andreas died 12 March 1764 and his son Jacob died 30 October 1798.
Just so you’re aware, much of the Easton, Pennsylvania history I talked about when I wrote about William PARSONS applies here. Easton and Sciota are only about 25 miles apart. Both places were affected severely by the Indian raids and the military involvement in the area among other things so just keep the Easton history in mind while you’re reading about Andreas and Jacob.
Bookmark This
Now you need to either bookmark these sites and read them when you’re through with my post or you need to put my post on hold and go read about this family. I first recommend Lee JUNKINS’ website MidSouthRescue. The link in the previous sentence will take you to the homepage. Read it to the end. You’ll get an overview of the BRINKER family. Then, go read Andreas’ amazing story. (There’s a little about Regula HERTER, my 7th great grandmother too if you’re interested in reading it.) After you read about Andreas, click over to his son (and my 6th great grandfather) Jacob Michael BRINKER’s story and read it as well.
I’m keeping Paula TALBERT BRINKER’s blog on the back burner in the hopes that one day she’ll return to it. She is a descendant of Andreas BRINKER with more than 30 years’ research done.
Jeremiah DOWLING had a fabulous photo blog called The Orange Chair. He did a photoshoot with the orange chair at Brinker’s Mill. You should definitely go look at it. I had a good laugh and his book choice was SPOT ON!
Now that I’ve tuned you in to two amazing researchers plus a couple of other fun blogs, I’m not sure I even have a story left to tell but I’m going to try anyway.
My Contribution to Andreas BRINKER’s Story
We flew into Allentown on a Sunday evening. We found our hotel and then grabbed some local Philly style pizza. I didn’t even know Philly had a style of pizza but omg! It was so good! In case you’re ever in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, looking for pizza, I highly recommend Rocco’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant. They’re good, local people who make great pizza! So we got food and settled in for the night. Starting tomorrow I would be running all over the Poconos in search of my people.
Rocco’s Philly Style pizza.
The next morning I couldn’t wait to see Old Brinker’s Mill! I drove to Sciota, Pennsylvania to the Old Mill Preserve. I was sad to see the Mill is closed right now but I had fun looking around outside the building. They’ve really made this into a beautiful area where people can take a walk, photograph, etc.
Sign marking the Old Mill preservation area. Sciota, Monroe County, PennsylvaniaLooking back across McMichael Creek towards the highway. In the background is the FENNER/SNYDER/ROBACKER Homestead – a large rock house that the city has turned into a park. You can tour the home one Saturday per month with a local historian. I missed the tour by two days.
Even though I don’t like including video with me talking, I’m going to add it anyway so you can hear the sounds and feel more like you’re at the mill.
On site at the old Brinker Mill. The guy at the end of the video surprised me. I hadn’t noticed him or heard him walk up behind me. Turns out he’s a local photographer and had beautiful photos of the mill and area wildlife that he showed me. He’s a very nice guy and he was there on that day to take more wildlife photos which is what he loves best. I tried talking him out of one of his photos of the mill but he wouldn’t sell it. I gave him my card and I’m still hoping maybe he’ll change his mind. Time will tell…; 16 May 2022. The log cabin that you see later in this post is across the bridge and maybe 1/4 mile down the trail.
Here are a couple more videos. They give you a better shot of the mill and one lets you briefly listen to the birds around the mill. They were singing beautifully and plentifully the day I was there.
Old Brinker’s Mill, Sciota, Pennsylvania; 16 May 2022. I don’t know how to resize this so it isn’t so large but if you’ll click on the white square in the bottom right corner it will enlarge the video and you can see the whole video on one screen.Old Brinker’s Mill, Sciota, Pennsylvania; 16 May 2022.
As it turned out, I wasn’t able to get inside the mill at all due to construction. As I was leaving town I noticed a home with the construction company’s name on it so I turned in and asked the guy if he was the owner of the construction company working on the mill. He said he was. I asked if there might be any way I could get in and he said there wasn’t. He said he doesn’t know how they’re going to make it safe enough for workers to get in there and fix it. He said there was a flood a couple of years ago that took out one corner of the mill and the second floor collapsed onto the first and they aren’t sure how to proceed. He was a very nice man and a local so I’m hoping they get it figured out and people can start touring the mill in the near future.
One of my favorite pictures that I took is of a log cabin that’s just down the walking path from the mill. The story I read before I went to Pennsylvania was that my 5th great grandmother, Katrin (also spelled Ketrum or Ketrin/Ketren and is, I suppose, a Swiss or German pronunciation of Katherine) was born in a log cabin next to the Mill. I asked someone about the log cabin and how long it had been there. They said they didn’t know but it had been there a long time and there used to be many more family log cabins around it but the others had been torn down over the years.
Log cabin near the mill on what used to be BRINKER property.
On the mill property there are remnants of outbuildings and other “signs of life”:
Water pump.Bridge across the small creek on the opposite side of the mill from the falls.
And finally, the historical sign that hints at some of the history of the mill:
Historical sign at the mill. Behind, you can see the FENNER/SNYDER/ROBACKER Homestead.
