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.
“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.
Happy Friday! I listened to a podcast episode today that I wanted to share with you to send you off into your Easter weekend celebrations. If you are your family’s keeper & teller of the stories, you may appreciate this podcast episode as much as I did. As I get older, I find myself thinking of my grandparents and great-grandparents more and more often and wishing I could speak to them again. As I gain more life experience, I appreciate who they were in their old age and I see their courage and wisdom more clearly. I understand better why they did the things they did. If this describes you as well, take a listen to The Moth. Their episode ‘The Wisdom of Elders’ is a great story and sometimes us storykeepers and storytellers need a chance to sit back and enjoy someone else’s story. So on this Friday, relax and enjoy a story. (And don’t worry, it doesn’t take a whole hour despite the name of the show. It only takes about 30 minutes.)
We confess and acknowledge one God alone, to whom alone we must cleave, whom alone we must serve, whom only we must worship, and in whom alone we put our trust.
Oil painting of John Knox preaching to a congregation. This image was found at ArtwareFineArt.com and the original painting was painted by Sir David Wilkie RA.
It’s that time of year again where I run short on time to write, so for a while I’ll switch to the monthly theme as opposed to the weekly theme. The March monthly theme is ‘worship’. I was initially looking at writing about Catholic worship to close out my Merrie Ole Englande series but as I was researching, I found a subject even better. The famous Reformation minister, Reverend John KNOX – after whom one of our grandsons is named. Initially, I thought we were directly related to John but as I began digging I realized we can only connect to him through his wives since his ancestral lineage is not reliable beyond his parents. John’s first wife, Margery BOWES, is my mom’s 5th cousin 15 times removed. Margery BOWES connects to us through my mom’s RITER line. John’s second wife, Margaret STEWART, is my dad’s 5th cousin 13 times removed. Margaret STEWART descended from James 1 King of Scotland as does my Dad’s DRAKE line.
The Stubbornly Independent Church
In a Masters thesis written by Tristan Rimmer from Louisiana State University, the reformed church was described as “a stubbornly independent Church”. I love that description. As Christians we are called to be stubbornly independent of this world in order to remain truly faithful to Christ. Plus, I’m just sort of partial to “stubbornly independent” having been that myself, having raised stubbornly independent children, and now having dachshunds which are most assuredly “stubbornly independent”!! I do highly recommend reading the entire thesis if you’re able. Tristan does a great job of describing the times of John Knox and events that were in play during his lifetime. You can find the Masters thesis at LSU Digital Commons. The reformed church was not just stubbornly independent. They were a full-on revolution in and of themselves. I’m sure it was an amazing and exciting time to be living (and those dresses!! Who wouldn’t want to wear one of those for a day?!). John KNOX was a leader in the movement, seemingly ‘stubbornly independent’ and a revolution in and of himself. He worked to spread the Gospel from his youth right up until he died.
John Knox
John KNOX was described as “a rather small man, with a well-knit body; he had a powerful face, with dark blue eyes under a ridge of eyebrow, high cheek-bones, and a long black beard which latterly turned gray.” This description was given later in John’s life in 1579 by his contemporary, Peter YOUNG. He was always a hard worker and preached 2 sermons on Sunday and three during the week. He had a strong sense of humor and a healthy does of sarcasm. He was eloquent. He described himself as “oppressed with melancholy”. (https://www.nndb.com/people/588/000094306/) An interesting side note: John used an alias when he was in danger or needed to stay incognito. He used the alias John SINCLAIR. SINCLAIR was his mother’s maiden name. (Britannica)
Historical gallery figurine of John KNOX. George S. Stuart Historical Figures. This guy’s figurines are on display at Museum of Ventura County in Ventura, California. He does interesting and beautiful work. Take some time to check out his website and then pop on over to Museum of Ventura County’s website and check out their virtual exhibits.
Little is known of John KNOX’s early years. However, in his school years John was academically inclined. In his time period this left him only one vocation – the priesthood. As a young man, he desired a quiet and studious life and future. What he got was quite the opposite. Given the stands he took as an adult, it may surprise you to learn that Knox was initially ordained as a Catholic priest in 1536. He worked as a Notary-Priest in the Diocese of St. Andrews in Scotland. In 1543 he was still working for the Diocese in this capacity. Rather than take up the traditional role of a priest in the Diocese, he became a tutor to the sons of Hugh DOUGLAS and also to the son of John COCKBURN. Both DOUGLAS and COCKBURN were both Reformers by this time so KNOX was being exposed to the faith when he was in their homes. There is no record of KNOX’s change of faith, only a change of heart and of life-direction. John met Reformation leader George WISHART shortly before WISHART was executed for his Reformist faith. By that time, WISHART was someone whom John admired greatly. (John was also influenced by Reformation leader Patrick HAMILTON).
Beginning in December of 1543, the Queen Mother Mary of Guise on behalf of Mary Queen of Scots (who was an infant at this time), along with the Catholic Cardinal David BEATON, decided to purge Scotland of the Protestant Reformists. The Protestants were seen as dangerous traitors who sided with England. I’m sure the religious aspect did not sit well with them either as they favored the Catholic faith. Also by this time, John KNOX had become WISHART’s bodyguard and traveled with him. In December of 1545, WISHART was seized and taken to the Castle of St. Andrew’s on David BEATON’s orders. KNOX was present and was prepared to defend and follow WISHART into his imprisonment but WISHART wouldn’t let him. KNOX avoided arrest because of WISHART’s advice to him to go back to tutoring. John took shelter with the DOUGLAS family for whom he had previously tutored.
