The Richards family, as descended from Nicholas Richards, a coal miner who emigrated from England to Shamokin, Pennsylvania, is now entering its seventh generation in the United States. The members of the Richards family who are descendants of Nicholas’ grandson, William Henry Richards, have expanded across the United States from the Pennsylvania anthracite region.

Nicholas Richards was born between 1820 and 1830 in England, where both of his parents were also born. He married Sarah E., who was born in Pennsylvania between 1831 and 1836. Sarah’s parents were also born in Pennsylvania. The range of birth dates is due to inconsistent information in various census records

Nicholas and Sarah’s eldest known son James was born in 1855, so it is estimated that Nicholas immigrated sometime around 1850 and married Sarah shortly thereafter. The 1870 and 1880 U.S. censuses show Nicholas and Sarah living in Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania and document that Nicholas was a coal miner. At the time of the 1880 census Nicholas had not worked during the previous year due to asthma. Shamokin cemetery records indicate that he died that same year and give the cause of his death as being miner’s consumption. Nicholas is buried in an unmarked grave in the Shamokin public cemetery.

Sarah remarried about 1885 to Philip Meyer, who was born in Germany in 1860 and became a naturarized citizen in 1880. At the time of the 1900 census they were living in Shamokin with Sarah’s youngest son, George E. That census indicated that Sarah had 14 children, 8 of whom were living in 1900.

From the 1870 and 1880 census records and Shamokin cemetery records we know something about ten children born to Nicholas and Sarah. Two of these ten children died in their first year of infancy. The children were:

James, born in 1855;

Herbert W., born in 1859;

Charles S., born in 1863;

William H., born in 1866;

Goben R., born in 1867;

Nicholas, born and died in 1870;

Dora, born in 1873;

John F., born in 1875;

An unnamed child, born and died in 1877;

George E., born in 1879.

Other than James, our knowledge of the sons and daughters of Nicholas and Sarah E. Richards is limited. We do not know of the four additional children refered to in the 1900 census. Since none other than George were living with Philip and Sarah Richards Meyer, it is likely they were all children of Nicholas, unless Sarah had been married more than twice. Unless one or more were older than James and had moved away before 1870, it would be assumed all had died in infancy and were not included in censuses.

Herbert W. Richards married Fredericka E. and lived until 1909. They appear in Shamokin in the 1900 census with a 17 year old daughter, Lottie. Fredericka was born in Pennsylvania and both of her parents were born in Germany. They had five other children, all of whom had died before 1900. Herbert is buried in the Shamokin cemetery. The cemetery records indicate that he died of tuberculosis. William H. Richards is also buried in the Shamokin cemetery, having died in 1941 of influenza/pneumonia. Two of the known children of Nicholas and Sarah Richards who died in infancy are also buried in the Shamokin cemetery.

Goben R. Richards married Emma, born in 1871, in 1888 and they had three children, John, Philip, and Mary. They were living at 29 S. 2^nd Street in Shamokin at the time of the 1900 census.

James Richards, the eldest child of Nicholas and Sarah E. Richards, married Ida Schlagel and was a coal miner in Shamokin. By the 1900 census, Ida was living at 428 North Chestnut Street in Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania. According to that census, Ida was a widow and six of James and her nine children were living. Four (William, George, Howard and Florence) were with her in the three story twin home which is still standing to this day. We know nothing of three of the children who passed away in infancy. Another child, Daniel, born in 1887, died of croup at the age of three, and was buried in the Shamokin cemetery, within his uncle Herbert W. Richards’ plot, in 1891. The fact that as many as six of Nicholas and Sarah’s children and four of James and Ida’s children passed away in early childhood is testament to the conditions and high infant mortality in the nineteenth century Pennsylvania coal mining regions.

There is some speculation within the Richards family, as relayed by Sheila Devine Larkin from her mother Violet Richards Devine (James and Ida’s granddaughter) that Ida was not widowed in 1900, but that James had left the family to pursue copper mining in Colorado. James had evidently done well in this venture and on his death had a significant estate to pass on to his heirs. His son William Henry, unable to reconcile with his father’s abandonment of the family, refused to accept any of this inheritance. In the 1900 census, James’ mother Sarah indicates that 8 of her children were still living. Unless one of the four unknown children of Nicholas and Sarah did not die in infancy as surmised, this would imply James was still living.

Whether due to James’ death, or his wanderlust, Ida Schlagel was left in her early forties to care for the family. She was certainly provided moral, if not financial, support by her brother Isaac. By 1910, he occupied 430 North Chestnut Street, the other half of the twin home, with his wife Maggie, five natural children, and an adopted son Raymond. We do not presently know any more of Ida’s and Isaac’s parents except that they were born in Pennsylvania.

Isaac Schlagel, the brother of Ida Schlagel Richards, was born in 1858 and worked as a teamster for the coal mining companies near Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania. His wife, Maggie, was born in 1842 and they had at least five children:

George, born in 1878;

William, born in 1883;

Ida, born in 1885;

Daniel, born in 1886;

Edna, born in 1896.

George worked as a laborer in the mines and William was a coal miner. In 1920 William was living at 203 South Walnut Street in Mt. Carmel.

The five children of James and Ida Schlagel Richards who grew to adulthood were:

Elizabeth, born in 1878;

William Henry, born in December 1879;

George, born in 1881;

Howard, born in 1883;

Florence, born in 1893.

Elizabeth married a Betz (possibly George) and had at least two children. William Henry had two wives, Minnie E. Yost and Abbie Garver, and it is the descendants of William and Minnie who constitute this particular line of the Richards family. George supposedly moved from Pennsylvania to Georgia. By 1920, Howard was renting the home at 428 North Chestnut Street in Mt. Carmel where he had grown up. Boarding with him as they worked in the mines was an uncle, John Minnick. Based on the family members whom we know, John Minnick would be married to Howard’s aunt Dora. Perhaps more likely is that John would be married to an unknown sister of Ida, as we do not know of any of James’ brothers and sisters moving from Shamokin to Mt. Carmel as Ida did. Other than these details, we know nothing more of the status of William Henry Richards’ brothers and sisters.

William Henry Richards, like his father, grandfather, and most of his male relatives, was a Pennsylvania anthracite coal miner. This area contains most of the world’s hard coal. The promise of economic prosperity brought an influx of people, from the rich owners, to the operators, miners, and laborers, along with all kinds of activity to support the mines. Ignoring geologists warnings about the inaccessibility and therefore marginal ability to mine most of the seams of coal, owners cut costs in safety, ventilation, and operating practices. Underground conditions were grim and dangerous. An excellent description of mining in the area, from the door boys and slatepickers, to the mine bosses and landowners, is given by Anthony F. C. Wallace in his book, St. Clair. An actual mine has been transformed into a museum in Ashland. These provide us with some idea of the lifestyle and conditions the first three generations of the Richards family in America had to live with on a daily basis.

Minnie E. Yost, the wife of William Henry Richards, was born in January 1885, the daughter of Daniel P. Yost and Dorothea Mader. The Yost family is a long-standing family in America, having immigrated from Germany in 1738. Minnie represents the sixth generation of the Yost family in America, and there are two additional generations that we know of in Germany. Caspar Jost, living from 1633-1711 is the earliest known ancestor of Minnie. The Yost family also holds an annual family picnic and much of their family history is documented and described in later chapters.

Minnie E. Yost’s mother, Dorothea Mader, was born in Blythe Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania on May 5, 1849, and married Daniel P. Yost (born July 2, 1848) in 1882. Her parents, Jacob and Catherine, were German immigrants who settled in Blythe Township. Jacob was a coal miner. In the 1860 census, two additional Mader widows, Dorothea, aged 60 and Rachel, aged 66, were living in nearby Tuscarora and might be relatives. When William Henry and Minnie E. Yost Richards married, they were living next door to her parents, and they were still renting nearby at the time of the 1920 census.

The ten children of William Henry Richards and Minnie E. Yost form the focus of the Richards family as we present members of this line know it today. Although this generation did, for the most part, leave the Pennsylvania coal mining area, they maintained a sense of family unity, coming together at family events, during vacations, and at reunion picnics.

CHAPTER TWO - THE FAMILY TODAY

There are over 100 living descendants and their spouses of William Henry Richards and Minnie E. Yost. They comprise the branch of the Richards family with which we are familiar. All ten of the children of William and Minnie married and had children. Fifteen of the twenty grandchildren of William and Minnie have had issue, and since the 1980's at least a dozen great-great-grandchildren have been born.

The eldest child of William Henry and Minnie E. Yost Richards was Violet, born the twelfth of November, 1907, in Tuscarora, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Known as Vi, she married Robert E. Devine (born April 18, 1911) on December 19, 1934, and lived in Lynwood, the Highland Park section of Chester, and Brookhaven, all in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Vi and Robert had two children, Robert Jr., born May 9, 1936, and Sheila Anne. Vi died on June 27, 1975, followed six years later by her husband on June 19, 1980. Vi and Robert Devine are both buried in the Mount Hope Church cemetery in Aston, Pennsylvania.

Robert Devine, Jr., grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania, and attended St. James High School. He married Mary McGartland. After the birth of their first child, Mandy Marie, they moved to Maryland. Two additional children, Christine and Robert (III) were born in Maryland. Robert Devine, Jr., and Mary McGartland separated, and Robert moved to Washington, D.C. He died in Washington on September 1, 1995.

Each of Robert Devine, Jr., and Mary McGartland’s children married. Mandy Marie married Aubrey Edwards and they have two children, Angela Mary and Aubrey, Jr. Angela Mary Edwards is the first great-great-grandchild of William Henry Richards and Minnie E. Yost. Christine Devine married Craig Dickson and has one child. Robert Devine, III, has married and his wife’s name is Diane.

Sheila Anne Devine married Peter Larkin, born October 8, 1939. Sheila is a registered nurse and, until his death on April 15, 1997, Peter was an oil refinery worker. Their two children are Tricia and Peter, Jr. Tricia has married twice, first to William Hobis, and following a divorce, to Dennis Schriver. Tricia and Dennis have three children, Stephen, Cali Elizabeth, and Demery Violet.

William Lester Richards was the second child of William Henry Richards and Minnie E. Yost, born April 16, 1909, in Tuscarora, Pennsylvania. Known as Les, he was a teacher in the Haverford, Pennsylvania, school district, where he lived and was a member of the Masons. He married Amy Herr, who was born September 20, 1914, on June 4, 1938. Les and Amy had two daughters, Betty Ann and Jane. Les passed away on January 18, 1981, in West Goshen, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Amy Herr Richards died February 14, 1987.

Betty Ann Richards grew up in Haverford, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Haverford High School. She has been married twice, having three sons from her first marriage. Betty Ann’s first husband was Irv Steiley. James Steiley was born to them has married and has a son, Aaron. Jeffrey Steiley was their second child. Steven Steiley was their third child, has a wife, Shannon, and a son, Kammeron. Betty Ann and Irv divorced, and she subsequently married John Wieand.

Jane Richards also grew up in Haverford and graduated from Haverford High School. Jane married Nick Liepold Jane works for a law firm and Nick for Verizon, Inc. They have three children, Janet, Thomas, and David John.

Ellsworth Daniel Richards was born on December 29, 1910, in Tuscarora, Pennsylvania, the third child of William Henry Richards and Minnie E. Yost. Known as "Peck" to the family, he lived in Washington, D.C., and later in the Maryland suburb of Takoma Park. Peck had two wives, Marie Fox, born October 8, 1914, with whom he had three children, and after Marie’s death (May 13, 1973) he married Mickey Gilligan. Peck and Marie’s three children were all born in Washington, D.C., and were Ann Marie, born October 8, 1933; Jean Ellen, and Thomas. Peck worked in the Surgeon General’s office and enjoyed square dancing. He died on November 8, 1988, in Takoma Park.

Ann Marie Richards, known as Nancy, married Charles (Chuck) Richard White. Chuck was a corporate lawyer for General Motors. Chuck and Nancy lived in Michigan and had two children. Charles married Tina Dillon and have a son, Charles. Chuck and Nancy’s daughter is Jean Marie. Ann Marie was involved in a very serious automobile accident and spent the last several years of her life in a coma. She died in Michigan on August 8, 1996.

Jean Ellen Richards married John Dudley. They have three children, Robert John, Susan Marie, and Karen Ann. Robert John Dudley married Carol Emshwiller and they have three children, Preston John; Caylin Ann and Erin Nicole. Susan Marie Dudley married Michael Resutek and they have two children: Kristen Jean, and Lauren Marie. Karen Ann Dudley married Timothy Donohue and they have two children: John Ellsworth and Hannah Marie.