On to the Research Library
After spending a day in Sciota looking at the mill, I took a day and went to nearby Stroudsburg, Monroe County, Pennsylvania to the Monroe County Historical Association housed in the old Stroud Mansion. These are the books and documents I found there.
I love this newspaper clipping of the flag draped over the millstone with a gun propped against it and a hat on top. Article is from the Mill vertical file at Monroe County Historical Society.1I’m hoping you’ll be able to enlarge this photo enough to read the article about the role the mill played in General John SULLIVAN’s march. I couldn’t find the article on newspapers.com. I found this article in the Mill vertical file at the Monroe County Historical Association1.I found this article that talks about the production process and how families used the ground grains from the mill. I thought it was interesting. In addition, the SNYDER family married into the BRINKER family.2
The second page of this article has two recipes at the bottom of the page that I want you to have.
Two old recipes from families associated with the Old Brinker’s Mill in Sciota, Pennsylvania. In addition to being associated with the mill, the SNYDER family married into the BRINKER family. It’s entirely possible these recipes were the same ones used by the BRINKERs.2
In 1954, Brinker’s Mill finally got a rest. I initially found this article in the Mill vertical file at Monroe County Historical Association1 but it didn’t have any identifying information. I was fortunate to find it on Newspapers.com with all it’s identifying information.3
Article in The Pocono Record, 16 April 1954.3
Below is the only interior shot I’ve ever seen of Brinker’s Mill. Since I didn’t get to go inside due to the flood damage, I’ll include the interior shot that I’ve found (not to mention it’s the second page of the previous article).
This is the second page of the article above about the mill shutting down after 154 years. Article in The Pocono Record, 16 April 1954.1
Documents
Following are the documents I found in the BRINKER vertical file at Monroe County Historical Association.4
I found a copy of Jacob BRINKER’s will in the BRINKER vertical file at Monroe County Historical Association.4
I also found a DAR app that indicates he was a patriot. I’m attaching it in case anyone would like to begin their DAR membership.4
Page 1 of DAR app connecting to Jacob BRINKER. I think you’ll need the application number at the top.4Page 2 of the app that links to Jacob BRINKER. You’ll need to be able to prove your connection to Jacob BRINKER.4Here is the list of resources the author used as well as Jacob’s children’s information.4Page 4 of the DAR application. You’ll need to know Jacob’s service information and source.4
Remember when I said that much of what happened at Easton also affected Sciota? Well, when I was looking through the old Revolutionary War era letters, I came across some Brinker’s Mill correspondence. I’ll include one quote from one of the letters here.
Brinker Mills, May 17, 1779
…the Wagoners left their wagons standing in the road and took their horses away for fear they would die and [I] had nothing to give them…
Alexander PATTERSON writing about the tenuous situation of Sciota during the “Indian Raids”.5
The military took over Brinker’s Mill as an outpost. Much of what was provided to the military (or possibly rather demanded or taken by the military) was never repaid to the people of the area. Jacob BRINKER had such losses and was never repaid by the government. George WASHINGTON himself gave orders to certain businesses in the area of Brinker’s Mill that they were to provide certain items to the soldiers and, in some cases, even specified how much was to be given them.
Andreas’ Old Homeplace
Utilizing what maps I could find online and comparing old and new maps, I tried to find the location of Andreas BRINKER’s old homeplace. I can’t guarantee this is it but I think this is pretty close to where he lived. The property has been turned into a landfill site.
Video of what I believe to be Andreas BRINKER’s homeplace.
I found some of the buildings in this area so interesting. Here are a few:
Lutz-Franklin School House.Lutz-Franklin School House.
Final Thoughts
If you want something nice to remind you of who your ancestors were, I recommend the following item from the gift shop at Monroe County Historical Association:
A lovely print of Brinker’s Mill. The money for this print supports the Monroe County Historical Association.
Thanks for sticking with me this far. This has not been my typical blog post. I’ve never encountered an ancestor that was so well documented online that I had almost nothing left to add. I hope you’ve enjoyed it anyway. Be sure to check out those other bloggers. They’ve done amazing work.
Until next time,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives
Resources
Monroe County Mills Vertical File, Monroe County Historical Association.
Hamilton Township, Sciota, Pennsylvania, Vol 1, August 1995.
Newspapers.com, The Pocono Record, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, 16 April 1954, accessed 16 June 2022.
BRINKER Vertical File, Monroe County Historical Association.
Weaver, Ethan Allen. Copies of Revolutionary War Letters Relating to Northampton County, PA. Easton Public Library, 1936.
Hoffman comp. & ed., Henry C. Landmarks of Monroe County. Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania.
Cagle, Carrol D. and Janet K. Warter. The Lineage of Andreas Brüncker/Brinker, 1699-1764.
Faust and Brumbaugh. Lists of Swiss Emigrants to the American Colonies.