Ruins of the Castle of St. Andrews in Scotland. Photo by Tom Parnell from Scottish Borders, Scotland – St Andrews Castle, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80188252.
After being imprisoned, George WISHART was burned on a stake in front of the castle wall on March 1st of 1546. If you ever make it to this castle, look for the brick with George’s initials on it. The brick marks the spot where George died. There is also now a plaque there to honor George WISHART.
Referring to the castle’s “bottle dungeon” John KNOX wrote, “Many of God’s children were imprisoned here.” After the death of George, George’s compatriots and supporters began to conspire against Cardinal David BEATON. On 26 May 1546 the Reformist conspirators gained entry into the castle by pretending they were there to help with the ongoing work being done on the castle. Once inside the castle, they hunted down the Cardinal, murdered him, and hung his naked body from his window at the front of the castle.
To be clear, John KNOX was not involved in the plotting nor in the murder. And lest you think Cardinal BEATON an innocent man of the cloth, George WISHART was not the first Protestant BEATON had captured and murdered for his faith. Additionally, Cardinal BEATON was not very popular because he was not a very moral person. He had fathered quite a few illegitimate children and had a long-standing affair at the time of his death. She was not his first affair either. He had 8 illegitimate children with his long-standing lover plus other illegitimate children with other women. He spent large amounts of the Church’s money as if it were his own. He obtained his power via his even-more-powerful uncle and made sure his children got all the best appointments in turn. People viewed him as the eiptome of all that was corrupt within the church. (Historic Environment Scotland blog)
After murdering BEATON, the Reformists took control of the castle and began the first Scottish Protestant congregation there. During the long siege, tunnels were dug beneath the castle by both the Crown and the Reformists. These tunnels are open to the public today.
The tunnels dug under Castle of St. Andrews during the siege. August Schwerdfeger photo found on Wikipedia.
John KNOX was not among the Protestant Reformers who initially took over the castle. He didn’t enter the castle until an armistice in April of 1547 at which point he served as the preacher of the garrison congregation. It was here that he preached his first sermons and began to be noticed for his excellence in this area. Not long after John became the garrison preacher, a French fleet arrived by sea and within 6 hours they’d destroyed the castle and taken the congregation as prisoners. KNOX was among the prisoners consigned to the galleys, meaning he was taken aboard a ship and kept as a prisoner there. As a galley prisoner, he became a slave. All day long he sat chained to a bench and he helped row the boat. An officer stood over the prisoners, whip in hand, ready to beat them at the slightest provocation. KNOX was well aware that taking on the mantle of Christ as a Protestant Reformer likely meant a difficult life ended by a gruesome death. He was willing to make the sacrifice.
KNOX was prone to tell personal anecdotes in the third person so the following story he told may well be a story about himself. The incident happened while he was a galley prisoner/slave:
A prisoner/slave was required by officers ‘to show devotion to a picture of the Virgin Mary. The prisoner was told to give it a kiss of veneration. He refused and when the picture was pushed up to his face, the prisoner seized the picture and threw it into the sea, saying, ‘Let our Lady now save herself: she is light enough: let her learn to swim.’
Wikipedia, quoting from Geddes MacGregor’s book The Thundering Scot.
John was released from the galley-prison in February 1549 after 19 months of imprisonment there. After his release he took refuge in England. Later in 1549 he was licensed to work with the Church of England. Here he met his first wife, Margery BOWES. In 1551 he was appointed as one of 6 royal chaplains serving the King. In 1554, due to increasing persecution, John traveled to Geneva, Switzerland where he met John CALVIN. He questioned CALVIN in regard to some issues where politics and religion intersected and CALVIN seemed guarded in his answers. Soon after, John was invited to Germany to pastor and he went. There was immediate conflict in regard to religious theology. John sought CALVIN’s advice and the advice was to avoid conflict, so John did just that. However, the next influx of refugees into Frankfurt brought more conflict and within 6 months of arriving, John was asked to leave. Shortly after that John returned to his wife, Margery, in Scotland. He found Scotland to be different from what it was when he was captured and taken prisoner. He moved around the country and preached Reformed doctrine and was welcomed, even by nobility. He did, however, draw the attention of the Catholic authorities. They summoned him to appear in Edinburgh for trial. He was accompanied to the trial by so many influential people that the Catholic authorities decided to call off the trial.
Far be it from John to stay out of trouble, though. In 1558 he wrote a treatise regarding the abomination of wicked female rulers. (You can read it online here.) Because this piece would be considered seditious, he published it anonymously. Now in danger of a show trial followed by immediate execution, KNOX found himself a fugitive from his home country when he was deemed an outlaw and his treatise condemned. He preached a sermon there anyway. The sermon incited a riot which in turn brought the army into town. The sermon that grew into a riot, then grew into a war which spread over Scotland and grew into a revolution. The sudden death of the queen in 1560 opened a path for a peace treaty. By December of that year, John’s first wife was also dead leaving him with two small children to care for. He eventually remarried to a much younger Margaret STEWART which caused upheaval in the Church. He continued to have disagreements with Queen Mary and was called before her at least 4 times and there was at least one time where a Council voted on whether he had committed treason or sedition.