Thomas Richards has married twice. His first wife was Roberta Rossin of Stamford, Connecticut, who was born March 18, 1945. They had three children. Their children are Christopher Scott; Alyson Blake; and Lauren Fox. Tom graduated from George Washington University and works for KPMG Peat Marwick. He and Roberta divorced. She died in 1990. Tom has remarried, to Carol Nebel.

The fourth child of William Henry Richards and Minnie E. Yost is Ronald Arlington Richards. Known as "Tut," he was born on May 10, 1913, in Tuscarora, Pennsylvania, and was a teacher, who graduated from Millersville State College. He married twice, first marrying Sarah Spots, born September 16, 1915, in Schuylkill County (died 1991). Tut and Sarah divorced and he then married Betty Marlino. Tut and Betty have one daughter, Barbara Ann. Barbara married Donald Marshall. Barbara and Don have had four children, Jesse, Cody, Chelsea, and Tucker. The Marshalls are all avid skiers.

Dorothea Ida Richards was William and Minnie Richards’ fifth child. Dot married Karl Ludwig Franck (born March 10, 1910). Dot was the only one of the ten children of William and Minnie to remain in the anthracite coal mining region of Pennsylvania where the first three generations of the Richards family in the United States had lived. Dot and Karl have one daughter, Karen Marie Franck. Karen married Donald Schaeffer. They havedivorced. Karen and Don have two children, Lori Ann and Ty Michael.

LeRoy Harrison Richards was born in Tuscarora, Pennsylvania, on November 11, 1915, the sixth child of William and Minnie Richards. LeRoy served in the Army Air Corps in World War II, in North Africa and Italy. Following the war he met Mildred Easley Richards, born September 18, 1923, in Crewe, Virginia, and they were married in Washington, D.C. on February 4, 1947. LeRoy and Mildred lived in Aston, Pennsylvania, where he was an autoworker, first for Ford Motor Company in Chester and later for White Motor Company in Exton, Pennsylvania. Mildred, a graduate of Madison College in Harrisonburg, Virginia, was the head dietician for Chester Hospital and later for the Penn-Delco School District. Mildred died of cancer on November 29, 1971. LeRoy died of complications from Parkinson’s Disease on February 3, 1997. Both are buried in the Glenwood Memorial Gardens, Broomall, Pennsylvania.

LeRoy and Mildred Richards had two sons, William Gregory and Daniel Keith. William graduated from Drexel University and worked for the City of Philadelphia Water Department and later for an environmental engineering consulting firm. While attending Drexel he met Denise Mary Colonna and they married. Denise worked for Campbell Soup Company in Camden, New Jersey, and the PNC Bank. Bill and Denise have two daughters, Nicole Marie and Melissa Kaye. Nicole graduated from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia with a major in International Relations and Melissa from the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in Information Science. LeRoy and Mildred’s son Daniel directs aquatic programs at swim clubs when he is not acting.

Between 1915 and 1917, William Henry Richards became a manager for a mining company and he and Minnie moved a short distance from Tuscarora to Kaska, Pennsylvania. Their four youngest children were born in Kaska. The first of these was Mildred Louise, born May 10, 1917. Mildred married Edward Shannon (born October 5, 1914) on February 14, 1942, and they lived in Chester, Pennsylvania, one block from her sister Violet. Edward died December 2, 1981, and Mildred passed away February 26, 1997. Both are buried in the Mount Hope Church cemetery in Aston, Pennsylvania. Mill and Ed had two children, Patricia, and Edward, Jr. Patricia Shannon married Carlo Milito and has two children, Brian Vincent and Carla. Edward Shannon, Jr., married Fran Fannin.

Lillian Sarah Richards is the eighth child of William and Minnie Richards, born in Kaska, Pennsylvania. She married George Unsworth, who worked as a contractor and was born on December 11, 1913, and they lived in Wheaton, Maryland. George died in 1990. Lill and George Unsworth have two children, George, Jr. and Sandra. George Unsworth, Jr., married Gail Everly. Sandra married Wayne Steinhilber.

The ninth child of William and Minnie Richards is Florence Elizabeth Richards, born in Kaska, Pennsylvania. Florence married twice, her first husband being Joseph Campbell, born April 2, 1918. Joseph and Florence had two children, Joseph N. A. Campbell and Cheryl. Joseph N. A. Campbell married Debi and they have three children, Joseph Michael, Elizabeth Louise, and Tyler Vincent. Cheryl Campbell married Donald McCoy. They have three children, Donald, Jr., Ryan Todd, and Kimberly Ann. Florence Elizabeth and Joseph Campbell divorced. She then married Mahlon "Red" Ames.

The youngest child of William Henry Richards and Minnie E. Yost is Gladys Alma. Gladys married Oliver T. Reep, born on July 20, 1923. Gladys and Oliver had three children, Wayne, Linda, and Donna. Gladys and Oliver divorced, and he died on May 28, 1982. Wayne Reep has not married. Linda Reep married Nick Garufi. Nick died shortly after their son Anthony James was born. Donna Reep married Gary Fischer and they have three children, twins Kyle and Eric, and Alyssa.

CHAPTER THREE - THE JOST GERMAN ANCESTRY

Minnie E. Yost was the mother of the ten brothers and sisters who make up the Richards family from whom we are descended. Minnie married William Henry Richards in Schuylkill County in 1907. Her ancestors were a German family who left the Palatinate in the Rhine Valley in Germany and came to Pennsylvania in 1738.

Minnie was born in Schuylkill County (probably Tuscarora Village) in January, 1885. She was the second of five children of Daniel P. Yost, born July 2, 1848, and a coal miner and laborer in Tuscarora, and Dorothea Mader, who was born May 5, 1849, in Blythe Township. Her older brother Joseph, born in April 1883, was the minister for the Reformed Church in Tuscarora. Her younger brothers were John Harrison (born December 1888), Roy H. (born May 1891), and Oliver J. (born June 1893). Her brother John Harrison did not marry. Joe married a Brown. Roy married Marguerite Faust (born 1898) and their three children were Arlen (born 1919), Ernest R., and Lois. Ernest R. Yost married Helen and they had five children, Priscilla, Daniel E., John H., Phillip R., and Peter W. Minnie’s brother Oliver had three children, Oliver, Jr., born in 1924, Joy, born in 1928, and Phyllis, who married an Anchorstar.

William Henry Richards and Minnie E. Yost lived close to her parents in Tuscarora after they married. In the 1920 census the two families were separated by only a few entries. Minnie and William were enumerated with their nine oldest children. The five oldest had been attending school that year. Nearby, Minnie’s father Daniel was enumerated with his sister Sarah, and sons John Harrison, Roy, and Oliver. Roy’s wife Marguerite and oldest child, Arlen, were also living with Daniel. Minnie’s mother, Dorothea, passed away on June 12, 1912. Her father lived until March 12, 1923.

In 1988 the Yost family held a reunion picnic to celebrate the 250th anniversary of their arrival in America. Minnie’s brother Oliver was in attendance at the age of 95, accompanied by his daughter, Phyllis Anchorstar. Much of the family’s early ancestry was described by Israel A. S. Yost, the family genealogist. Over at least two decades, Israel compiled information and located sources on the Yost family, both in America and in Germany. The Yost family continues to hold an annual family picnic reunion.

Hans Peter Jost (the name was to be Anglicized to Yost by his grandchildren’s generation) made the trip to colonial America in 1738 with his wife, son, step-daughter, and her husband. This group arrived in Philadelphia on September ninth on the English ship "Glasgow", which sailed out of Rotterdam, Holland. They probably traveled down the Rhine from the German Palatinate in the spring of that year to make a summer crossing, a common practice of many emigrating Germans at that time. The family settled in Upper Frederick Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Hans Peter had been born in Mambachel, Germany, in 1683. He married Anna Rosina Haus Muller, the widow of Hans Adam Muller, on February 29, 1720. She had a daughter from her first marriage named Margaretha Barbara, who married William Mumbauer. Hans Peter and Anna Rosina had a son, Johannes, who was born in Mambachel in May 21, 1721, and christened seven days later.

Through the efforts of Israel A. S. Yost, we have learned of the two Jost generations preceding Hans Peter Jost in Germany. Hans Peter’s father was Hans Nickel Jost, who lived in Baumholder, Germany, part of the Rhineland Palatinate. Hans Peter’s mother was Maria Margretha Kirsch Jost, daughter of Johannes Kirsch, a censor in Berschweiler, Germany. Hans Nickel and Maria Margretha were married March 21, 1683. From those marriage records it is known that Hans Nickel Jost’s father is Caspar Jost, a burger (district official) in the Rhineland-Pfalz area of Germany. Caspar was 78 years old at his death, and was buried on January 15, 1711, indicating he was born in 1633.

From the information obtained by Israel Yost about the family in Germany, we may make some educated speculation on the living conditions and background of the Yosts. As burgers and censors, Caspar Jost and Johannes Kirsch were definitely free citizens at the time many Germans remained serfs. By arriving in America in September, Hans Peter and his family traveled at the time most favorable to the Atlantic passage. They joined one of the growing German Reform congregations sponsored by the Reverend George Weiss, who encouraged German immigration to Pennsylvania. From this it may be reasoned that the Jost family was more educated and well-off than the average German Rhinelanders, although they were far from upper class.

The names of family members also raises speculation as to where Caspar may have originated. Jost is both a German and a Swiss name. There were many Swiss Josts who repopulated the Rhineland following the devastation of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). The male forenames of Hans and Johan (which shows up in following generations) and the female forenames of Maria and Anna were used frequently, and served almost as titles. The second names in such cases were the names that differentiated individuals. Furthermore Hans and Maria are Swiss tradition, while Johan and Anna were German. This mixture in the Jost family has led to consideration of the possibility that Caspar Jost may have originated in Switzerland and moved to Germany following the Thirty Years War.

Hans Nickel Jost was Caspar’s only known son. Hans Nickel’s first wife, Maria Margretha died following childbirth difficulties shortly after the baptism of she and their third child, Abraham. The baptism was on February 18, 1867, Abraham was buried on February 20, and her burial was on February 23. Hans Nickel married Anna Margretha Mumbauer on June twentieth of that same year. Her father was Peter Mumbauer. The children of Hans Nickel Jost by his two wives are:

by Maria Margretha Kirsch,

Hans Peter, born 1662;

Anna Margretha, baptized November 28, 1683;

Abraham (see dates above);

by Anna Margretha Mumbauer,

Hans Caspar, baptized December 26, 1688;

Hans Wilhelm, baptized April 28, 1690, buried

March 28, 1697;

Hans Caspar, baptized March 5, 1692;

Johan Abraham, baptized December 20, 1693,

buried February 5, 1694;

Johannes, baptized November 28, 1694;

Anna Catherina, baptized June 17, 1696; Anna Margretha, baptized September 25, 1698;

Johan Jacob, baptized August 31, 1800.

Note that child mortality was high and the re-naming of children with the names of earlier siblings who died was a common practice.

Let us return to the five Josts traveling to America (Hans Peter, his wife Anna Rosina, his son Johannes, his step-daughter Margretha Barbara, and her husband Wilhelm Mumbauer). It appears that Peter knew what to expect when he planned to leave for America. Many Rhinelanders had been emigrating and sending favorable reports back to their homeland. Church leaders sponsored members of congregations to move to a land with more religious freedom and toleration. The Jost group had to proceed 250 miles to Rotterdam, Holland, timing the trip so as to arrive in Rotterdam in June and cross the Atlantic during the favorable summer weather. In the Dutch port they embarked upon the "Glasgow", a merchant ship with William Stirling as captain. Since this was an English ship, it was required to put into an English port before going to the colonies, and did so at Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

The "Glasgow" arrived in Philadelphia on September 9, 1738. At that time all male immigrants 16 years and older had to sign a list repudiating allegiance to all other rulers other than the British sovereign, and specifically decline allegiance to the Pope (religious toleration only went so far). Two such lists existed for this crossing, as well as Captain Stirling’s list of transported adult males. Johannes, Peter, and Wilhelm are on all three, however Peter’s signature appears different on the two "allegiance" lists. Perhaps a clerk recorded his name on one. Captain Stirling recorded the last names of Peter and Johannes as "Joost".

Peter, Johannes, and the Mumbauers settled in Upper Frederick Township, Montgomery (then Philadelphia) County, Pennsylvania. Wilhelm’s will was executed there in 1750, with Johannes Jost as a witness, so we know the families had been established at this location by that time. In 1749 Johannes married Maria Elizabeth Schneider, who went by the name of "Creth". Five members of the Schneider family (Jacob, Sarah, Creth, Susannah, and Veronica) took first communion at the Old Goshenhoppen Church at the same time. It may be that Jacob and Sarah are the parents, listed first, or that all five are siblings.