I’m back today to finish up the story about my 8th great-granduncle, William PARSONS, best friend of Benjamin FRANKLIN and founder of Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. There’s one thing I’d like to clear up and that’s WHY William didn’t like Moravians. I didn’t understand it until I was reading some of the letters that have been preserved that were written by William and others. Remember in William’s time, the political turmoil of the age centered around British control of the colonies. In that light, let me show you what R. L. HOOPER, Jr. wrote:1
R. L. Hooper to Maj. Genl. Greene
…This Mr. Oberlin is as rank a Torey as any in America & a Moravian & so are his Connections generally…
Letter from R. L. Hooper Jr. to Maj. Genl. Greene. From the book, Copies of Revolutionary War Letters Relating to Northampton County, Pennsylvania, by Ethan Allen Weaver. See footnote 1. Located at Marx Room, Easton Public Library, Easton, Pennsylvania.
The book mentioned above has transcriptions of letters William wrote and of letters that were written to him. It’s worth a look if you are a descendant or, like me, a collateral relative. As for disliking Germans, his wife and in-laws were German and he probably based his opinions off his experiences – as we all do. In any case, I just wanted to clear up the ‘why’ behind William’s initial dislike of Moravians and Germans before moving on.
I left off yesterday in 1745 with William packing up his two youngest daughters and leaving Johanna. A sad and disappointing time, I’m sure – because I really do think he loved her and I believe later in life he regretted leaving her. By 1748 William was in fairly poor health. Many researchers blame this on his sedentary work as a cobbler but I would hesitate to blame it all on that without seeing his death certificate or some other information showing he had no major health issues. In any case, he wasn’t doing well. In 1748 he resigned from his surveyor’s job and moved to Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The Lancaster Years and How William Got to Easton
“…I must also desire you while you are [in] London to buy me the last English Treatise concerning the Nature of Writs, Fitzherbert if translated which shall likewise be greatfully [sic] paid you.”2
Letter from William PARSONS to William PETERS, Stonyhill, Pennsylvania, November 17 1753. From the book, Copies of Revolutionary War Letters Relating to Northampton County, Pennsylvania, by Ethan Allen Weaver. See footnote 1. Located at Marx Room, Easton Public Library, Easton, Pennsylvania.
William was never one to “take it easy”. In Lancaster, he was commissioned as Justice of the Peace on 22 April 1749 and was also appointed Prothonotary, Register, and Recorder. He continued to survey at intervals when he felt well enough. This would explain his need for (and repeated requests for) The Nature of Writs by Anthony Fitzherbert, which he requested in 1753 and again in 1754.
In 1750, the PENN brothers (sons of William PENN), called on William to do a survey for a new town to be called Easton. William began the survey on 9 May 1750 and his old Junto Club friend, Nicholas SCULL II, was by his side to assist. The survey was completed on 19 May 1750.3 In order to get a feel for what William was walking into, we have to step back to the years 1736-1737 for just a moment.
William PENN had a reputation for dealing fairly with the Native Americans. His sons, John and Thomas, began dealing with the tribes based on their father’s good reputation. In 1736, the sons claimed that a 1686 treaty had ceded 1.2 million acres along the northern parts of the Delaware River to the PENNs. The wording in the deed stated that the Delaware were selling “a tract beginning at the junction of the upper Delaware River and the tributary Lehigh River (near present day Easton, Pennsylvania) and extending as far west as a man could walk in a day and a half”. It later became known “as the ‘Walking Purchase’, or Walking Treaty of 1737”.4 The PENNs began selling the land to settlers before the Lenape were even moved off it. To make matters worse, the Penn Land Agent Office drew up a map that incorrectly represented the area in order to placate the Indians. Lenape (Delaware) leaders believed a man could, at most, walk 40 miles in a day. This was their mindset when the deal was made. Going into the deal, the PENNs were supposed to send out men walking to see how far they would get in a day. What happened was that behind the scenes the Provincial Secretary hired the 3 fastest runners in the colony to run on a prepared trail and to be supervised on their “walk” by the Bucks County Sheriff. The “walk” happened on 19 September 1737. At the end of the “walk” the (falsified) map was marked. Everything looked kosher to the Lenape and the land deal was signed. The markings, done by the Bucks County Sheriff, resulted in 1.2 million acres being signed away by the Lenape. The PENNs forced the Delaware to vacate it. The Delaware appealed to the Iroquois and the Iroquois refused to assist them because, behind the scenes, the Iroquois had already made a deal with the Provincial Secretary. The Lenape were forced to vacate their land. Their good relations with the PENN family and the Pennsylvania government were over forever. The PENN’s exchanged their father’s good reputation for 1.2 million acres. Greed has a price and, in the end, it cost everyone more than the PENN father’s sacrificed reputation. The Lenape would soon begin exacting revenge on the settlers who dared to move onto the land.
Returning to 1752, Before the Revenge Years
On 11 March 1752 the Pennsylvania county of Northampton was established.5 Easton became part of Northampton County. William Parsons was the first inhabitant of the newly surveyed town of Easton. He moved there in December of 1752 with his two young daughters. He built a log cabin on Hamilton Street (now 4th Street) between Northampton and Church Streets. About 1756 he built the first house in Easton that was NOT a log cabin. He built it at 4th & Ferry just a couple of blocks from the log cabin. The house is now owned by the DAR and is called the Parsons-Taylor House.