Simon Sidley’s painting of John Knox and Mary Queen of Scots. Image found at artuk.org.
His own actions put him in a position similar to Paul the Apostle where he had opportunity to speak with the Queen about what was godly. It also did not endear him to the governing body.
Amen
Arise, O Lord, and let thine enemies be confounded; let them flee from thy presence that hate thy godly Name. Give thy servants strength to speak thy Word with boldness, and let all nations cleave to the true knowledge of thee. Amen.
When my son Derek was alive I never asked him why he named his son after John KNOX. There was a lot going on at the time and then my son passed away suddenly when his son was about 6 months old. I asked my daughter-in-law if she could tell me why they chose that name. She’s very busy homeschooling the boys but she mentioned something about an axe and a sermon. After doing multiple online searches, here is the best I can come up with for that.
One of the common themes throughout John KNOX’s ministry was that of justification by faith. John said “it was the axe which he laid to the root of the Roman tree so as to demolish it, rather than just lopping off the branches by attacking the errors in doctrine and practice which sprang from that root.” The axe and roots analogy references Matthew 3:10 and Isaiah 10:33. You can read this and more about the topic at Banner of Truth. John also once described himself to his first wife like this, “I don’t anticipate a smooth life in the future, and I’ll never be popular, because God has made me like an ax to chop down the trees before finer tools – other servants of God – can more artfully craft their wood.” (BibleTruthPublishers.com)There is much about John KNOX’s life that would have appealed to Derek and it’s no surprise to me that he chose to use John’s name when naming his own son. In fact, I saw a lot of John’s boldness and Christ-centeredness in Derek.
Upon John’s death, it was said of him, “Here lies one who never feared any flesh.” He was described by several with phrases such as “one who had neither flattered nor feared any flesh”. Shortly before his death John himself wrote, “What I have been to my country, though this unthankful age will not know, yet the ages to come will be compelled to bear witness to the truth.” Nobility were not so much afraid of John in his lifetime as they were afraid of his ideas. In the end, his ideas won although it would take over 100 more years for Reformed theology to be solidly established in Scotland.
Covenanter has links to several letters John wrote and some published pieces he wrote, in case you’re interested in reading what John wrote. If you wish to know more about John, Christian History Institute has an entire issue devoted to John KNOX. It doesn’t seem to be a very positive issue from the bits that I’ve read, but it’s out there and it never hurts to get multiple perspectives. Just click on the titles of each article and it will take you to the article so you can read it.
I am thankful that John Wilkinson took the time to research and write a medical history of John KNOX. If you’re interested in family medical history, this is the piece for you! You can find it in Volume 28 of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh’s journal or at their website. It’s a professional journal so the article is very well documented and well written. At some point this article became part of a larger book entitled, The Medical History of the Reformers in case you’re interested in trying to find a print copy.
On his deathbed, John asked his wife to read a portion of the Bible he called “where I cast my first anchor” which consisted of John chapters 14-17. I will end with a “bookends” quote from John 14-17 because the passages are poignant and I love them and because I know my son loved these passages as well and he is the one who first introduced us to the Reformers.
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.
Jesus speaking to his disciples, The Holy Bible, John 14:1-4, English Standard Version
…Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent…O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Jesus praying “The High Priestly Prayer”, The Holy Bible, John 17:1-3, 25-26, English Standard Version
This week’s theme is ‘females’. I woke up cranky today, much like my maternal 14th great-grandmother, Agnes TILNEY HOWARD about whom I’ll be writing today. Agnes is my ancestor through my BATES line and her second husband, Thomas HOWARD, is my 14th great-grandfather. I descend through their son, William HOWARD, 1st Baron of Effingham and his wife Margaret GAMAGE (my 13th great-grandparents).
If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you know that I write these stories for my daughter and grandchildren so that when I’m gone, they won’t lose their history. I’m banking on the fact that the internet really is “forever”. In regard to this story, if there’s a lesson here for my grandsons I think it would be that what you do when you’re young really does matter. The decisions you make tell others who you really are and whether you’re trustworthy. The actions you take (and the decisions you make) can have life altering consequences. As my grandpa said, do what’s right – always. That way you have nothing to worry about.
Agnes Tilney
I want to set the stage by listing various descriptions of Agnes that I’ve found online. She was described as ‘old and testy’, ‘stiff-necked’, ‘old-fashioned’, had an ‘acid tongue’ and a ‘fiery temper’, a stubborn streak regarding certain issues, disregard for the refinements of high society, total disdain for courtly etiquette, rigidly religious, ‘old and unwell’, near death (she was very ill when she was arrested and she did die just two years after she was released and pardoned). Under this façade though, lay a shrewdness and knowledge of the ways of the world – street smarts, if you will. Not to mention, all of her testiness and her ‘acid tongue’ kept her from going to trial until the king’s anger had subsided – which saved her life. The king & the Council felt Agnes “may die out of perversity to defraud the King’s Highness of the confiscation of her goods” so they didn’t want to put her on trial. Instead, they chose not to deal with her. They indicted her and confiscated her property for the Crown without a trial. (Wikipedia)
Agnes TILNEY’s family was a powerful and wealthy family in England in her day. She also married into money and power. She was one of the wealthiest and highest ranking women in the country outside of the Royal family. Agnes was first appointed a position at Court when she was 15 years old.