The Old Goshenhoppen Church in Upper Salford Township in upper Montgomery County is still an active church. The Josts were members of this church and in 1758 Johannes was the first head of household listed among members. Johannes was naturalized (we assume as a British citizen) in 1761. By 1765 he was a deacon of the Falkner Swamp Reformed congregation. That church is also still in existence, on Swamp Pike just south of Route 663. Many members of the Schneider family are buried there. Johannes’ farm fronted on what is now known as Yost Road in Upper Frederick Township, just south of the township line near Snyder Road. He was a constable in 1767 and 1792, and an overseer of township highways in 1757 and 1770. His property was assessed at 3600 pounds in 1778, and his assets were valued at 440 pounds at his death in 1811. He was outlived by his wife, Creth.

Johannes and Creth Jost had eight children. They are:

It is this generation of the family that adopted the Anglicized version of the family name, Yost.

Johannes Yost, the eldest son of Johannes and Creth Jost, married Benigna Dotterer in 1779. Benigna was a granddaughter of Henry and Christina Antes, an important family in Frederick Township. Benigna’s mother was Elizabeth Antes, Henry and Christina’s daughter, who had married George Phillip Dotterer. Johannes was baptized as an adult on April 9, 1770, in the Old Goshenhoppen Church. He was a Revolutionary War veteran commissioned as a second lieutenant on May 12, 1777, in the sixth battalion of the Philadelphia County militia. Johannes is enumerated as a head of household in Montgomery County in both the 1790 and 1800 censuses. In 1790 he had two sons and one daughter under the age of 16. In 1800 he had one son over 16, one son under 10, two daughters between 10-16, and three daughters under 10.

Three of the sons of Johannes and Creth Jost married daughters of Conrad and Anna Margaretta Schellenberger Hillegas. Christina Yost married Jacob Schellenberger, who was an uncle to these Hillegas girls. Life in those days was centered on circles close to home and within community and church congregations. Four German Reformed congregations in upper Montgomery County were the Old Goshenhoppen Church in Upper Salford, the New Goshenhoppen Church in Upper Hanover, the Falkner Swamp in New Hanover, and the Indian Creek Church in Franconia. Marriages between families in these congregations was common.

The first Yost-Hillegas pairing occurred when Johan Peter Yost married Eva Hillegas, the eldest child of Conrad Hillegas and Anna Margaretta Schellenberger. They had at least five children, four of whom we know by name:

Johan Peter appears in Montgomery County as a head of household in both the 1790 and 1800 censuses, and according to the latter census would have another son in addition to John, who was born earlier than 1790. Johan Peter served both in the Continental Army during the Revolution, and in the War of 1812. He was also an ensign in the local militia. He evidently helped to care for his father during the last 9 years of Johannes’ life.

The second of the Yost-Hillegas marriages was Daniel Yost and Elizabeth Barbara Hillegas, on February 7, 1786. This is our family line so it will be discussed in the next chapter in more detail.

The third Yost-Hillegas marriage occurred on May 17, 1789, when Johan Adam Yost married Susanna Hillegas, the sixth child of Conrad Hillegas and Anna Margaretha Schellenberger. Susanna was born May 3, 1771, in Montgomery County. Adam was listed as a head of household living in Montgomery County in 1800, and was the first of the Yost clan to leave that County, moving in 1804 to McKeansburg, Berks (now Schuylkill) County. He was followed two years later by his brother Daniel and the two Yost-Hillegas families remained close all of their lives.

When the Yosts moved into the McKeansburg area, two established German Reformed churches attracted them and each brother apparently joined the one closest to him. Adam joined the Red Church, south of Orwigsburg, and Daniel the Friedens Church, north of McKeansburg. The baptisms of Adam and Susanna’s four children born after moving to McKeansburg are recorded at the Red Church. Later Adam and Daniel joined others in establishing an English-speaking school (they favored their children using the predominant language of their country) in McKeansburg and eventually a new church and congregation, Christ Church.

Adam and Susanna Hillegas Yost had at least eight children, four born in Montgomery County and four in Berks/Schuylkill (Schuylkill County was formed in 1811) County. We know of descendants from four of these children, Mary Margaret, Conrad, Samuel, and Adam. One descendant of Conrad, a great-great grandson named David Donmoyer, is a pharmacist living in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. Following discussions at the 1988 reunion picnic, David determined that the patriarch of the Richards family, Nicholas Richards, was buried in the Shamokin cemetery.

Christina Yost, daughter of Johannes Jost and Creth Schneider, and sister of the three Yost brothers who married Hillegas sisters, married Jacob Schellenberger. The mother of the Hillegas sisters was Anna Margaretta Schellenberger, and Jacob was her brother. So he was the uncle of the Hillegas girls.

The youngest child of Johannes Jost and Creth Schneider was Johan Jacob Yost. He married Hannah Schwarzlender and in the 1800 census is listed as a head of household in Montgomery County with two elderly individuals living with them. This may indicate that his parents were living with them.

CHAPTER FOUR - JUDGE DANIEL YOST’S FAMILY

Daniel Yost, the fifth child of Johannes Jost and Marie Elizabeth Schneider, is one of the most notable members of the Yost family. Daniel made a career of public service, serving 25 years as a judge. As a youth, he served in the militia and took part in putting down the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. He moved his family from Montgomery County to what is now Schuylkill County, following his brother Adam by two years. He was a strong advocate of German Americans learning English as their primary language. He broke with his church congregation over this issue and helped in establishing Christ Church in McKeansburg. He was one of three Yost brothers who married three Hillegas sisters. Most of the Yost family of which we know of today is descended from Daniel. Some of his papers and correspondence are preserved in the Schuylkill County Historical Society in Pottsville.

Born on October 14, 1749 in upper Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Daniel married Elizabeth Barbara Hillegas (born January 8, 1767) on February 7, 1786. They lived on Hoppenville Road, just north of Green Lane in Marlborough Township and were members of the Old Goshenhoppen Church. Daniel was a member of the Pennsylvania militia when, in 1794, one of the first challenges to the authority of the new United States federal government occurred. An insurrection began in southwestern Pennsylvania over a tax imposed on distilled spirits. President George Washington called for the militia to bring this rebellion to a close. Several pages from Daniel’s notebook describe his travel as a member of the militia from his home during the first half of 1794. (As of 1988 these notes were in the possession of Calvin D. Yost, Jr.,a great-great-grandson of Daniel) The show of force of the militia was enough to end the insurrection, now known as the Whiskey Rebellion.

Daniel Yost was appointed on March 27, 1797, to be a Justice of the Peace for the Townships of Upper Hanover, Marlborough, and Upper Salford Townships in Montgomery County. In a 1795 assessment he owned 180 acres with one dwelling, two horses, and three cows. He appears enumerated in both the 1790 and 1800 censuses in Montgomery County.

Daniel and Elizabeth Barbara Hillegas Yost had ten children:

In 1806 the family moved to McKeansburg, Berks (now Schuylkill) County and Daniel built the third structure in the village, a large building later converted into a shoe factory. Therefore Benjamin was born after the move, Joseph may have been, but the other children were all born in Montgomery County. The Yost family joined the Friedens Union Church, near the present town of New Ringgold. Daniel frequently performed audits of the financial accounts of this joined Lutheran and Reformed congregation. In 1809 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace for this area, a position he had also held in Montgomery County. At the time of the 1810 census, Daniel, Elizabeth Barbara, and the seven youngest children were living in Brunswick Township, Berks County.

On March 18, 1811, the present Schuylkill County was created from portions of Berks and Northampton Counties. The Yost’s home was within the new County. A judge and two associate judges were appointed for the County at the time of its creation. Daniel was appointed to one of the associate positions and served as a judge for the next 25 years. He resigned his position on December 29, 1836.

Daniel Yost was an advocate of the use of English by the Pennsylvania Germans, particularly in the schools supported by the local churches (there were no public schools as yet). When the members of the Friedens Church refused to replace German with English in their school, Daniel and others began planning for an English school. In 1813 Balthazar Bock, the father of two of Daniel’s sons-in-law, donated land in McKeansburg for a church and school with the proviso that English was used in the school. 105 people contributed to the school building and Daniel was elected as one of five trustees. Those who initiated the English school in McKeansburg remained members of the Friedens Church until 1828 when the Christ Church was organized in McKeansburg.

Judge Daniel Yost, his sons Daniel, Jr., and Jonathan, and his sons-in-law Daniel Bock, Andrew Bock, John Heiser, and George Heiser, are all enumerated as heads of household in Brunswick Township, Schuylkill County, at the time of the 1820 census. Judge Yost was evidently a Whig by politics, supporting the re-election of President John Quincy Adams in 1828. In the 1830 census, Judge Yost and Elizabeth Barbara are living in Orwigsburg, with their son John next to them, Joseph nearby, and one of William or Benjamin still at home. Judge Daniel Yost died on November 2, 1839, and his wife Elizabeth Barbara Hillegas Yost died February 8, 1847. Both are buried in the Christ Church cemetery in McKeansburg, their tombstones printed in German.

Maria Elizabeth Yost, the eldest child of Daniel and Elizabeth Hillegas Yost, married Daniel Bock, a son of Balthazar Bock and Susanna Margretha Bolich. Maria Elizabeth’s sister Barbara also married a Bock, Daniel’s brother Andrew (born in 1792). Barbara was Andrew’s second wife. Many of the Bock descendants have remained in the McKeansburg-Orwigsburg area, and others have moved to Missouri, Kansas and California.

The second and third daughters of Judge Daniel Yost also married brothers. Anna Maria married George Heiser and Catherine married John Heiser. George and Anna Maria were living in Orwigburg in 1810. At the time of the 1820 census, the two Bock-Yost families and the two Heiser-Yost families were all residing in Brunswick Township, Schuylkill County. George and Anna Maria lived in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1829. Both Heiser-Yost families appear in Schuylkill County in the 1840 census. In the 1860 census, John and Catherine Heiser are enumerated, both aged in their 70's. Both Heiser families have descendants.

Daniel Yost, Jr., the eldest son of Judge Daniel Yost, married Susanna Rothermel, who lived from October 12, 1799, to June 6, 1871. Daniel, Jr., held tavern licenses in the years 1820, 21, 25, 26, and 27. He was on a committee of correspondence to re-elect John Quincy Adams as President in 1828. He may have been a postmaster in McKeansburg in the 1830's. Daniel, Jr., and Susanna are buried in the Schuylkill Haven cemetery. They did have children.

The fifth child of Judge Yost and Elizabeth Barbara was Jonathan Yost. By far, the greatest number of Yost descendants known to us today are descendants of Jonathan and his wife Mary Kleckner. These descendants include Calvin D. Yost and Israel A. S. Yost, now both deceased, who did most of the genealogy of the Yost family. Family accounts indicate that Jonathan learned blacksmithing, but became a farmer. His homestead is only a short distance from the present Smith’s Country Inn on the road to Hecla, near McKeansburg. In 1819 he married Mary (born March 10, 1800), a daughter of Andrew Kleckner. Jonathan was a deacon of Christ Church, McKeansburg. Jonathan is enumerated in the 1860 census living in East Brunswick township, Schuylkill County. Jonathan died January 17, 1865, and Mary died on October 5, 1878. Both are buried in the Christ Church cemetery.

William Yost, a son of Judge Daniel Yost, married Elizabeth Maltz. The 1840 census places them in East Brunswick Township, Schuylkill County, with children. They were members of the Red Church (the same one that William’s uncle Johan Adam had joined in 1804) and at least one child’s baptism is recorded there.

Judge Daniel and Elizabeth Barbara Yost’s son Joseph was confirmed in 1821 at the Friedens Church and later married Rebecca Miller (born 1809). They had children. The 1830 census places them in Brunswick Township (Schuylkill Co.) and the 1840 census in West Brunswick Township. In 1850, Joseph is enumerated next to his brother John and his wife Elizabeth, and Joseph is employed as a hotel keeper. In the 1860 census, Joseph is listed with Charles Blew, an innkeeper.

Benjamin Yost was the youngest child of Judge Daniel Yost and Elizabeth Barbara Hillegas. He married Mary Stamm who was born in 1816. They had several children and appear in every census between 1840 and 1870 living in either Schuylkill Township, or East Brunswick Township, Schuylkill County. Benjamin was a hotel keeper. He died on June 14, 1887, and Mary passed away November 23, 1875. One of their children, Benjamin Franklin, played an unwilling role in the history of the Molly Maguires, a group of Irish militants in the Pennsylvania anthracite coal mining area. Benjamin’s story enlightens us on some of the violence and living conditions of those times.