William PARSON’s homes marked on a current Easton, PA map from Google.
Beginning 9 June 1752 and lasting until 1757 – three terms – William served as Easton’s Justice of the Peace in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The first session of court was held on 16 June 1752.6 In between those years he served one term as an Assemblyman in 1753. He also served as Prothonotary, Clerk of the Court, Recorder, Clerk of Commissioners, and he acted as the agent of the Proprietaries (in other words, he worked for the PENN brothers and looked out for their interests). During these years he oversaw the building of the first jail, the first school, and the first church. The school was a subscription school. This, rather than taxes, is what paid for the building, teacher, upkeep, etc. William subscribed at the rate of 5 pounds and he was also a trustee. In 1754 he represented Northampton County in the Provincial Assembly.
Easton, Pennsylvania’s first school/church house.8
Years of the “Indian Troubles” or, The Revenge Years
I make bold to trouble you once more, and it is not unlikely it may be the last. I have spent what little stock of cash I had in the public service, so that I am compelled to send this by a private hand.7, 8
Letter from Major William PARSONS to John Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin” requesting help with fighting the Indians.
Pray help us, for we are in great distress. I do not know what we shall do for want of arms. If I can get a wagon to bring my daughter to Philadelphia, I will send her off immediately.7
Letter from Major William PARSONS to Governor MORRIS.
The quotes above are from a letter written by William requesting help with money, arms, ammunition, men (there were few left in Easton), etc. to fight the Indians and keep the people of Easton safe. He searched for a way to get the letter out to Governor Morris on a wagon leaving the area but there wasn’t one. By November of 1755, the Indians’ revenge for the Walking Treaty of 1737 was taking it’s toll. Everyone had already hunkered down and no one was leaving. Grace’s sister had already left Easton to go live with their mother in Philadelphia where it was safe. Grace was the last to leave her father in Easton in November or December of 1755. William gave his letter to Governor MORRIS to Grace for delivery, put her on a horse (no wagon or any other protection) and sent her riding 65 miles alone into Philadelphia to get help for Easton. The book of the history of Easton described this journey as, “…a two days’ journey, through unbroken forests, guided by Indian trails and bridle-paths…”. I can’t even imagine the courage it took for either of them to do that. The danger was very real and very close. William had just gotten the church and schoolhouse finished in 1755 so the women and children who stayed behind might have a safe place to go when the Indians were raiding and killing people. He had used all his time, all his effort, and all his remaining cash to build Easton, arm Easton, and take care of Easton’s inhabitants.
On 29 December 1755, during the “Indian Troubles”, William was appointed a Major in the Provincial Service. Major William PARSONS was assigned to the First Battalion as part of the effort to keep settlers safe from the Indian massacres. As Major, he was in command of all troops raised in Northampton County. For a time, he supervised all the defenses of the region. The “Indian Troubles” lasted from 1755-1757.
The End of an Age
In 1757 William built his final home, a rock-faced 3 1/2 story home that still stands today at 4th & Ferry Streets. (Yes- I said a half-story. I walked up that half flight of stairs – it’s real!) A book of the history of Easton states, “In the early days of April, 1757, William Parsons was preparing to move into his new house on the corner of Fourth and Ferry streets, as it was then complete.”8 William prepared a feast the day he moved in but he could not get mutton and could find no one to cook the meal. The history book doesn’t say how he resolved these problems but he did have a big move-in party and the book called his new home a “mansion”.9
That same year William’s daughter died of Consumption (aka Tuberculosis) at the Moravian Single Sisters’ Home. He also lost his son that same year. He never quite recovered from losing them. By 1757, William’s own health was failing. He sold his home to George TAYLOR – a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Before his final years he’d made his peace with the Germans and Moravians and he’d embraced his evangelical faith. He’d also made his peace with his family the best he could. In his final days he’d written his will and he’d sent word to Johanna and his girls to come and see him before he died. One daughter made it but Johanna did not make it. On 17 December 1757 William PARSONS, the “Father of Easton” passed away. His funeral was conducted in a Moravian church by his son-in-law Jacob ROGERS, a Moravian minister. In his will, he left an inheritance to his children, sisters, in-laws, nieces and nephews, a servant girl, his wife, a scholarship fund, and even left a fund for perpetual care of his children’s and his mother’s graves.10 William was buried in the old German cemetery where members of the Third Street Reformed Church (aka German Reformed Cemetery) were buried – the one he’d laid out himself when he surveyed Easton. The old German Reformed Cemetery was on Mount Jefferson and here’s what it looked like from a distance in 1885:
View of Mount Jefferson in 1885. Mount Jefferson appears to have been the location of the German Reformed Cemetery where William was buried.10William PARSONS’ grave – right at the front entrance of the public library in Easton, Pennsylvania!Top of the grave. I didn’t get up there to get a photo of the top so I took a photo of the library’s pictures. The top stone says, “He rocked Easton in her cradle and watched of her infant footsteps with paternal solicitude.” Image is in the Parsons Family vertical file at the Marx Room in Easton Public Library in Easton, Pennsylvania.Thank you to the George Taylor Chapter, DAR (the same group that owns the Parsons-Taylor House) for the beautiful plaque on William’s grave.