Her name, her husband’s name, and her son’s name (all my direct ancestors) are mentioned in the book, A Chronicle of the Kings of England from the Time of the Romans Government Unto the Death of King James. (JSTOR) See image below.
Mention of Thomas HOWARD, Agnes TILNEY HOWARD, and William HOWARD in A Chronicle of the Kings of England from the Time of the Romans Government Unto the Death of King James.
The paragraph reads in part:
…William Lord HOWARD of Effingham, son of that warlike Thomas HOWARD Duke of Norfolk by his second wife Agnes TILNEY. This William was made a Baron by Queen Mary and Lord High Admiral of England, and by Queen Elizabeth Lord Chamberlain, till such time that being take with age, he yielded up that place to the Earl of Sussex, and was then made keeper of the Privy Seal, which is the fourth degree of honour in England.
JSTOR, A Chronicle of the Kings of England from the Time of the Romans Government Unto the Death of King James.
When not serving in Court or at devotions, she ran a lax home with ineffectual discipline for the many single women and children who lived with her. She often neglected her familial duties to attend court or devotions. This decision would come back to haunt her in the end.
Agnes TILNEY HOWARD, Duchess of Norfolk. Image found at The History Jar blog.
Agnes’ second marriage was to Thomas HOWARD. In marrying him, she became the step-grandmother to two queens – Anne BOLEYN and Katherine HOWARD- and a step-great-grandmother to Princess Elizabeth TUDOR. Agnes’ great fortune happened when her husband Thomas gained victory over the Scots at Flodden Field (thus the description of ‘warlike’ in the Chronicles of the Kings of England). Thomas was rewarded with the title of Duke of Norfolk the following year which made Agnes, Duchess of Norfolk. There are conflicting reports as to whether Agnes enjoyed being the high society “hostess with the mostest”. The same year she was given the title of Duchess, she was chosen to accompany Princess Mary Rose TUDOR to France for Mary’s wedding to King Louis XII. She was chosen as godmother to King Henry VIII’s oldest daughter Mary. She was explicitly trusted by King Henry’s top advisors and was something of an apothecary. She was also one of Queen Catalina de Aragon’s top ladies-in-waiting, second only to the King’s sister, Mary. King Henry’s next wife, Anne BOLEYN, was a relative of Agnes TILNEY HOWARD. Agnes bore the train of Anne’s wedding dress at Anne’s coronation in 1533 so it seems as if Agnes weathered the transition between queens and was able to keep her position in the Court. Later, Agnes held King Henry’s and Queen Anne’s daughter, Princess Elizabeth, at her baptism. Apparently, due to the customs of the day, Anne BOLEYN’s failure to produce a male heir was a large stain on the family’s reputation.
As a widow, Agnes presided over the manors at Horsham and Chesworth.
Chesworth Manor still exists and it is gorgeous inside and out! I encourage you to go look at a few interior photos at CountryLife where I found this exterior photo. You can find additional interior photos at DailyMail and a few more exterior shots at The Gentleman’s Journal. The Tudor Travel Guide gives a lot of history about the building.
At Chesworth Manor, Agnes had a school to instruct the the young relatives and single women of nobility in her home. She had been given guardianship of some of her step-grandchildren (including the future queen, Katherine). She also had many single women of noble birth living in her home and acting as her ladies-in-waiting while they attended school; she also employed and housed some relatives who were in need.
Agnes was said to be “rigidly religious” yet had no time (or took no time?) to watch over the children and ensure they learned (and maintained) moral standards. To be fair, she was trying to manage 24+ properties, attend Queens as a lady-in-waiting, fulfill the social duties of a woman in her social class, give back to the community, do her religious duties, and raise many children who weren’t her own. Some say that despite her outward expression of religion, inwardly she tolerated and was amused by the antics of youth. That included the antics of the Duchess’ step-granddaughter (and future Queen), 13-year-old Katherine HOWARD, along with some of Katherine’s siblings who had been in Agnes’ care from a very young age due to their mother’s death. Agnes likely knew what was going on behind closed doors and kept her mouth shut about it.
When Katherine came to the Duchess’ home, Mary LASCELLES came with her and was made the chamberer to the Duchess. Mary LASCELLES was in an even better position to observe what the youth of the home were doing and she became alarmed when the music teacher, Henry MANOX, began paying a lot of extra attention to 13-year-old Katherine. Mary warned MANOX that Katherine’s family would ruin him if they found out and he basically told Mary to mind her own business. Katherine grew tired of Henry MANOX and soon moved on to Francis DEREHAM. Agnes was not prone to meddle in others’ lives and ladies as young as 14 years old were often married off in her society so it’s possible that Agnes viewed Katherine as an adult who could make her own decisions. Agnes only required that her household guests outwardly display the appearance of conforming to moral standards. What went on behind closed doors was not her concern. She kept herself busy maintaining multiple large (and disorganized) properties, fending off the continual requests from poorer relatives for money, not to mention her son Williams’ constant demands for more money and advances on his inheritance. Don’t think that she was not giving of her money and time. As one of the richest women in the realm, she did much to support people in the surrounding countryside who needed help. She cared for sick neighbors using her honed apothecary skills as well.