Benjamin Franklin Yost, grandson of Judge Daniel Yost, married Henrietta Boyer, daughter of Joshua Boyer, and had two sons. He had been a Union soldier during the Civil War, serving in Company I of the 48th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. He enlisted in both 1861 and 1864. Following the War he became a policeman in the Borough of Tamaqua. It was as a Tamaqua policeman that he would meet a violent death, and the investigation and trial of his murder would be key in the downfall of the Irish secret society, the Molly Maguires.

The story is taken from Wayne G. Broehl, Jr.’s book, The Molly Maguires. On the night of July 5, 1875, Tamaqua was still stirring from the Independence Day celebration, the day before. Many people, including several visitors, were in the streets. Tamaqua had two policemen, Benjamin F. Yost and Barney McCarron. Benjamin had experienced considerable trouble with a James Kerrigan, an unemployed Irish miner, and the Tamaqua leader of the Molly Maguires. Yost had arrested Kerrigan for drunkenness several times, and had at least once used his club to subdue Kerrigan.

It was the duty of the two policemen to extinguish the town’s gas street lamps while on evening patrol. On the evening of July fifth, they looked in at Carroll’s tavern, and then at the hotel, where Kerrigan provided them a drink. The last gas light they were to put out was the one in front of Yost’s house. While doing so, Benjamin was downed by two shots. McCarron emptied his own pistol chasing two assailants, who escaped.

As he passed in and out of consciousness during the evening, Yost and McCarron confirmed the assailants were two strangers they had seen at the tavern before their drink with Kerrigan. Kerrigan did not carry out the murder. Seven hours after the shooting, Benjamin Franklin Yost died.

The killing brought a wave of indignation over all of Schuylkill County. This was a respected officer of the law who had been gunned down. The funeral at the Odd Fellow’s cemetery at the end of town was attended by a huge number of people and most were of the opinion expressed by the newspaper’s (Miner’s Journal) editor that the assassins should be "remorselessly hunted down." Despite the indignation, the town fathers would not provide a headstone and the grave remains unmarked to this day.

A committee formed to track down those responsible for the killing approached the Pinkerton detective agency. This agency had already been employed by many of the mine owners and had infiltrated the Molly Maguires with an Irish operative, James McParlan, going under the name of Jim McKenna. McParlan learned from within the organization what had actually happened.

Benjamin F. Yost had been involved the previous winter in two incidents involving Kerrigan and another Molly Maguire, Thomas Duffy. A drunken Duffy had threatened Yost before Kerrigan drug him out of harm’s way. A few days later, again drunk, Duffy got into a fight in the street with another Irishman by the name of Flynn. Kerrigan was again with Duffy. The two policemen, Yost and McCarron, came by and Duffy went for Benjamin. The two policemen beat up Duffy in subduing him, and threw him in jail. Kerrigan was knifed by Flynn, later claiming McCarron was holding him when it happened. Kerrigan and Duffy later offered the Coaldale Molly Maguires ten dollars to do away with Yost. This task was carried out by Hugh McGehan and James Boyle in trade for the Tamaqua Mollies murdering a Lansford mine boss, named Jones. Kerrigan planned the deed, choosing the spot, detaining Yost with a drink, and planning the escape route. The Pinkerton agent reported all of this by July seventeenth, only 12 days after the murder.

The trial for the Jones murder occurred first, ending in February in a conviction. Following that, Kerrigan turned informant, trying to place most of the blame on Duffy, McGehan, and Boyle in order to avoid hanging. Kerrigan was granted immunity for his testimony that corroborated McParlan’s. He also implicated Carroll, the tavern owner, and James Roarity, the Coaldale Mollie with whom he arranged the trade.

The first Yost murder trial began on May 4, 1876. For it James McParlan came out of hiding to present his testimony. The defense tried to discredit McParlan and Kerrigan as professional and professed informers, respectively. Even Kerrigan’s wife and family pointed to him as the murderer and turncoat to help the defendants. The case was heavily reported in the newspapers and would today come under criticism as being tried in the press. In the end, this first case was suspended, as a juror became ill and died. Although the case would have to be re-tried, it was this first case that brought the details to light and broke the back of the Molly Maguires as an organization.

In the second round of trials, Duffy was granted a trial separate from the other four. Kerrigan’s wife did not testify for the defense and eventually reconciled with her husband. All five defendants were convicted, the first four on July 24, 1876, and Duffy on September nineteenth. All five were hung on the same day in 1877.

CHAPTER FIVE - JOHN YOST AND DESCENDANTS

The seventh child of Judge Daniel Yost and the grandfather of Minnie E. Yost was John Yost. Thus all of the Richards family today are descended from this line. John was born on August 14, 1800, in upper Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He moved with his family to Berks County in 1806, and that area became part of the newly created Schuylkill County in 1811. John was a shoemaker and he married Elizabeth Williams, who according to the 1840 census, could not read or write. They had eight children, the eldest being a daughter who’s name we do not know. The remaining children were:

John and Elizabeth are enumerated in the 1830 census living in Orwigsburg next to his father Daniel Yost. Living nearby was a widow aged 40-50, also named Elizabeth Williams, who may be Elizabeth’s mother or a relative. At this time John and Elizabeth had a female child under five years of age (who’s name is unknown) and had a 10-15 year old male youth boarding with them.

By the 1840 census, John, Elizabeth, and the family had moved to Schuylkill Township, where our Yost ancestors were to remain until the children of William Henry Richards and Minnie E. Yost started to move away. At this time the census indicates 3 males and 5 females in the household, consistent with what we know. In 1850 the family is again in Schuylkill Township, two entries away from the hotel run by John’s brother Joseph. By this time, the eldest daughter has left the household, presumably having married.

The 1860 and 1870 census enumerates the family in Tuscarora Village, Schuylkill Township. Since the 1840 and 1850 censuses do not indicate where within Schuylkill Township the family lived, they may have been in Tuscarora from the start. Four generations of the Yost-Richards family therefore lived in Tuscarora, from John, to Daniel P., to Minnie E., to the first six Richards children before William Henry and Minnie E. Yost Richards moved a few miles west to Kaska (in Blythe Township). By the 1870 census, only Sarah, Abraham, and Daniel P. are still at home, although Nathaniel and his family are living next door. Sarah is working as a seamstress, Abraham and Daniel are working as coal miners. John’s personal estate is valued at $500.00 according to the census.

Because of inconsistent information in censuses, we cannot be sure of Elizabeth’s year of birth, but it would be between 1807 and 1810. We do not know when John and Elizabeth passed away (although it must be after 1870) nor where they are buried.

Nathaniel Yost, a son of John and Elizabeth Williams Yost, was married to Dianna (born 1836). Nathaniel was a plasterer living next door to his parents in 1870 and was a store manager in Schuylkill Township in 1870. They had at least four children:

Abraham Yost, another son of John and Elizabeth Yost, married Catharine (Katie) Gimbi. They had three children:

Roy C. Yost married Marion R. Wehr. Their children were Dorothy (married Monroe Miller), Roxie (married Daniel O’Leary), Glenn, and Ihaon.

We do not know of any marriages or descendants of Brietta, Joseph, Anna or Sarah Yost.

Daniel P. Yost was the youngest child of John and Elizabeth Williams Yost. Daniel married Dorothea Mader, the daughter of Jacob and Catherine Mader. The Mader’s settled in Blythe Township (just west of Schuylkill Township) after emigrating from Germany. Daniel worked as a coal miner and as a laborer, and he and Dorothea were living in Tuscarora in 1900 and 1910. Daniel was a widower by 1920. Daniel P. and Dorothea Mader Yost’s children were:

The eldest son of Daniel P. and Dorothea Mader Yost was Joseph, and he married a Brown. They had no children. Joseph was an agent selling soap and patent medicines in 1880, and later was a minister for the Reformed Church in Tuscarora. The second son, John Harrison, was a bachelor and a school principal in Schuylkill Township.

The third son of Daniel and Dorothea was Roy H. Yost. Roy married Marguerite Faust and they had three children, Arlen, Ernest, and Lois. Ernest married, his wife’s name was Helen, and they had five children:

Oliver J. Yost was the youngest child of Daniel P. and Dorothea Mader Yost. He had three children, Oliver, Jr., born in 1924, Joy, born in 1928, and Phyllis, who married an Anchorstar. Phyllis Anchorstar accompanied her father, Oliver J. Yost, who was then in his 90's, to the Yost 250th anniversary picnic in 1988.

The only daughter of Daniel P. and Dorothea Yost was Minnie E. Yost, who married William Henry Richards. Their family was described in Chapter 2.

CHAPTER SIX - THE HILLEGAS CONNECTION

The third significant ancestral branch of the Richards-Yost family is the Hillegas family. The members of the Hillegas branch are the ancestors of Elizabeth Barbara Hillegas, who was the great-grandmother of Minnie E. Yost and the wife of Judge Daniel Yost. Elizabeth Barbara was born in 1767 and died in 1847. Our knowledge of her ancestors include three generations of the Hillegas family and two of the Schellenberger family.

The earliest known Hillegas ancestor is Peter Hillegas, a citizen and wagonmaker of Sinsheim, Germany. Records from that town indicate that on September 7, 1708, Anna Regina, the wife of Peter Hillegas, died at the age of 55. They also indicate that on October 12, 1719, Peter Hillegas died at the age of 70.

The Eppingen Reformed Church records in Germany show that Johan Frederick Hillegas, wagonmaker and son of Peter Hillegas, was married on August 28, 1712, to Elizabeth Barbara Triegel, daughter of George Triegel, a citizen of Eppingen. The Sinsheim Reformed Church records indicate that Hans Frederick Hillegas was confirmed on April 19, 1699 at the age of fourteen. With the relative ease of use in the family of the surnames Hans and Johan, we assume that both of these records refer to our ancestor, who we know as John Frederick Hillegas.

John Frederick Hillegas (1686-1765) and his wife Elizabeth Barbara (-1759), and John Frederick’s sister (name unknown), arrived in Philadelphia on the ship "William and Sarah" from Rotterdam, by way of Dover, England, on September 18, 1727. This was the very first ship where passengers to Pennsylvania were required to sign an oath of allegiance to the King of England. Captain William Hill recorded John Frederick as responsible for 4 ½ souls. Since children were considered as ½, this 4 ½ could mean John Frederick with his wife, his sister, and three of their six children born before 1727. The three children would be Frederick, Eva Elizabeth, and Anna Margaret, since Leopold and John Adam both emigrated individually, after the rest of their family, and since Johan Martin died young. A Jacob Jost was also on this ship, and he returned to Germany, but his relationship, if any, to either the Hillegas or Yost family is unknown.

John Frederick Hillegas had two brothers who proceeded him to Pennsylvania and were merchants in Philadelphia. One of these was Michael Hillegas (1696-1749), who’s son Michael Hillegas, Jr., became the very first Treasurer of the United States. The other brother was George Peter Hillegas (1690-1745).

Sometime prior to 1734, John Frederick Hillegas purchased 150 acres in the Goshenhoppen area of upper Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. On February 6, 1738, he bought a grist mill and 165 acres from George Gowen. In 1749 he added 363 acres in a purchase from William Parsons. John Frederick and Elizabeth Barbara lived near East Greenville, Pennsylvania during the Revolution. Sons Leopold and Conrad served in the Continental Army. Son George Peter may be Peter Hillegas, Sr., deacon of the New Goshenhoppen Church and enumerated in the 1790 census in Montgomery County. Sons Johan Adam (as Adam), George Peter (as Peter) and Conrad appear in the 1800 census.

The children of John Frederick and Elizabeth Barbara Triegel Hillegas were:

A prominent tombstone has been erected in the cemetery in front of the New Goshenhoppen Church, where the family were members, to both John Frederick and Elizabeth Barbara. It reads:

Pioneer Settlers 1727

John Frederick Elizabeth Barbara

Hillegas Hillegas

Jan. 6, 1765 March 4, 1759

branch of the Hillegas family now distributed over the

Erected by his descendants 1907.

The Hillegas family had believed their ancestors to be French Protestant Huguenots who fled from Alsace, France to Germany before coming to Pennsylvania.

Several of John Frederick and Elizabeth Barbara’s children married. John Adam Hillegas married Margaret Hallman, and after her death married Anna Catherine Bitting. Anna Margaret Hillegas married Mathys Reichard. Nicolaus Jeger married Creth Hillegas and after her death he married her sister, Ann Regina Hillegas.. Elizabeth Barbara Hillegas married John Frey. George Peter Hillegas married Anna Barbara Hornecker.