Johanna lived another 16 years. She died in 1773 at the age of 74. She remained with the Moravian faith from the time she joined them around 1745 until her death. The Moravian records and the book of the history of Easton state that Johanna was born in Germany and came to Philadelphia in her youth in the company of an uncle. She married William PARSONS in 1722. She lived a quiet life and did not leave her room the last six weeks of her life. The history book states the couple had 6 children together.11
Epilogue, Part 1
Fast forward 144 years. Easton was tired of subscription libraries. They wanted a free public library so they made one. After a short time, the free public library and the subscription library combined collections and this made them eligible for a Carnegie grant. They applied for and received the grant to build a new non-subscription public library.
Article from The Allentown Leader, Allentown, PA, 23 November 1901, page 2. Found at Newspapers.com.
Why is this part of my story? Because the only suitable place for the library was the old (and then-unused) Third Reformed Church cemetery (aka German Reformed Cemetery) where William was buried.
Article from The Gazette, York, PA, 17 June 1901, page 4. Found at Newspapers.com.
The call was put out for people to move their loved ones from the cemetery and many were removed to Easton Cemetery. All but two graves were moved. William PARSONS stayed and now lies in front of the library near the front door. A woman is buried out by the library’s parking lot. William was moved from his original burial spot in 1903.
Article from The Allentown Leader, Allentown, PA, 28 October 1903, page 6. Found at Newspapers.com
Epilogue, Part 2: In the Footsteps of Sarah PARSONS CUMMINS & Her Brother, William PARSONS
Now fast forward 265 years to May, 2022 in the Marx Room at the Easton Public Library. I had just discovered my guy William buried in front of the library. I open his vertical file and see this:
The certificate that tipped me off that there was a family historical site to visit. I’m so glad I found it! Certificate is located in the Parsons Family vertical File at the Marx Room, Easton Public Library, Easton, Pennsylvania.
I turn to the kind librarian (who doesn’t like William) and I say to her, what is the Parsons-Taylor House? She tells me it’s the house he built and lived in at the end of his life. I ask if it’s still standing. She says yes. I ask her where so she gives me general directions and I ask her if it’s open to tour and she says YES! I get the name of who to call and as soon as I leave the library I set up an appointment for the following morning. Y’all! I got to tour the house which is now owned by DAR, was treated like royalty because William was my family (even though they own they house because of George TAYLOR, not because of William), AND I got to walk on original floorboards on the second floor!! I walked where William and his daughter Grace walked. I can’t prove it, but I’m certain I walked on floorboards that my 8th great-grandmother, Sarah PARSONS CUMMINS, walked on!! They let me in every room (including the half-story) except for the basement and if I’d asked I think they would have let me go there, too.
This was William’s House in 1885:
William Parsons’ home in 1885.10
Below are some pics from my visit in May, 2022. Enjoy!
The Parsons-Taylor House, built in 1756 by William Parsons who died one year after building it. Right before William died, he sold the house to George Taylor, signer of the Declaration of Independence. The house is now owned and operated by the George Taylor Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Easton, Pennsylvania.The little courtyard garden beside the Parsons-Taylor House. Easton, Pennsylvania.The tiny half-flight of stairs that leads to nothing but a wall. The tour guides speculated that the half-story was servant quarters and the stairs led up to some stacked wood for the fireplace (which, if I remember correctly is just to the left of the staircase.I guess if you include the basement (which you’d have to do to call this a 3 1/2-story house), this would be the third floor. There are only 2 bedrooms on this floor with a very short hall between them. This floor has the original floorboards and is where William stayed when he was very sick. Parsons-Taylor House, Easton, Pennsylvania.This the other bedroom on the upper floor. The DAR built a showcase into the room. Included in the showcase is a lock of George Washington’s hair. Parsons-Taylor House, Easton, Pennsylvania.Lock of George Washington’s hair on display at the Parsons-Taylor House, Easton, Pennsylvania.Me standing on the corner of 4th & Ferry in front of the Parsons-Taylor House in Easton, Pennsylvania. I love that they’ve uncovered the sidewalk down to the bricks in front of William’s house.Marker sign outside the Parsons-Taylor House, Easton, Pennsylvania.Sign on Parsons-Taylor House, Easton, Pennsylvania.
A Few Last Notes For Fun
This image is just for fun…because nothing works like telling someone, “Why can’t you just be like your older brother?!” On the bright side though…the library opened on the date of this article!
Article from The Plain Speaker, Hazleton, PA, 25 November 1901, page 4. Found at Newspapers.com.
A couple more. Who wants to take bets as to whether they were able to keep their promise to boycott the new Easton library??