Henry MANOX soon became tired of being neglected and rebuffed by Katherine. He wrote an anonymous letter to Agnes advising her that there were things going on in her home of which she would not approve and suggesting she look into the situation. However, he named no names and doesn’t seem to have been very specific because Agnes didn’t associate the letter with Katherine and instead castigated her servants for their negligence in maintaining an appropriate outward appearance. However, Katherine saw the letter and knew exactly to whom and to what it referred. Katherine stole the letter from Agnes and showed it to Francis who flew into a rage at Henry. Henry found another woman soon afterward, married her, and disappeared. Lord William and his wife were not so blind, though. They knew what was going on – possibly because it’s said William was having an affair with one of Katherine’s roommates. Both William and his wife Margaret warned Katherine to stop.
Meanwhile King Henry VIII took a fourth wife and Katherine was appointed as one of the new Queen’s ladies-in-waiting. King Henry immediately took a liking to Katherine and not long after, he sought an annulment from Anne of Cleves. Queen Anne’s lawyers made that difficult for King Henry and the King finally gave her some of the things she was asking for (including property) in order to get the annulment. King Henry soon married Katherine. In the background, Agnes and her stepson Thomas were encouraging and advising the King to marry Katherine. In fact, Thomas was the one who had made arrangements for Katherine to become a lady-in-waiting in the hopes of improving his chances of political ascendancy. He was soon backpedaling on his knowledge of Queen Katherine and her private life, though.
Around this time Agnes’ nephew, Philip TILNEY, died. He was in debt when he died. He left behind a wife, Malyn CHAMBRE TILNEY, and a son, Edmund TILNEY. Agnes promised to help Malyn and Edmund. (For reference, Philip was my 1st cousin 15 times removed and Edmund was my 2nd cousin 14 times removed.) Malyn became a chambermaid to Queen Katherine so I’m assuming this was one avenue of assistance that Agnes (and Thomas) provided for her. Sadly, it would not work out well for Malyn. She was convicted of Misprision of Treason, and imprisoned. Initially I believed the part she played in all this was to help set up the trysts between Thomas CULPEPER and Queen Katherine. However, it is certain that Lady Joan BOLEYN of Rochford was in that role and she was beheaded whereas Malyn was released from prison and pardoned. So perhaps Malyn’s crime was that she knew it was happening and didn’t tell. Once she was convicted, everything she had left was confiscated for the Crown. After Queen Katherine was executed, Malyn was released from prison and pardoned by the King.
Not long after their marriage, the King was advised of Katherine’s previous trysts. He began investigating. Agnes, in an effort to protect herself and her family, destroyed many of the letters kept in the house by Francis DEREHAM. She actually went to his quarters and stole the letters so she could destroy them! Mary LASCELLES (now married and going by Mary HALL) advised the King’s high-ranking enemies of Katherine’s previous affairs. Mary’s and her brother John’s testimony was taken. Katherine didn’t help herself at all because, having grown tired of her old husband, she was in the middle of an affair with Thomas CULPEPER, one of the King’s most trusted servants. Trouble was coming.
When her current affair came to light and she confessed, it was the end for Katherine. But it wasn’t just the end for Katherine, she took many of her inner circle with her, although not intentionally. The King began arresting her family members and close friends. More than 10 members of the HOWARD family ended up in prison over this. They were arrested on charges of Misprision of Treason – that is, treason (very loosely interpreted on many occasions under King Henry VIII) by concealing the affairs from the King and hurting his reputation in the kingdom. The people taken into custody included Agnes, Agnes’ son (and my 13th great-grandfather) William and his wife Margaret, Agnes’ daughter Catherine (one of Queen Katherine’s chambermaids), and many more. The Tower was so full of prisoners, it’s said that the remainder of the prisoners had to be housed on other Crown property. This was not the first time the HOWARD family had been treated like this under King Henry VIII. Agnes was so certain she would be executed that she had her will updated quickly before going to prison. (JSTOR, The Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Winter, 1982), pp. 3-16 (14 pages))
A modern photo of the Tower of London. Photo is found at the Historic Royal Palaces website. I highly recommend going to the website and checking it out.
The major order of business for Parliament in 1542 was Katherine and her affairs as well as the treason said to have been committed by her family. The majority of HOWARD and TILNEY family members were sentenced as such: “their bodies to perpetual prison” (i.e., life in prison) and “loss of goods” (forfeiture of all property to the Crown). Bills of Attainder were filed and the family’s lands were confiscated by the Crown. Agnes TILNEY HOWARD and her daughter Catherine were among the last to be tried. By then, some of the turmoil had died down. Agnes and her daughter Catherine were indicted for Misprision of Treason. There are conflicting accounts as to whether they were convicted or not. Their property was seized by the Crown but they weren’t executed. Advisors to the king presented Agnes as a an old lady who was very afraid and had a heavy conscience due to her guilt of hiding Katherine’s indiscretions from the King and encouraging him to marry her. They pleaded with the king to release Agnes and let her live out her life. They told him she was near death anyway and he should allow her to live out her remaining time in her home. They were persuasive.