Conrad Hillegas married Anna Margaretta Schellenberger, the daughter of Johannes Schellenberger and Maria Margaret Radelein, and the sister of Carl Schellenberger, who married Conrad’s niece Anna Margaret (a daughter of John Adam Hillegas and Anna Catherine Bitting). Anna Margaretta was born July 2, 1742 in Hatfield Township, near Souderton, Pennsylvania. Her father, Johannes, was a substantial landowner in Hatfield Township and a founding member of the Indian Creek German Reformed Church in Franconia Township.

Johannes Schellenberger (born June 24, 1712, in Germany) arrived in Philadelphia from Rotterdam on the ship "Pennsylvania Merchant" on September 11, 1732, at the age of 20. He married Margaret (born April 26, 1722) by 1744, and she is believed to be the sister of Jacob and John Radelein, of the Tohickon Church area in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Johannes purchased property in Hatfield Township from two of William Penn’s sons, acting as the Proprietors of Pennsylvania, under their fathers grant from the King. The property eventually consisted of 250 acres of the northernmost portion of Hatfield Township, on either side of the present railroad.

Johannes was naturalized on September 25, 1740 along with a number of men who helped found the Indian Creek Church. His name appears on a cornerstone of the Church, dated 1754, that is still part of the present church building. Each of his sons served in the Hatfield Township Company of the Philadelphia Militia during the Revolutionary War. He and his wife are buried in the Leidy burial ground, across Leidy Road from the Immanuel Leidy Church, southwest of Souderton. Johannes died March 31, 1795, and Margaret died March 3, 1800.

The children of Johannes and Margaret Schellenberger were:

Conrad and Anna Margaretta Schellenberger Hillegas had twelve children, as recorded in the 1790 and 1800 censuses. We know the names of ten of these children. The records of the New Goshenhoppen Church, of which they were members, indicates one daughter, Maria Catherina Hillegas, being born the very same day in 1787 that another daughter, also named Maria Catherina Hillegas, who had been born in 1883, was buried. This is another example of these families regularly naming newborn children after older siblings who had died. As we have described in the earlier chapters on the Yost family, three of Conrad’s and Anna Margaretta’s daughters married three sons of Johannes and Creth Yost. This included Elizabeth Barbara Hillegas and Daniel Yost (our line of ancestry), Eva Hillegas and Johan Peter Yost, and Susanna Hillegas and Johan Adam Yost. The known children of Conrad and Anna Margaretta Schellenberger Hillegas are:

Conrad and Anna Margaretta resided in Upper Hanover Township near the covered bridge on Knight Road. Conrad left his land, his Bible, and his gun to his surviving son, Johannes.

PART TWO - THE GREGORY FAMILY OF VIRGINIA

CHAPTER SEVEN - COLONIAL TIMES TO THE CIVIL WAR

The Gregory family has resided in Virginia since 1620, and shares the history of the Colony and Commonwealth of Virginia. The family that is described consists of the ancestors of Mildred Easley Gregory, born in Crewe, VA, on September 18, 1923. Mildred grew up on the family farm outside of Crewe with her parents, Thomas Hutcherson Gregory and Sallie Richard Easley, her two sisters, Mary Catherine and Annie Elizabeth, and her brother, Thomas Harold. This narrative describes the history of the Gregory family, and several important branches of the ancestry of Mildred E. Gregory, namely the Pigg, Griggs, Easley, Blair, and Motley families.

The earliest known ancestor carrying the Gregory name is believed to be Richard Gregory, who arrived in the Jamestown settlement in colonial Virginia in 1620. Richard was born in England in 1584, and may have resided in Yorkshire before venturing to the New World. He arrived on the ship "Temperance" as an indentured servant to Sir George Yeardley, who later became the first governor of colonial Virginia. We believe Richard left his wife and newly born (or yet unborn) son, Thomas, behind in England and that his son joined him in Virginia 15 years later.

There were two methods for Englishmen who could not afford to pay for the Atlantic passage to make the voyage to Virginia. The first was indentured servitude. A person could place themselves in servitude to a master for a period of seven years, in return for the payment of passage and 50 acres of land upon completion of the indenture. The second method was for an Englishman of means to pay for the passage of others who wanted to emigrate, and that gentleman then received 50 acres of land in Virginia for each paid passage. The immigrants arrived with no financial liability, but also without any land. Richard used the method of indentured servitude. His presumed son, Thomas, used the second method.

Richard Gregory arrived in Jamestown only 13 years after its founding, and at a time the settlement’s survival was still in doubt. This was the year of the arrival of the Mayflower in Massachusetts Bay, which was the only English speaking colony, other than Jamestown and the settlements along the James River, on the entire American mainland. Richard survived the Virginia Indian massacre of 1622. There are two surviving musters of persons and property in Virginia Colony from 1624 and 1625, and Richard is listed on both first among Sir George Yeardley’s many servants, and as the oldest of the servants. As such, he was probably Yeardley’s indoor servant (similar to a butler).

Following his indenture, Richard Gregory resided on or near Flowerdew Hundred. This was part of the original land grant to Yeardley, so it is possible the land was part of the indenture contract, even though Yeardley had sold his Flowerdew holdings before 1627. Yeardley himself never set foot on Flowerdew Hundred, but one of the households that have been investigated by archaeologists, dated to the time Richard or his son may have been there, did contain artifacts tied to Yeardley. At present there is a museum and ongoing archaeologic digs at Flowerdew Hundred, located on the south side of the James River, southeast of Richmond.

Thomas Gregory, born in 1620 in England, and therefore a teen of 15, arrived in Virginia in 1635 on the "Globe" out of London. His passage was one of seven paid for by Captain Thomas Paulett, an English gentleman, in return for 50 acres of land for each of the seven. Thus Thomas arrived in Virginia quite young and with no land, yet by 1655, only 20 years later, when he met with an early death, he owned a plantation at Flowerdew Hundred and employed both indentured servants and sharecroppers. Why did this teen come to this location and how was he so successful at a young age?

Because of the name Gregory, his age, the location of his residence, and his success, we believe him to be Richard’s son. It is plausible to contemplate him joining his father when he was old enough to cross the Atlantic, perhaps having his father’s assistance (or even Yeardley’s) in arranging for someone to obtain land for his passage, and using his father’s land (from the indenture) to obtain prosperity. The time at which he did prosper coincides with when tobacco became a cash crop in Virginia, making the fortune of many farmers. And tobacco is known to have been farmed at Flowerdew Hundred. It is difficult to conceive a 15-year-old coming to Virginia entirely on his on, and becoming successful in a short period of time, without help.

Thomas Gregory married Jane Mosby, and had one son, Thomas, Jr. Charles City County records show Jane Gregory as a widow, and then remarrying, to Joseph Parsons. This family left Flowerdew Hundred and moved to the north side of the James River to Weyanoke. Weyanoke was also part of George Yeardley’s land grant from the Crown and Minge’s ferry operated between Flowerdew Hundred and Weyanoke. Joseph Parsons and Jane’s marriage was very short, as Jane was widowed again and married John Drury Stith in 1656. In 1662, John Stith confirmed in Charles City County court, that a horse grazing in Weyanoke was a gift from Joseph Parsons to his stepson, Thomas Gregory, Jr.

John Drury Stith was born in 1638 in Gloucester, England. Stith family genealogies differ as to whether Jane Mosby was born in Prince George County, VA, in 1633, or was born in England. John and Jane had four children, Drury (born 1670), William, John, and Ann (born 1661). One descendant of Jane Mosby Gregory Stith, through her daughter Ann’s line, is George Herbert Walker Bush. Thus, the children, nieces, and nephews of Mildred Easley Gregory are all eleventh cousins of the first President Bush. Their children are twelth cousins of President George W. Bush.

The first American-born Gregory was Thomas Gregory, Jr., the son of Thomas Gregory and Jane Mosby. He was born in Flowerdew Hundred and moved to Weyanoke when his widowed mother remarried. As an adult, he broke with the Anglican Church (the Church of England) and became the overseer of the Quaker church at Weyanoke. He evidently dedicated his career to this role as on January 1, 1720 he requested stepping down as the Quaker overseer due to his "being ainchant." He apparently died that same year. We know little of his family except that he had at least one son, Thomas (III).

Thomas Gregory (III) was born in Weyanoke, VA, and resided there until 1717 when he purchased 100 acres of land in Bristol Parish, Prince George County, VA, on the north side of Bayles Run, from Daniel Nance. At about this time he married his first wife (of three), Elizabeth Nance. It is assumed there is a relationship between Daniel and Elizabeth Nance, but that has not been determined. Elizabeth was born about 1695 and is the daughter of John Nance and Sarah Gooking. John Nance was born about 1650 in Henrico County, VA, the son of Richard (born in England) and Alice Nance, and died in 1716 in Prince George County. Richard Nance was the son of John Nance, born in 1580. Sarah Gooking was born about 1660 in Prince George County, the daughter of Samuel (born about 1642) and Mary Gooking. John Nance and Sarah Gooking married before 1694 in Prince George County.

On November 10, 1719, Thomas and Elizabeth Gregory had their first child and named him Nance (died 1783 in Brunswick Co., VA), his mother’s maiden name. In 1720 Thomas Gregory (III) had 250 acres of land around the White Oak Swamp in Prince George County surveyed, and in 1721 purchased 50 acres of that land. On January 1, 1722, in Bristol Parish, Prince George County, Thomas and Elizabeth’s son John was born, and their daughter Mary was born on September 1, 1724. It is presumed that Elizabeth Nance Gregory died between the birth of her daughter Mary and the birth of Thomas’ daughter Lucey on July 1, 1734, born to his second wife, Jane. Thomas Gregory (III) made a third purchase of land, 250 acres on both sides of the White Oak Swamp, in 1731. He had a third wife, Mary, who bore him four children, Thomas, Samuel, William, and James. Thomas Gregory (III) died in 1739 in Amelia County, VA. He may have moved to Amelia, or the land on which he was living may have been in that part of Amelia County taken from Prince George County when Amelia was created in 1734.

John Gregory, the second child of Thomas Gregory (III) and Elizabeth Nance, married twice. His first wife was a Sherman, and they had five children, John, Jr., Ann, Mary, Samuel, and Thomas. John Gregory, Jr. was killed in the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Brandywine. John Gregory, Sr. also married Mary Clark in 1760 in Amelia County, VA. They resided on a 90-acre tract that he purchased in 1761 on the east side of Cellar Creek. John was a slave owner. John and Mary had one son, William, who was born in 1760. John Gregory died in 1767. After John died, Mary Clark Gregory married John Keatts. On August 28, 1777, William Gregory appeared in Amelia County court and declared John Keatts, his stepfather, as his guardian.

John Keatts was born in Chesterfield County, the son of Curtis and Tabitha Keatts. Curtis Keatts was born in 1710 and lived in Prince George County and then Chesterfield County, VA, where he married Tabitha sometime before 1751. Curtis and Tabitha’s children were Martha, John, Charles, Mary, Tabitha, James, and William, and all were probably born in Chesterfield County. Two of the Keatts daughters, Martha and Tabitha, married brothers, Robert W. and William Tucker, respectively. These brothers were the sons of George and Catherine Tucker. The third daughter, Mary, married another William Tucker, the son of Robert, Jr. and Frances Tucker and grandson of Robert and Martha Tucker. The precise relationship between these Tuckers has not been determined. But the Tuckers are believed to descend from the same Tucker family of whom some were at the original Jamestown settlement, and others settled on Bermuda.

The Keatts moved to Amelia County from Chesterfield. John Keatts purchased land in Amelia County from his sister Tabitha and her husband William Tucker on April 27, 1768. John Keatts married Mary Clark Gregory that same year. John and Mary had eight children:

Richard, who had a daughter Martha, born Jan. 13, 1818;

Patsy, married Daniel Shelton, died after 1837;

Tabitha, married Lester Archer;

Henry C., married Eunice Bailey May 22, 1817;

Martha, married a Shelton.

On June 12, 1777, John Keatts (William Gregory’s stepfather) was given 200 acres in Lunenburg County by his father, Curtis Keatts. In anticipation of this John and Mary had sold their Amelia property on May 21, 1777. Shortly after this, some of the Keatts family continued moving west, as that is where William Gregory purchases property and marries in 1781. The 1782 census shows John Keatts, his brother William, his son Richard, and stepson William Gregory, all as heads of households in the same portion of Pittsylvania County.