Article from The Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, 6 August 1901, page 7. Found at Newspapers.com.
Never underestimate the power of tax money or opposition from the powers that be. #Politics:
Article from The Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, PA, 16 March 1901, page 4. Found at Newspapers.com.
There is so much more I could tell you about William but I’ll save it for another time. I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about my 8th great grand-uncle and all he accomplished in his life. I’m going to keep updating this post throughout the week with the resources I used but I want to get this post out there tonight. I will sign off with one of my favorite closings William used in one of his letters to a good friend.
I am Your Real Friend,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives
Resources
Weaver, Ethan Allen. Copies of Revolutionary War Letters Relating to Northampton County, PA. Easton Public Library, 1936.
Weaver, Ethan Allen. Copies of Revolutionary War Letters Relating to Northampton County, PA. Easton Public Library, 1936.
Condit, A. M., Rev. Uzal W. History of Easton from the Earliest Times to the Present, 1739-1885. George W. West, 1885.
This past week I was fortunate to get a last minute acceptance as a vendor at the MidMo Strawberry Festival. It was a 4-hour event on Saturday afternoon in Fulton, Missouri at a beautiful little winery in the country – Serenity Valley Winery. The festival proceeds go to Central Missouri Honor Flight whose mission is to provide transport for Veterans to visit the memorials in D.C.. I love this cause!
I love the cause so much that from yesterday (yes, I’m including all my sales at yesterday’s festival!) through June 30, 2022, 10% of everything I sell will be donated to Oklahoma Warriors – Oklahoma’s Honor Flights program! PLEASE JOIN ME in thanking our vets for all they’ve given to keep America free! If you need to restock on Morphine Bomb or Allergy Buster- now is the time! I’m including every single one of my brand new products like Itch Stick (for bug bites), Leaves of Three (for poison ivy/oak/sumac), Migraine Blend for Women, and so much more!
Delivery Vs. Shipping
If you need help finding something just message me and I’ll help you. If you don’t want to pay shipping and you’re local to me, I can do deliveries on June 24th-27th and again July 1st-4th. You just need to message me and let me know so I can send you an invoice that doesn’t include shipping. If you don’t do credit cards, I can take CashApp – again, you just have to let me know because CashApp isn’t connected to my website.
Festival Bestsellers
Now that I’ve got the announcement out of the way, I’ll continue the tradition I started last year and announce my best sellers at the MidMo Strawberry Festival:
#2: Lava bead bracelets for use with essential oils (I don’t have everything up on my website and a quick search tells me I only have one or two bracelets up right now so if you’re interested, message me and I’ll send you back a pic of all the bracelets I have. Some are handcrafted, others aren’t. Some are for big wrists, some are for tiny wrists. All are $10.)
A few of HF’s essential oil bracelets.
Help the Vets Get to D.C.!
I’m looking forward to help a vet get to D.C. I hope you’ll consider purchasing this month so you can help, too! THANK YOU! Now go SHOP!
“I should be obliged to you to let me have your New Natura Breinum or if you will be so kind and send for another for me, or any other Book of the kind that you may think proper for me, and I will run all Risque and greatfully pay you again.”
William PARSONS’ request to William PETERS in a letter written in Easton, Pennsylvania, on 28 November 1754.2
First Things First
I was so blessed to be writing this while on vacation in Pennsylvania. I’d been thinking for a few months that it would be nice to get back to Pennsylvania so when the opportunity arose, I took it! Bart was on a job up there and when he’s on a job that means I fend for myself, which typically means that you’ll find me in a library or archives or courthouse or graveyard somewhere doing research. There are so many people I want to tell you about right now but there’s one in particular that stood out. I met him…at the library.
William PARSONS’ grave in front of Easton Public Library in Easton, Pennsylvania.
The plaque on William PARSONS’ grave.
That’s right. I went to the Marx Room at Easton Public Library to do some research. I didn’t notice William at first. I was distracted when I entered the building and in a hurry to go grab lunch when I exited the building but after lunch, I stopped to straighten up my backpack before re-entering the library. I happened to look up and there in the grass in front of the little rock wall my backpack was sitting on was a…GRAVE! I kid you not! A grave in front of a public library! I thought it was hilarious so I took a picture to send to my mom. She was a school librarian like me so I figured she would appreciate it as much as I did. I didn’t think much more about the grave until I was going through some files I requested, looking for my ancestors, and who should I come across but Mr. William PARSONS – the same man that was buried in front of the library I was sitting in! I was stunned. I looked at the librarian on duty and asked her if the man buried in front of the library was the same man in the family file I’d requested. She said he was. Before I launch into William’s story though, let me tell you how he connects to me. William PARSONS is my 8th great grand-uncle. He was the brother of my 8th great grandmother, Sarah PARSONS CUMMINS. Sarah was the mother of Elizabeth CUMMINS. Elizabeth was the mother of Esther TODD. Esther was the mother of Rebecca LEWIS. Rebecca was the mother of Mary ELSTON. Mary was the mother of Rebecca WHITE. Rebecca was the mother of my 2nd great grandmother Lucinda DOW (whom I’ve written about here). Lucinda is the mother of Dettie GIBSON (whom I’ve written about here) and Dettie is the paternal grandmother of my mom. I love that this is almost completely a maternal link (with the exception of my grandfather).