Eventually, Agnes’ daughter Catherine was released from prison and pardoned. Agnes’ daughter-in-law Margaret (one of Queen Catherine’s ladies-in-waiting and also the wife of William HOWARD & my 13th great-grandmother), was released from prison within two months and pardoned. William (my 13th great-grandfather and husband of Margaret) was released and pardoned in August of the same year. Queen Katherine and two other women were convicted and then executed by guillotine. The following year, Agnes was finally released from prison and pardoned. Her stepson Thomas, who had immediately distanced himself from the family was never returned to his position in Court. Two years later Agnes died. She was buried at Thetford Priory. In November of that year (1545) in accordance with her wishes, her remains were re-interred at Lambeth. When Agnes went into prison she had at least 24 manors plus other properties. When she died, these properties returned to the dukedom. I’m not sure what happened with the seizure of property by the Crown. However the following year her stepson Thomas, who had previously distanced himself from the entire family, was in possession of the properties and the title of Duke. Given how he treated Agnes, I doubt he allowed Agnes to return to any of the properties after she was released from the Tower.
Further Reading
I wanted to post a few interesting links for you. The blogger Janet Wertman states that Agnes begged for mercy. You can read Janet’s blog post about it here (it includes the text of what Agnes said). She also wrote a post with the text of the letter that Thomas HOWARD wrote to the King throwing Queen Katherine, some of his half-siblings, and his stepmother Agnes under the bus (right before he got out of town to avoid being arrested). In the letter he calls his family ‘ungracious’, ‘unhappy’, ‘lewd’, and ‘traitorous’ and shoves all the blame for the marriage of Henry and Katherine onto his stepmother Agnes. To be fair, Thomas had had a previous run-in with the King and I’m sure he feared for his life when he threw his step-mother under the bus in his letter. Still, it feels somewhat restorative to know he never regained his cushy position in the Court after doing that to his family in an effort to save himself. I can think of a few terms for Thomas but I’ll let you read the letter and come to your own conclusions about him. You can find more of the letters and papers of King Henry VIII at the British History Online website. The final two links are especially for my daughter. Blogger Arnie Perlstein wrote two blog posts connecting Agnes TILNEY HOWARD’s story to the novelist Jane Austen. You can find part one here and part two here.
Thomas CULPEPER (distantly related to the HOWARD family – beheaded) and Francis DEREHAM (of TILNEY family descent – hung, drawn & quartered) were put to death. Their heads were hung on London Bridge. Queen Katherine (a HOWARD family member) and Lady Jane BOLEYN of Rochford (a HOWARD family member) were beheaded as well. You can access all the resources I studied by clicking the links in the ‘Resources Used’ section below.
Thanks for sticking with me through the Merry Old England series. I’ve enjoyed it but I’m looking forward to bringing the blog back to U.S. subjects. Since the majority of the people I’ve written about in this series were Catholic, I’ll leave you with a portion of a Catholic blessing:
To us who are alive may He grant forgiveness, and to all who have died a place of light and peace. Amen.
Liturgical Blessing for the Commemoration for the Dead
Photo Friday is a bonus post. I’ve been doing some research outside of what I’m writing about on the blog. I’ve made some potential discoveries that I’d like your input on. Let me know what you think in the comments.
Mystery #1: Emily Hennig Photo + A Mystery Photo
I’ve written about Emily HENNIG before here and here. She is potentially a great-grandma on my dad’s side. According to my grandma Emily was possibly a great-grandmother somewhere along the line but I have no information as to which line or how far back. I’ve posted Emily’s photo before but I’ll post it here for you again.
Emily HENNIG. A photo given to me by my grandmother.
I’ve been doing some research in preparation for a new project. In the process I came across an unidentified photo in Scott HANEY’s HENNIG family history and the woman in his photo resembles my Emily HENNIG. I don’t think they’re the same woman but I think my HENNIG and his (who’s family name morphed into HANEY) match closely enough that it warrants a closer look. While I’m digging into our HENNIG connection, I wanted you to see the resemblance. Scott has referred me to another researcher so I’m continuing to follow up on this photo.
Unidentified woman; HENNIG/HANEY line.
I don’t believe this is the same woman nor do I believe they’re sisters but I think they could easily be cousins. Let me know what you think in the comments. Just for ease, below is a side-by-side comparison so you don’t have to keep scrolling.
Side-by-side comparison. I’m not the best at facial recognition so I may be off.
Mystery #2: Nicholas Reiter + Augustus Nicholas Reuter
The next photo comparison is my mom’s line. My 2x great grandfather Nicholas REITER has been a long-time mystery for me. I’ve written about Nicholas quite a bit:
His marriage to Sarah DAVIS here (This is very much my old style of writing from way back in the beginning of this blog but still worth a look.)
Progress on the REITER line (or lack thereof) here
REITER is another line that frustrates me to no end and has for decades. This week I was comparing photos and found an intriguing photo. The first photo below is a photo of my 2nd great grandfather, Nicholas REITER.
Nicholas REITER – a photo I got from my mom and she got from her mom.