The timing of the move of many of the Keatts family to Pittsylvania County coincides with the Revolutionary War. When John and Mary Gregory Keatts sold their Amelia County property, they sold it for considerably less than its purchase price. They either did not use, or stayed only briefly on their Lunenburg County land before moving to Pittsylvania. Many people were moving west, to get inland, potentially away from possible damage from the British.

We have no evidence that William Gregory, or any of the Tucker or Keatts family served during the Revolution. But events of 1781 give us evidence of their sympathies. Following the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, in nearby North Carolina, on March 15, British Colonel Banastre Tarleton led raids on the Virginia countryside, and encamped on the plantation of Reverend James Craig in Lunenburg County. After butchering Craig’s hogs for his troops, Tarleton forced the Reverend to sign a parole agreeing not to support the American cause in any manner. Curtis Keatts, his son James, and William Tucker, all signed a petition to the governor of Virginia on August 12, requesting that Reverend Craig be released from his parole since it was coerced.

William Gregory married Martha Tucker, the daughter of Robert W. Tucker and Martha Keatts, therefore the niece of his stepfather John Keatts. William and Martha purchased property on the south side of the Bannister River, near the headwaters of Stinking River, in Pittsylvania County. He was a slave owner. William and Martha had nine children:

John K., born June 10, 1782, married Elizabeth H. Corder;

Maryan P. (Polly), born 1784, married William Payne;

Robert T.;

Martha (Patsy), married William Pickeral;

William, born 1789, married Sarah M. Keatts;

Lowry, born 1793, married Amelia Richeson;

Elizabeth, born 1795, married Randolph Keatts;

Nancy, born 1797, married William T. Keatts;

Richard Dennis, born 1798,married Elizabeth H. Pigg.

William Gregory died in 1800, leaving Martha to manage a plantation, with slaves, and nine children, the oldest in his teens. This she was able to do with her oldest children’s and neighboring family member’s support until her own death in 1812. Before her death she had arranged for her cousin Nelson Tucker to act as executor. Her daughters, Nancy and Elizabeth chose their brother-in-law William Payne as their guardian. The two youngest sons, Lowry and Richard Dennis, chose their oldest brother, John K., as their guardian. Each child received a share of the 750 acres in the estate, a slave, and cash, the amount of cash varying in order to equalize the inheritance, taking into account the amount of land and the value of the slaves.

The censuses from 1820 to 1840 show most of the sons and sons-in-law of William and Martha Gregory living in Pittsylvania County. In 1820 John K. Gregory, Randolph Keatts, and William Pickeral are listed as heads of households in the County. In 1830 all sons and sons-in-law are enumerated except Lowry (died) and Robert (moved away). In 1840 we again see all except Lowry, Robert, and William Pickeral.

John K. Gregory, the eldest son of William Gregory and Martha Tucker, married Elizabeth H. Corder on June 17, 1818. John received 75 acres on the Stinking River and a slave Jerry, valued at 120 pounds from his parents estate. On Jan. 20, 1817, John had purchased additional property on the White Thorn Creek in Pittsylvania County, bringing his total holdings to 104 acres. The family lived there until midwinter 1830-31, when on Jan. 18, 1831 he sold that land and purchased 235 acres from Benjamin Butcher on both sides of White Thorn Creek. The family apparently lived there until his death on May 28, 1843. After her husband’s death, by 1848, Elizabeth moved the family to Tazewell County, VA. John K Gregory and Elizabeth H. Corder had nine children.

Maryan P. (Polly) Gregory, the second child of William Gregory and Martha Tucker, married William Payne on March 1, 1802. William was born in 1776. Polly inherited 114 acres on Reed Creek, and a slave named Tom valued at 110 pounds. Polly and William had eight children. William died in 1857 and Polly before February 1858. Two of their sons evidently disputed the settlement of their estate.

Robert T. Gregory was the third child of William Gregory and Martha Tucker. He received 29 acres on the Stinking River, and a slave named Toomber valued at 12 pounds, in his inheritance. On Sep. 12, 1814 he bought 79 acres from his sister Martha and husband William Pickeral. On Feb. 26 he sold 10 acres to his brother William. On June 17, 1816, he bought 70 acres from his brother John K. Then on May 15, 1820, he sold all his property to his brother Lowry and apparently moved away.

The fourth child of William Gregory and Martha Tucker was Martha (Patsy) Gregory. She married William Pickeral on July 14, 1812. She inherited 79 acres and a slave named Binney, valued at 60 pounds, from her parents.

William Gregory, Jr. was the fifth child of William Gregory and Martha Tucker. He inherited 80 acres and a slave named Phillis, valued at 60 pounds. He married Sarah M. Keatts on March 9, 1829. Sarah was the daughter of Richard Keatts and Elizabeth Waller. Her grandfather, Paschall Keatts, was William, Jr.’s mother’s cousin. They had at least three children. They lived on their inherited land until they sold it in 1856. In 1860 they lived on a farm valued at $200. They were also in Pittsylvania County at the time of the 1870 census.

The sixth child of William Gregory and Martha Tucker was Lowry Gregory. He inherited 82 acres and a slave named Jordan, valued at 120 pounds. Lowry married Amelia Richeson and they had at least three children. On Oct. 16, 1816 he bought 267 acres from his father’s stepbrother, James Gower Keatts. On May 15, 1820, he bought 236 acres from his brother Robert. On March 18, 1825, Lowry bought a lot in Lynchburg, VA and moved there, holding onto his Pittsylvania land. Before dying, he appointed his father-in-law, Jesse Richeson, a large landowner in Amherst County, as his executor. This trust was misplaced for when Lowry died, Jesse badly handled or exploited the estate. The land was sold well below its purchase value in a time of strong economy. With debts and her father’s fees for his service as executor, Amelia and the family were left with little and these lands passed from the Gregory and Keatts families.

Elizabeth Gregory, the seventh child of William Gregory and Martha Tucker, inherited 103 acres and a slave, Martha, valued at 90 pounds. She married Randolph Keatts (born 1785), a son of Charles Keatts and a cousin to her mother, on Dec. 17, 1817. They had 10 children. Randolph died before February 1866.

The eighth child of William Gregory and Martha Tucker was Nancy Gregory. She inherited 80 acres and a slave, Olive, valued at 60 pounds. She married William C. Keatts, a stone mason, and cousin to her mother, on Nov. 1, 1818. They had five children.

Richard Dennis was the ninth and last child of William Gregory and Martha Tucker. On February 19, 1827, he married Elizabeth H. Pigg (born 1810) with Nathan Hutcherson, her stepfather serving as surety for the wedding. The Pigg family was a long-standing Virginia family and is a major branch of the Gregory family ancestry. It is described in a later chapter.

From his parent’s estate, Richard Dennis inherited 103 acres located between the Bannister River and Pudding Creek, and the slave, Pleasant, valued at 20 pounds. His brother, John K., served as his guardian after his parents died. Richard and Elizabeth lived on his inherited land until 1840 and later on land between the Sandy and Strawberry Rivers. Richard and Elizabeth are enumerated in Pittsylvania County in each of the censuses between 1830 and 1860. In 1830, they had seven slaves and Richard’s brother William was living nearby. They appeared again in 1840 with nine slaves, but one of the two oldest sons was not living with them. All of the living children were with them in 1850, and the real estate value of the farm was given as $1050.

In 1860 Richard Dennis and Elizabeth were enumerated with Richard P. (a farm laborer), Christopher (a blacksmith), Doctor J. (laborer), Thomas, Henry, and Mary at home with Mary’s husband David Keatts and their newborn child, Mary, living with them as well. Richard Dennis appears in the 1880 census with a grandson Thomas, Wilson’s child, working as a laborer, and Henry C., his wife Louvinne, and their son Walter living next door. Elizabeth had died on August 13, 1878, and Richard Dennis died on July 18, 1885.

Richard Dennis Gregory and Elizabeth H. Pigg had twelve children:

William C., born Feb. 16, 1828;

John Branch, born Dec. 15, 1829;

Nathan Lowry, born Dec. 25, 1831;

Wilson Tucker, born March 5, 1833;

Richard P., born Feb. 4, 1835;

Christopher C., born Feb. 7, 1837;

Mary A. E., born Dec. 16, 1838;

Martha A. F., born Jan. 30, 1841;

Doctor James, Dec. 17, 1842;

Larina Catherine, born July 13, 1845;

Thomas Adolphus, born Dec. 7, 1847;

Henry C., born Apr. 17, 1850.

William C. Gregory, the first child of Richard Dennis and Elizabeth Gregory, died at the age of 20 in 1848 and was buried in Swansonville, VA.

John Branch Gregory, Richard Dennis and Elizabeth Gregory’s second child, married Martha Jane Eanes on Dec. 18, 1851. Martha Jane was born in Virginia in 1831 and was the daughter of John and Delila Eanes. John and Martha had four children. The 1860 census showed the family living next to Martha’s father. John voted for the Southern Ordinance for Secession on May 23, 1861 in Whitmel, VA, and joined the Confederate Army.

Nathan Lowry Gregory was the third child of Richard Dennis and Elizabeth Gregory. He married Mary (Polly) Bell before 1860 and they had three children. The 1860 census showed Nathan and Mary and two of their children living in Pittsylvania County. Nathan fought with the Confederate Army in the Civil War.

The fourth child of Richard Dennis and Elizabeth Gregory was Wilson Tucker Gregory. He married Nancy T. Midkiff on December 15, 1856 and they had two children. He voted for the Ordinance of Secession on May 23, 1861 in Callands, VA, and joined the Rebel Army.

Richard P. Gregory was the fifth child of Richard Dennis and Elizabeth Gregory. On February 20, 1860, he and his brother Christopher bought 105 acres on the north fork of the Sandy River. Then on May 23, 1861, he voted for Secession and joined the Confederate Army.

The sixth child of Richard Dennis and Elizabeth Gregory was Christopher C. Gregory. After joining with his brother Robert in a land purchase, he also voted for Secession and joined the Southern cause in war.

Thus when the Civil War began, five of the Gregory sons joined the Confederate Army, and each served in the 38th Virginia Regiment. As Doctor J and Thomas Adolphus came of age they also joined the Rebel cause, Doctor J in the 18th Virginia Regiment, and Thomas in the 3rd Regiment of Reserves. The 38th was part of Armistead’s Brigade and saw some of the hardest fighting of the War, getting their first battle experience near Yorktown and Williamsburg during the Peninsula Campaign, when Union forces under General George McClellan advanced on Richmond from the East. A fierce battle occurred at Seven Pines (called Fair Oaks by the Union Army) on May 31, 1862. The 38^th was among the forces marching through a swampy forest to conduct an unsuccessful frontal assault on a strong federal position. Both Richard and Nathan Gregory died of the wounds they sustained in this battle, Richard died on June 1st and Nathan on July 1st. Both were buried in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond. The Rebels later succeeded in thwarting the Union drive on Richmond as Robert E. Lee took command of the Army and on July 1, 1862, the Rebels attacked the Union rear guard by charging up Malvern Hill, southeast of Richmond. In this charge, Christopher Gregory was wounded. Christopher, who was a color corporal carrying the flag, recovered and received a citation for gallantry from his commanding officer.

Not all casualties in the War were from combat. In 1862 Wilson Tucker fell ill and died on September 15 in Richmond’s Chimborazo Hospital, being buried in Hollywood Cemetery. The War continued and in 1863 Lee’s forces found themselves confronting the Union Army under General George Meade at Gettysburg, PA. The climactic moment of that battle was Pickett’s Charge on July 3, 1863. The 38th was part of the charge and it was Armistead’s Brigade which penetrated Union lines. But the assault could not be maintained, and it ended in disaster. John Branch Gregory was killed in the charge, and Christopher was wounded for the second time. Following the war, Confederate dead were moved from the battle site to a mass grave at Hollywood Cemetery.

Christopher returned home for a period following Gettysburg, probably to recuperate. While home, he sold the land he and his now dead brother Richard had purchased. He returned to the Army and served as a blacksmith for the rest of the war. Doctor J continued to see action. At the Battle of Fredricksburg, an explosion ruptured his left ear drum. At Drewry’s Bluff Doctor J received a foot wound. When the war came to an end on April 9, 1865, of the seven sons of Richard Dennis and Elizabeth Gregory who had served, four were dead and two had been twice wounded. The Gregory family had paid a very high price for supporting the Southern cause. Christopher, Doctor J, and Thomas returned to a devastated household. John Branch’s widow Martha Jane married Ralph B. Prewett on January 18, 1869, and Wilson Tucker’s widow, Nancy married a Walker.