William’s Beginning
This is said to be William Parsons. I found the photo on Ancestry.com.
William was born in Bermondsey, Surrey, England on 6 May 1701. Historians differ on whether he learned his shoemaking trade during his youth in England and was already proficient when he came to America. Other historians say he came to America as a young boy and learned the shoemaking trade here in Philadelphia where his parents settled with their children. The information I have for his next younger sibling’s birth says she was born in America. So I’m inclined to believe he came as a young boy and learned his trade here in Philadelphia. In any case, he opened his shoemaker shop in Philadelphia and he had a good life. He had English friends who also lived here, he made a decent living as a shoemaker and he was free to do as he pleased in his spare time.
What pleased him as a spare-time activity was to educate himself on, among other topics, the subject of mathematics as it related to astrology. At some point it seems he moved away from astrology but maintained his avid interest and study of mathematics. He also loved geography and Benjamin Franklin, one of William’s best friends in Philadelphia, referred to William as a “geographer” when Ben spoke of William in April, 1744.1
It seems William also educated himself on the law as noted in a couple of letters he wrote in 1753 and 1754 where he requested a specific book on the law of writs called The Nature of Writs by Fitzherbert. The book’s full title is La Novel Natura Brevium by Anthony Fitzherbert.
…I must also desire you while you are in London to buy me the last English Treatise concerning the Nature of Writs, Fitzherbert if translated which shall likewise be great-fully paid you.
William PARSONS’ request for a book in a letter he wrote to William PETERS, Stonyhill, 17 Nov 1753.2
The book William requested is a treatise on the topic of legal writs. To this day, the book is still cited in common law courts as an authority on writs. There are very few “books of authority” that courts of law will accept but this is one. So in addition to math, we can assume that William was interested in law. In truth, William had many interests including grammar, letter-writing, geometry, trigonometry, surveying, astrology, general mathematics, geography, and law to name a few. The extent and success of his self-education was impressive. We’ll soon see how impressive.
In regard to religion, William was described as “nominally Lutheran”.3 Religion doesn’t seem to have been important to him until the end of his life. When he married in 1722 though, he married a devoutly religious German woman named Johanna Christiana ZEIDIG. She came from a Pietist upbringing which gifted to her a very morose, gloomy nature. Her father was described by one author as, “a gloomy pietist who…shunned all worldly amusements.” By contrast, William was intelligent, industrious, ambitious, social…and did I mention ambitious? He meant to go places and do things and leave his mark on the world. I think you can imagine how these two humans got along.
The Middle Years
In October of 1723, Benjamin Franklin landed in Philadelphia ready to take America by storm. Sometime between October of 1723 and 1726, Ben and William met and became very good friends. Soon after William returned from London in 1726, Benjamin started The Junto Club and invited William to be a charter member. This is incredible! The Junto Club was no ordinary club. Money couldn’t buy you a spot in the club. Fame or social class couldn’t secure you a position in the club. Nope. Ben’s goal was mutual improvement and to this end he searched for interesting, intelligent people. He capped membership at 12 persons (with Ben being the first member) and membership was by invitation only. William enjoyed Friday evening Junto company with the likes of Benjamin FRANKLIN, Hugh MEREDITH (printer), Stephen POTTS (Book Binder), George WEBB (Printer?), Joseph BREINTNALL (merchant & scrivener), Thomas GODFREY (Glazier, mathematician, and inventor), Nicholas SCULL II (Surveyor and bibliophile), William MAUGRIDGE (Cabinetmaker and mechanic), William COLEMAN (Merchant’s Clerk), Robert GRACE (Gentleman), John JONES, Jr. (Shoemaker). In an auto-biography, Benjamin referred to these men as “most of my ingenious acquaintance”.4 If you’d like to learn more about The Junto Club, I suggest this PDF for starters.5
In 1726, William took on two apprentices. In 1727, in addition to joining the Junto Club, he opened a tavern with co-owner and fellow Junto Club member Nicholas SCULL. In 1730, Ben suggested the Junto members pool their books and open a library for the benefit of the Junto members which they did and it soon broadened to a subscription library. On 8 November 1731, the Directors of the library (who were handpicked by Ben FRANKLIN and included William PARSONS) met and elected a treasurer and a secretary. The voted in a library subscription cost of 40 shillings and 10 shillings annual dues for the library. With this money they ordered books from London. The books arrived October, 1732 and the shipment contained about 100 books. William was there to unpack the books.
On 14 March 1734, the library Directors voted William PARSONS as the first librarian. William maintained his cobbler business and worked the library on Saturday afternoons from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. His salary from the library was 6 pounds a year. He would retain this librarianship until 1746.