The next image is a photo of Augustus Nicholas REUTER (REUTER is a variation of REITER). Joe HEWELL originally shared this photo on Ancestry. This does NOT look like my Nicholas to me but you’ll see why I’m sharing it in a moment.
Augustus Nicholas REUTER, photo uploaded to Ancestry by Joe HEWELL.
This next photo is also tagged as Augustus Nicholas REUTER and was originally uploaded to Ancestry by Nancy WIBLE. This photo does look like my Nicholas so my hope is perhaps I’ve finally found the right family.
August Nicholas REUTER photo uploaded to Ancestry by Nancy WIBLE.
As I did above, I’ll put the 3 photos side by side so you can easily compare. Let me know what you think in the comments.
The two photos on the outer edges are the photos of Augustus Nicholas REUTER. The center photo is my Nicholas REITER.
I don’t believe that either of the first two men look like the third man even though the first and third man are labeled as the same man. Maybe it’s just me, though – I’m terrible at facial recognition.
In any case, the search continues. I hope you all have a great weekend!
Today’s theme is ‘landed’. There were many directions to take with this theme but I chose to stick with Merry Old England and talk about my ‘landed gentry’. The research for this post did not start out with William SHAKESPEARE nor will it dwell on him but it was a pleasant discovery while working on my landed gentry line of ARDEN. While researching the ARDEN family, I discovered that my 15th great-grandmother had a sister named Mary. Mary married John SHAKESPEARE and their son was William SHAKESPEARE…the William SHAKESPEARE. I was not expecting to encounter him at all when I began the research for this post. In fact, I already had a short list of candidates for this blog post but his discovery pretty much solidified this family’s place in my blog for today. For background: this is my dad’s line. My 15th great-grandmother Margaret ARDEN married Alexander WEBB. They lived in England for the entirety of their lives. As so often occurs with my dad’s more famous kin, we connect to the ARDENs and SHAKESPEAREs through my great-grandma Edith HUBBARD DRAKE’s line.
Landed gentry is defined as land owners who owned a sufficient amount of property that they could live off the rents they collected on the properties. The landed gentry were one step down from the ‘Titled Nobility’ class. They had property and money and enjoyed lavish lifestyles but they weren’t nobility. Still, they didn’t have to do manual labor to make money and they enjoyed posh lifestyles. You can read a more in-depth explanation at Nobility Titles website if you’re interested.
The Warwickshire Ardens
The ARDEN family of England is one of only two English families able to trace their male lineage back to pre-Norman, Anglo-Saxon times. (Just for reference, Wikipedia says there are 3 English families that are able to do this.) The other family is the BERKELEY family to whom we are also related. (https://selectsurnames.com/arden/) (Wikipedia adds the SWINTON family to whom we are also related.) The ARDENs were among the first families of England to take surnames. They called themselves ARDEN “after the royal forest of that name in which their property lay” (Landed Families blog) – the Forest of Arden in Warwickshire, England (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arden_family). Side note: SHAKESPEARE features the Forest of Arden in his work, As You Like It. You can read more about this and about various locations in the original Forest of Arden at the National Trust website. In case you don’t recall it, the Forest of Arden, William SHAKESPEARE, and Warwickshire, England (as well as the National Trust) played a part in a previous blog post. You can find that post here and it contains bits of information on all 4 of mine and Bart’s grandparents’ lines.
To make a long story somewhat shorter, The ARDEN family maintained landed gentry status until 1890. There were times when their properties were seized by the Crown but the family was always able to buy back some portion of the land and therefore was also able to retain their landed gentry social class. The properties were maintained, built upon, demolished, etc. throughout the generations
Margaret Arden and Alexander Webb
The first ARDEN in my line is my paternal 15th great-grandmother, Margaret ARDEN. Margaret was born about 1538 in Warwickshire. She married Alexander WEBB. Margaret’s sister, Mary, was the mother of William SHAKESPEARE. Margaret died in 1608. Because Margaret’s line is so confused on the internet, I tried to sort it out as best I could. What follows is the correct family tree as far as I can tell.
Margaret ARDEN’s parents were Robert de ARDEN of Wilmcote (abt. 1492-1556) and his wife Mary Agnes WEBB (1512-1550). (Remember Mary Agnes. She’ll return in just a minute.) Each of them connect to the ARDEN family so I’ll start with the paternal line:
Robert de ARDEN’s parents were Sir Thomas de ARDEN of Wilmcote and his wife Jane (maiden name unknown)
Sir Thomas de ARDEN of Wilmcote’s parents were Walter de ARDEN (abt. 1437-1502) and Eleanor HAMPDEN (remember this couple)
Now Margaret’s maternal line:
Margaret’s mother was Mary Agnes WEBB (1512-1550) and Mary Agnes’ parents were Sir John Alexander WEBB (1484-1516) and his wife Margaret de ARDEN (abt. 1500-?) (this Margaret is the 1st cousin of my Margaret the daughter of Robert)
Margaret de ARDEN’s (the 1st cousin of my Margaret) parents were John de ARDEN (1469-1563) and Alice BRACEBRIDGE
John de ARDEN’s parents were Walter de ARDEN (abt. 1437-1502) and Eleanor HAMPDEN (the same couple above who were also the parents of Sir Thomas de ARDEN.)
Lady Margaret de ARDEN WEBB, 1st cousin of my Margaret ARDEN WEBB. Image found at FamilySearch.