Christopher applied for a license to operate an Ordinary in December 1866. He ran this store on an acre and half he bought from his father. He befriended a younger neighbor, Claude Swanson, who later became governor of Virginia. He gave up on the store and returned the land to his father November 1, 1871. His father distributed most of his land to his heirs on January 1, 1872, and Christopher sold his portion to his brother Thomas the following month. Chris married Mary S. Shough, the daughter of Jonah Shough, a Methodist minister, and Lucy Fitzhugh Stuart, a great-great granddaughter of a Scots immigrant, David Stuart. They bought 450 acres in Patrick County and moved there. Christopher worked alternatively as a farmer, a miller, and a blacksmith, while fighting alcoholism. Mary died October 24, 1901 and Christopher died March 24, 1908. They had six children.

Mary A. E. Gregory, the seventh child and first daughter of Richard Dennis and Elizabeth Gregory had married David C. Keatts on November 14, 1856. David was the son of Randolph Keatts and Elizabeth Gregory, so he was Mary’s cousin. This was the fourth generation of marriages between the Gregory and Keatts families. David Keatts was listed as a miller in the 1850 census. When they first married, the family lived on Mary’s parents’ farm and moved in 1860 to Lynchburg. They were in Henry County, VA in 1870. Mary and David Keatts had three children.

Martha A. F. Gregory was the eighth child of Richard Dennis and Elizabeth Gregory. She married David T. Eddy, the son of Thomas and Marinda Eddy on December 21, 1868. David was born in 1841 in Montgomery County, VA, and was a miller. They lived in Rocky Mount, VA and had several children. Martha died of cancer.

Doctor J attempted several careers following his return from the war. For a while he taught music. Then he practiced law. He received land from his father in January 1872 and sold it shortly after. He then entered Richmond Medical College and obtained a degree in dentistry. By 1877 he was a resident of Rocky Mount, VA, and he practiced dentistry in Franklin County. In those days, dentists traveled to their patients, so Doctor J made his rounds on horse. He received a state pension for his war injuries in 1907. He is credited with making a stirring political speech in support of President Woodrow Wilson on the steps of the Franklin County Courthouse in 1916. Doctor J died in the Lee Camp Soldiers Home in Richmond on May 19, 1928 and is buried in the Hollywood Cemetery. Thus, five Gregory brothers are buried there.

The tenth child of Richard Dennis and Elizabeth Gregory was Larina Catherine Gregory. Larina married James Pleasant Haley on February 19, 1874, and they lived on the 40 acres that she had received from her father in January 1872, until they sold it to her brother Thomas in 1881. Later in 1881, Larina died, poisoned by a black servant. She and James had six children. James remarried, to Flora Hines. He had been a very successful farmer, but ran into adversities that caused him to lose most everything and die penniless.

The twelfth child of Richard Dennis and Elizabeth Gregory was Henry C. Gregory. Henry had been too young to serve in the Civil War. He married Louvinne A. Pigg who was born in 1858. He had received 40 acres of land from his father in January 1872 and purchased another 30 acres on November 8, 1879. Henry received another 54 acres, including the Gregory family home, in return for caring for his father in his last years. He also purchased 189 acres in 1896 from L. Riddle’s estate. Henry and Louvinne had seven children. Louvinne died in 1930 and Henry died January 23, 1931.

Thomas Adolphus Gregory, nicknamed "Tobe," was born December 7, 1847, and lived in Pittsylvania County, VA, joined the Confederate Army at the age of 16, accumulated significant property, prospered as a farmer, married twice and had nine children. His descendants constitute the present Gregory family of which this author has knowledge. Tobe is buried in the Gregory family cemetery, next to his father’s (Richard Dennis Gregory) home in Callands, Pittsylvania County. He died December 17, 1936.

Tobe Gregory was the eleventh child of Richard Dennis Gregory and Elizabeth H. Pigg. When he turned 16, he joined the Confederate Army, following the path of six older brothers, four of whom had already been killed in the Civil War. He joined the 3rd Virginia Reserves. By this time the Rebel cause was doomed, and the youth and aged were the only new source of manpower. The 3rd VA may have been constituted of such soldiers and may have been kept from serious fighting. In any event, we have no knowledge of what kind of action the teenager Tobe Gregory saw, although he witnessed the demise of the Southern cause.

Returning from the devastation of war, he helped restore the Gregory family after the loss of four of his brothers. In January of 1872, his father distributed about 40 acres each to his living children and the families of his deceased children. Tobe bought his brother Christopher’s gift of land the next month to add to his own. Chris married and moved to neighboring Patrick County. Tobe and Chris remained close, and after visiting his brother, Tobe met and married Molly A. Hylton (born 1859) on February 6, 1880, and they came to live on his land in Pittsylvania County. On October 15, 1881, Tobe bought the land his sister Larina had received from their father to add to his holdings.

Sometime before 1885, Henrietta Gregory, a daughter of Tobe’s brother Wilson, passed away, leaving her children Clement and Nora Pigg as orphans. Tobe served as their guardian until they were of age. He and Molly had two children, Annie who was born in 1882 and Nannie born in 1884. Sometime between 1884 and 1887 Molly A. Hylton Gregory died. On August 28, 1886, Tobe purchased another 181 acres. Then on April 7, 1887, he married Mary Catherine Griggs in Patrick County. Tobe had apparently met Mary Catherine while visiting his brother Christopher, as he may have with Molly seven years earlier. Tobe was 40 at the time, while Mary Catherine was 19. She had been born in Henry County on October 4, 1867, the daughter of Lewis Julius Griggs and Sarah Dandridge Maddox. The Griggs family is an important branch of the Gregory family and will be described in a later chapter. Thomas Adolphus Gregory and Mary Catherine Griggs had seven children.

The children of Thomas Adolphus Gregory were:

by Molly A. Hylton,

Annie, born 1882;

Nannie, born 1884;

by Mary Catherine Griggs,

Lucille, born Feb. 11, 1888;

Russell Aubrey, born June 19, 1889;

Lewis Howell, born Dec. 11, 1890;

Lottie Louise, born Feb. 25, 1892;

Thomas Hutcherson, born Sep. 27, 1893;

Frank Hylton, born 1899;

Eloise Benson, born 1904.

Tobe, Catherine, and their family appear in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses enumerated in Pittsylvania County. Their home is listed as near the Danville and Franklin turnpikes. In 1920 the children had started to move away, but Lewis, Thomas and Frank Hylton were still at home. Frank’s wife Naomi and their first child are also living in Tobe’s home.

Annie Gregory, the first daughter of Thomas A. and Molly Gregory, married a Jones. They were living in Bassett, VA in 1935. They had four children, Thomas, Mary, Paul Gregory, and Louise. Louise Jones died before 1944. Thomas Jones had a daughter, Violet. Mary Jones married a Gauldin. Paul Gregory Jones died November 9, 1993. Annie Gregory Jones died December 12, 1970.

Nannie Gregory was the second daughter of Tobe and Molly Gregory. She married Alexander Edwards. They lived in Richmond in 1937. Their only child was Ann Edwards, who married John Daniel Raidabaugh on June 22, 1943. Ann and John had one son, John Daniel Raidabaugh, Jr. Alexander Edwards died July 4, 1951. Nannie Gregory Edwards died January 10, 1962. Ann Edwards Raidabaugh died October 12, 1972. John Daniel Raidabaugh, Sr. died May 14, 1993.

The first child born to Thomas Adolphus Gregory and his second wife, Mary Catherine Griggs, was Lucille Gregory. Lucille married John Daniel Blair, the son of Samuel Britan Blair and Emily Frances Motley of Pittsylvania County, on October 11, 1911 in Danville, VA. John was born on April 23, 1877 in Chatham, VA. John and Lucille Blair moved frequently, with their first child born in Wilmington, OH, in 1915, the next two born in Bedford Co., VA, where they were still living at the time of the 1920 census, and the last two children being born in Dinwiddie County, VA. By 1935 the family was residing at Wellville, Nottoway County, VA. John Daniel Blair died in Petersburg, VA on February 4, 1941. Lucille Gregory Blair died in Richmond on July 26, 1977.

The five children of John Daniel and Lucille Gregory Blair were:

John Wilbur, born April 29, 1915;

George Thomas, born Sept. 22, 1917;

Catherine Marie;

Robert Curtiss, born May 11, 1922;

Irene Frances.

John Wilbur Blair married Marie Ritchie on November 20, 1940 in Blackstone, Va. They had one daughter, Mary Katherine Blair. Mary Katherine Blair married Tom Neville, and they had two sons, Stephen Glen and John Thomas. Stephen Glen Neville married Cynthia Hayes and they had three sons, Fred Marvin, Dennis E., and Blair C. John Thomas Neville married Tracy Coleman and they had three daughters, Laura Ann, Leslie, and Joanna L. John Wilbur Blair died on August 12, 1983, and his wife Marie Ritchie Blair died on December 15, 1985.

George Thomas Blair, the second child of John Daniel Blair and Lucille Gregory, married Mary Carol Eiker. They had two children, Pamela and Thomas Gregory. Pamela Blair married Craig Carmichael and they had two daughters, Catherine and Kristen. Thomas Gregory Blair married Sharon Mihall and they had two children, Heather and Ethan Thomas. George Thomas Blair died on September 20, 1955 in Chevy Chase, MD.

The third child of John Daniel Blair and Lucille Gregory was Catherine Marie Blair. Marie married Calvin Mitchell. Marie and Calvin had three sons, C. D., who married Pauline Griller, Blair David who married Sharon Swanek, and Stephen K.

Robert Curtiss Blair, John Daniel and Lucille Gregory Blair’s fourth child, married Beulah Rogers. They had two children, Bettie Kaye, and Robert Curtis, Jr. Bettie Kaye Blair married Everette Prosise, and they had two children, Christopher and Melanie. Robert Curtiss Blair, Sr. died July 12, 1993 in Richmond.

Irene Frances Blair, the fifth child of John Daniel Blair and Lucille Gregory, married twice. Irene’s four children were born to she and M. W. Blankenship. They were Frank Tyler, Terry Neil , Jackie Blair and Tracy Alan. Tracy Alan Blankenship died March 13, 1976. Jackie Blair Blankenship married Jeffrie B. Davis and they had two sons, Joel Brooks and Alan Tracy. Irene Frances Blair’s second husband is Barton Hagerty. Irene Frances Blair Hagerty has been investigating the Blair and Gregory ancestry and has been a valuable source of information for this history.

Russell Aubrey Gregory was the second child of Thomas Adolphus (Tobe) Gregory and Mary Catherine Griggs. Russell married Geneva Rebecca Wyatt, born March 13, 1887, the daughter of J. W. and Sallie Wyatt, on December 28, 1910. In the 1920 census Russell and Geneva were enumerated on a Henry County, VA, farm, with their first six children. Geneva died on December 28, 1953 and Russell died on October 2, 1961. They had ten children:

Herman Aubrey, born Sep. 22, 1911;

Dorothy Irene, born Jan. 8, 1913;

Verna Estelle;

Clemmon Lewis;

Clifton Russell, born Dec. 16, 1915;

Wesley Thomas;

Douglas Wyatt;

Raymond Addison, born Oct. 6, 1921;

Hassell Bernard;

Helen Lucille.

Herman Aubrey Gregory married Lottie Emma Wright, and they resided in Axton, VA in 1944. They had five children, Louise Vivian, William Ray, Jackie Darrell, Nellie Lee, and Ralph Phillip. Herman Aubrey died on August 17, 1996.

Dorothy Irene Gregory was the second child of Russell Aubrey Gregory and Geneva Rebecca Wyatt. She married Bruce Reynolds, (born 1913) the son of Booker and Laura Reynolds, on March 30, 1935. They resided in Callands, VA, in 1944. Dorothy Irene Gregory and Bruce Reynolds had two daughters, Joan Teresa and June Tabitha. Joan Teresa Reynolds married twice, to a Marilla and to a King. June Tabitha Reynolds married Virgil Samuel Crider and had four daughters, Wanda Dean, who married an Adkins; Sharon, who married a Bayliss; Amy Leigh, who married a Wells; and Carmen Marie. Bruce Reynolds died September 8, 1972, and Dorothy Irene Gregory Reynolds died September 16, 1992.

The third child of Russell Aubrey Gregory and Geneva Rebecca Wyatt was Verna Estelle Gregory. Verna married twice, to Harold Reynolds, and to Russell R. Reynolds. It is not known if the two husbands were related to each other, but Russell Reynolds was the brother of Bruce Reynolds, Verna’s sister Dorothy’s husband. By Harold Reynolds, Verna had a son Dale. By Russell Reynolds, she had two children, Reta and Carl. Verna and Russell were residing in Callands, VA, in 1944.