In 1736, Ben FRANKLIN started another venture, Union Fire Company. The first fire department in America. I’m not surprised at all that William PARSONS was a charter member of this fire department. It’s said that any time there was a fire in Philadelphia, it was common to see Ben FRANKLIN and William PARSONS running through the streets together toting in each hand a green leather bucket filled with water.
On 3 March 1742 a charter was granted to the library and it became The Library Company of Philadelphia – the first successful lending library.6
Prior to the charter being granted, William took on another roll. In October of 1741 he was elected a member of the Common Council of Philadelphia.7 This was, as far as I can tell, his first venture with the PENN family.
Let’s back up a bit to 1730. William’s first professional surveys had been conducted in 1730. By 1734 he was a very active surveyor. He was so capable a surveyor that he caught the attention of Richard PETERS, who was in charge of the land office at that time. This was the relationship and circumstances that got him appointed to be Surveyor General which also occurred in 1741. William’s hard work – all those work-all-day-and-study-all-night years of his life – had finally paid off. His dream came true. Unfortunately, due to poor health, he would be forced to resign this position in 1748.
In 1743, Ben FRANKLIN organized the American Philosophical Society8 for which William PARSONS not only qualified but, at Ben’s request, became a charter member. Throughout all of these adventures – the Junto Club, the library & librarianship, the fire company, the Common Council, the Surveyor General appointment, and the American Philosophical Society, he maintained his shoemaking shop and also continued studying, conducted a wholesale general merchant business, and continued his literary, educational and political organizations.
But What About…
The extent of his adventures at such a young age is overwhelming. As overwhelming and exciting as his public life was, his private life was equally under-whelming. Johanna thought only of religion and continually sought new religious experiences. One author described her saying she “inherited the gloomy outlook of the pietists. Her restless, morbidly religious craving could not be satisfied.”9 The same author described Johanna as having bouts of despondence and joining each new sect with which she came into contact. I don’t fault Johanna for trying to find her way spiritually. However, as hard as William pursued his work and social life, Johanna pursued religion that hard or harder. It seemed they were going in opposite directions and each working as hard as they possibly could to go in those opposite directions. William seemingly had no sympathy or empathy for Johanna’s desires and she didn’t seem to have any for his either. Johanna bounced from her Pietist upbringing to the Tunkers to the “French Propehts” to being Separatist to being Agnostic to seeking out the Moravian Evangelists. While William was laser-focused on his goal, Johanna was floundering in her life and neither cared to help the other. Into this union, they brought six children – William Jr. (born about 1722), Johanna Grace (b. 1736), Juliana Sarah (b. 1738), Anna Mary “Molly”, and Susannah (who died, unmarried, the year before William died). They also had a daughter that died very young and was not named. Some historians say he also had a son named Robert and a daughter named Hannah.10, 11
The Moravians did not have a good reputation in Pennsylvania at that time and the men paying William’s wages didn’t necessarily favor the Moravians and from all these circumstances, William adopted his opinion of Moravians. When Johanna turned to the Moravians for spiritual solace, William hit his limit with her religious searching. Johanna and their older daughter had been going to services together. William put his foot down when Johanna involved the children. He told her she could choose the Moravians or him but he wouldn’t have her marring his good reputation by associating with the Moravians. Johanna chose the Moravians and, true to his word, William packed up the youngest two daughters and left in 1745.
The Foundation
I’ve laid out a pretty good foundation of William’s early and middle life. I’ll fill in some holes and finish his life in the next post. Whether you love William or hate him, his life was incredibly interesting. Like all of us, he has his faults. I’m looking forward to finishing his story in the next post. Like William, I hope you choose your dream and pursue it with gusto! I wish you all the best in your adventures.
Dream big,
Lisa @ Days of Our Lives Blog
Resources
Jordan, John W. “William Parsons. Surveyor General, and Founder of Easton, Pennsylvania.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 33, no. 3, 1909, pp. 340–46. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20085475. Accessed 10 Jun. 2022.
Weaver, Ethan Allen. Copies of Revolutionary War Letters Relating to Northampton County, PA. Easton Public Library, 1936.
Ancestry.com. A frontier village, pre-revolutionary Easton [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com. Operations Inc, 2005.Original data: Chidsey, Andrew Dwight,. A frontier village, pre-revolutionary Easton. Easton, Pa.: Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society, 1940.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junto_(club), accessed 10 June 2022.
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/becomingamer/ideas/text4/juntolibrary.pdf, accessed 10 June 2022.
https://librarycompany.org/about-lcp/, accessed 10 June 2022.
https://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid1002councilpetitions.pdf, accessed 10 June 2022.
https://www.amphilsoc.org/, accessed 10 June 2022.
Ancestry.com. A frontier village, pre-revolutionary Easton [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com. Operations Inc, 2005.Original data: Chidsey, Andrew Dwight,. A frontier village, pre-revolutionary Easton. Easton, Pa.: Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society, 1940.
Jordan, John W. “William Parsons. Surveyor General, and Founder of Easton, Pennsylvania.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 33, no. 3, 1909, pp. 340–46. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20085475. Accessed 10 Jun. 2022.