So Sir Thomas de ARDEN of Wilmcote and John de ARDEN of Park Hall were brothers. My original Margaret ARDEN’s father (Robert) married his 1st cousin once removed – Mary Agnes WEBB (the child of his 1st cousin). I hope that makes sense!! Relationships such as this were not uncommon and children were often married off as very young children (even as toddlers) and then held by the family until they were teens, at which point they were ‘given’ to their spouse. The social status of the families was the most important issues. It was critical that ‘good’ matches were made. And by ‘good’, I mean ‘good for the social standing of the family’. Such were the times.
John de Arden of Park Hall
John de ARDEN of Park Hall (abt. 1460-1526) was our 18th great-grandfather through Margaret ARDEN WEBB’s maternal line. He married Alice BRACEBRIDGE. He was the Esquire of the Body to King Henry VII. In other words, he was the personal attendant to King Henry VII. He was a valet. He waited on the King, looked after the King’s clothes and personal effects, dressed and undressed the King, and could function as a personal secretary. He was someone the King trusted and the only person allowed to touch the King. It was a position of great honor and also afforded the person great influence over the King due to the close relationship they shared. This position was a common first step to higher-level political offices.
I wish I could tell you more about John’s brother (and our 17th great grandfather) Thomas de ARDEN but there has been little documentation found for him and there are many who argue that it can’t be proven that he’s a son of Walter. Because of this, I’ll be sticking to Margaret’s maternal line since it is very well established thanks to SHAKESPEARE researchers.
Walter de Arden of Park Hall
Next in the line is John’s father, Walter. Walter married Eleanor HAMPDEN. Walter was still young when his father, Robert, was executed – young enough that he required a guardian. I don’t know who was appointed to care for him but about 1457 he married Eleanor HAMPDEN. When Walter’s dad was executed, the Crown confiscated his dad’s land. Walter was able to recover his father’s property from the King.
Robert de Arden of Park Hall
The next generation back is Walter’s father, Robert de ARDEN (abt. 1412-abt. 1452). Robert’s father died when Robert was about 8 years old. Afterward, Robert was given to Lady Joan BERGAVENNY to raise. I believe this Lady Joan BERGAVENNY is my maternal 4th cousin 20 times removed.
Robert married Elizabeth CLODSHALL . Robert was Sheriff of Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1437. During the War of the Roses, Robert sided with the Yorkists. He was captured by the Lancastrians and executed, at which point his land was forfeited to the Crown. Properties that he owned included the Park Hall estate which he had inherited from his father at his father’s death. He also inherited the manors of Wappenham and Sulgrave when his uncles died but he sold those in 1439. He bought the manors of Saltley and Water Orton (Warwickshire) and Pedmore in Worcestershire, not to be confused with Peddimore Hall near Birmingham which the de ARDEN’s also owned. Robert was executed at Ludlow in 1452.
Sir Ralph de Arden of Park Hall, Knight
Robert’s parents were Ralph (d. 1420) and Sybil de ARDEN. Ralph was an esquire of the Earl of Warwick. Wikipedia describes the title of Esquire as a “courtesy title” and says, “In the United Kingdom, Esquire historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman and below the rank of knight. Some sources cite that the title was bestowed on ‘candidates for knighthood in England,’ and even used with respect to other dignitaries, such as justices of the peace, sheriffs, and sergeants.” (Wikipedia) I’m not sure if this applies to Ralph in this case. Other sites describe an Esquire as much like the position of “Esquire of the Body” like John de ARDEN was to King Henry VII. Esquire is a rank below ‘Knight’ but eventually Ralph was able to attain the rank of Knight. The title of Knight basically indicated a professional soldier. Ralph inherited the Park Hall estate and other lands from his father upon his father’s death. He allowed his mother and brothers to live in the manors of Wappenham and Sulgrave for the duration of their lives. These two manors were passed to his son Robert when he died.
Last: Sir Henry de Arden of Park Hall, Knight
The last ancestral couple we’ll talk about in this post is Sir Henry de ARDEN, Knight (d. abt. 1400) and his wife, Ellen. Henry was the youngest son of Ralph de ARDEN of Curdworth and his wife, Isabel de BROMWICH. Henry was a member of Parliament from 1381-1382. Henry married Ellen (maiden name unknown). They had three sons. Two died with no heirs. Henry purchased the manor of Sulgrave in 1371 and Park Hall in 1373. He purchased Park Hall from Sir John de BOTETOURT of Weoley Castle. He purchased it “free of all service save the presentation of a red rose once a year” on the Feast of John the Baptist on 24 June. (Birmingham History site; Landed Families blog) That seems to be an odd stipulation for the sale but in researching it, I think the stipulation may have something to do with a tradition called The Knollys Rose Ceremony. You can read more about it at the link.
In 1380 Henry acquired his father’s estate in Curdworth and Minworth from his niece. He died about 1400. He left behind his widow and three sons and his property passed to the eldest son, and our 22nd great grandfather (or 21st if you’re counting from Margaret’s paternal line), Sir Ralph de ARDEN of Park Hall.
I’m going to leave the de ARDENs right here at Park Hall – a place they felt at home. I’ve enjoyed learning about them and telling you all about them as well.