Clemmon Lewis and Clifton Russell Gregory were twin brothers, sons of Russell Aubrey Gregory and Geneva Rebecca Wyatt. Clemmon married Dorothy Austin. Dorothy was the daughter of R. J. Austin and Annie Hatcher. Clemmon and Dorothy’s children were Kenneth and Russell. Clifton Russell Gregory married Frances Hubbard and they resided in Danville, VA, in 1944. Clifton Russell Gregory died on March 11, 1984. Frances Hubbard Gregory died on December 17, 1993.

Wesley Thomas Gregory was the sixth child of Russell Aubrey Gregory and Geneva Rebecca Wyatt. He married Louisa Aaron. Louisa was the daughter of Matthew Aaron and Grace Woodall. Their children were Elizabeth and Thomas.

The seventh child of Russell Aubrey Gregory and Geneva Rebecca Wyatt was Douglas Wyatt Gregory. He married Gladys Creasy and their children were Martha, and Walter Douglas.

Raymond Addison Gregory was the eighth child of Russell and Geneva Gregory. He served in the Army during World War II. He married Callie Williams. Raymond Addison died May 24, 1974.

The ninth child of Russell and Geneva Gregory was Hassell Bernard Gregory. He married Jane Collins. Their son was Bernard Gregory.

The tenth child of Russell Aubrey Gregory and Geneva Rebecca Wyatt was Helen Lucille Gregory. Helen married a Scarce.

Lewis Howell Gregory was the third child of Thomas Adolphus (Tobe) Gregory and Mary Catherine Griggs. Lewis married Christine Francis (born 1898) on December 28, 1926. Christine was the daughter of J. E. and Myrtle Francis. Lewis Howell died in an explosion at a carbide lighting plant where he worked in Swansonville, VA, on February 22, 1935. He was buried in the Methodist Church cemetery in Swansonville. Christine lived to be 95, dying on October 24, 1993.

Lewis Howell Gregory died intestate. At the time of Lewis Howell Gregory’s death, in 1935, Virginia law was designed to keep property within the blood family of the deceased. Therefore while Christine Francis inherited her husband’s other possessions, she only inherited the right to live on and use her husband’s land, about 40 acres. Since Lewis and Christine did not have children, when she died, in 1993, it was the Virginia law that existed when Lewis died 58 years earlier that was applicable for the distribution of his land. The value of the land was therefore to be divided among descendants of Lewis’ father, Thomas Adolphus Gregory. It was split in various fractions among the descendants of the two stepsisters, and six brothers and sisters of Lewis Howell Gregory.

Lottie Louise Gregory was the fourth child of Thomas Adolphus (Tobe) Gregory and Mary Catherine Griggs. She married twice, first to Benjamin Harrison Woods, who was the father to her children and died October 26, 1928, and to Harry Bates Hodnett. Harry Hodnett was the father of Margaret, who married Lottie’s son Harold. Lottie Louise Gregory Hodnett was residing in Danville, VA, in 1937. The children of Lottie and Benjamin Harrison Wood were:

Christine Katherine, married Jesse McKay Elliott (1910-79);

Benjamin Harrison, Jr., (1918-91), married Alma Dodson Pritchett;

Charlotte Benson, married Charlie Vandell Williams (1910-84);

Harold Louis, married Margaret Burke Hodnett;

Raymond Gregory, married Goldie Richardson Reynolds;

Frank Hylton Gregory was the sixth child of Tobe Gregory and Mary Catherine Griggs. Frank married Naomi Elliott (1897-1992) the daughter of Peter and Susie Elliott. They resided in Danville, VA, in 1937. Frank Hylton Gregory died on October 13, 1978. Frank and Naomi’s children were:

Thelma Naomi, married Jack Lanier Oakley;

Katherine Sue, married Robert Lynwood Bailey;

Margaret Ann, married Arion Dowe Loving.

Eloise Benson Gregory was the seventh child of Thomas Adolphus Gregory and Mary Catherine Griggs. Eloise married Roy Vernon Farmer on December 24, 1935. They resided in Callands, VA, in 1937. Roy died on August 28, 1948. Eloise died November 13, 1976 and is buried in Danville, VA.

Thomas Hutcherson Gregory was the fifth child of Thomas Adolphus (Tobe) Gregory and Mary Catherine Griggs. Born September 27, 1893, Thomas Hutcherson served in the U.S. Army during World War I. He married twice, first to Sallie Richard Easley, the daughter of John Watt Easley and Mary Ellen Blair. Mary Ellen was the older sister of John Daniel Blair, who married Thomas’s sister Lucille. Both the Easley and Blair families are important branches of the Gregory family and will be described in later chapters. Thomas Hutcherson and Sallie lived originally in Callands, VA, where their first child, Mary Catherine, was born on June 22, 1921. By September 18, 1923, when their second child, Mildred Easley, was born in Nottoway County, VA. Here their two other children were born, Thomas Harold and Annie Elizabeth.

All three of Thomas and Sallie’s daughters graduated from James Madison College in Harrisonburg, VA. Sallie Richard Easley Gregory died on July 5, 1946. Thomas Hutcherson remarried Mabel Powell on May 25, 1949. When Thomas Hutcherson retired from farming, he and Mabel moved into a house in Crewe, and he gave the farm to his son Harold. Thomas Hutcherson Gregory died in November of 1977 and is buried in the Gregory family plot in Callands, VA.

Mary Catherine Gregory married Edward Kite Roseberry. Kite was born December 17, 1919, in Virginia. Mary was a schoolteacher. Kite was a farmer, having been a minor league baseball player, and a bomber pilot over Europe in World War II. Kite died on December 21, 1990 and is buried in the Manassas Battlefield Memorial Gardens.

Mary and Kite Roseberry had two children. Edward Kite Roseberry, Jr. who married Virginia Marie Vance and Catherine Roseberry who married Robert Womack. Cathy and Bob have a daughter, Cassie

Mildred Easley Gregory married LeRoy Harrison Richards in Washington, D.C. on February 4, 1947. LeRoy was born in Tuscarora, PA, on November 11, 1915, the son of William Henry Richards and Minnie E. Yost. LeRoy served in the Army Air Corps in World War II, in North Africa and Italy. Mildred and LeRoy lived in Aston, PA, where he was an autoworker for Ford Motor Company in Chester, PA, and later for White Motor Company in Exton, PA. Mildred was the head dietician for Chester Hospital and later for the Penn-Delco School District. Mildred died of cancer on November 29, 1971. LeRoy died of complications from Parkinson’s Disease on February 3, 1997. Both are buried in the Glenwood Memorial Gardens, Broomall, PA.

Mildred and LeRoy had two sons, William Gregory and Daniel Keith. William graduated from Drexel University and worked for the Philadelphia Water Department and later for an environmental consulting firm. While attending Drexel he met Denise Mary Colonna, the daughter of George Anthony Colonna and Rosemary Louise Monks. Bill and Denise were married. Denise worked for Campbell Soup Company, in Camden, NJ, and for PNC Bank. Bill and Denise have two daughters, Nicole Marie and Melissa Kaye. Nicole graduated from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia with a degree in International Relations, and Melissa from the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in Information Science. Mildred and LeRoy’s son Daniel directs aquatic programs at swim club when he is not acting.

Thomas Harold Gregory was the third child of Thomas Hutcherson Gregory and Sallie Richard Easley. He married Carrie Tuttle McDaniel. Since his father’s retirement, Harold has managed the 300-acre family farm. Harold and Carrie have four children, Sallie Gale, Deborah Ann, Linda Irene, and Thomas Harold, Jr

Sallie Gale Gregory married Gregory Frazier Frost. They have three children, Sallie Jane, Carrie Lydia, and Wesley Frazier.

Deborah Ann Gregory, a daughter of Thomas Harold and Carrie Gregory, married William Hardison Wilson. Their children are Monica Ann and Adam Gregory.

Linda Irene Gregory is the third child of Thomas Harold and Carrie Gregory. She married Alan Wayne Mechelik, and is a nurse. They have two children, Jason and Christopher.

Thomas Harold, Jr., is the fourth child of Thomas Harold and Carrie Gregory. He married Daphne Dawn Versar and they had two children, Christopher Channing, and James Lance. Harold and Daphne divorced and Harold remarried, to Holly. They have a son, Hunter.

Annie Elizabeth Gregory was the fourth child of Thomas Hutcherson Gregory and Sallie Richard Easley. Elizabeth married Robert McCloud Breen. Bob had been born on Christmas day, 1925. They operated the Willowbank Motel in Harrisonburg, VA, where Elizabeth and her sisters had graduated from James Madison College. Robert Breen died in 1992. Elizabeth and Bob had two daughters, Robin Elizabeth, and Susan.

Robin Elizabeth Breen married Robert Lewis Johnson. Both Robin and Bob have made military careers as officers in the Army. They have two daughters, Alexis Michelle, and Meredith Anne. Susan Breen has married Drew Collins and they have divorced. She has one child.

The Pigg family as it relates to the Gregory family refers to the ancestors of Elizabeth H. Pigg (1810-1873). Elizabeth was the wife of Richard Dennis Gregory of Pittsylvania County, VA, and the great-grandmother of Mildred Easley Gregory of Crewe, VA, and Aston, PA. Elizabeth represents the seventh generation of the Pigg family in Virginia. Pigg family genealogies also provide the names, but no details, of five earlier generations of the family in England.

The first members of this family to come to America were two brothers, John and Robert Pigg. John is believed to have been born about 1630 in England. Both John and Robert were Cavaliers, or supporters of King Charles I, during the English Civil War (1642-48). Both were members of the Church of England, the Anglican Church, and their lives were probably made unpleasant during the reign of Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans (1649-60). Robert was granted a pass to depart England on April 9, 1650. John received grants of land in both New Kent County, VA (now part of King and Queen County) and in Old Rappahannock County, VA (now Essex County) between 1658 and 1683. These grants were obtained by John’s paying for the transport of English immigrants to the Virginia colony. John probably came to Virginia when he obtained his first grants in New Kent. Thus it appears the Piggs were brothers of some wealth, who felt obliged to leave England due to the oppression of the Cromwell Republic.

Robert and John Pigg’s father was Charles Pigg. Their aunts and uncles were Ann, Rachel, Margaret, Ursula, Thomas, Mary, Robert and Oliver Pigg. Charles’ father (John and Robert’s grandfather) was Richard Pigg, and he had a brother, Oliver. Richard’s father was Hugh Pigg. Hugh’s father was Thomas Pigg, and his grandfather was also named Thomas. We know only the names of these English ancestors at this time. Thus the earliest known Pigg ancestor is Thomas Pigg, the great-great-great grandfather of the Cavalier and immigrant brothers, Robert and John Pigg, and Thomas represents eleven generations before the birth of Elizabeth H. Pigg.

John Pigg, the immigrant to Virginia, resided in present King and Queen County, VA, probably in the lower section along the north bank of the Mattapony River. He married, with his wife’s name being Jane. John and Jane Pigg had at least five children, John, Jr., Elizabeth, Ellen, Edward, and Henry. We cannot be sure of the extent of John’s land holdings, or how much he may have disposed of over time, but he received upwards of 12,000 acres over the years for paying for the transport of immigrants and was certainly one of the largest landowners in King and Queen County. Jane died about 1684, and John died about 1700.

John Pigg, Jr., was born after 1653. It is not known for sure if he was born in England or Virginia. In the spring of 1702, 51 of the most prominent citizens (including John Pigg, Jr.) of King and Queen County sent a declaration of loyalty to King William III. This was William of Orange, and the declaration was probably made because of French efforts to promote "Bonnie Prince Charles," the son of James II, who William and Mary had deposed, as the rightful English monarch. This declaration points out the difficulties and delays in communication between England and the colony, as William had died in February 1702, and this was clearly unknown to those making the declaration.

In 1702, John Pigg, Jr. was serving as the Deputy Sheriff for King and Queen County. In 1729 he was serving as Clerk of the Vestry for the Stratton Major Parish of the Anglican Church.

He was married and his wife’s name was Jane. There are surviving records of John Pigg, Jr. obtaining at least 3000 acres in King and Queen and King William (present Caroline County) Counties by paying for the transport of English immigrants to Virginia between 1703 and 1730. He died in 1730. Two sons of John (Jr.) and Jane Pigg are known, Paul and George. George Pigg continued to live in King and Queen County, and he was a member of the Stratton Major Parish, being assigned pew #seven when a new church was built in 1767.

Paul Pigg, a son of John (Jr.) and Jane Pigg, was born about 1688 in King and Queen County, VA. Paul spent part of his early adulthood exploring the mostly uninhabited portion of western Virginia. He traveled westward to the Blue Ridge mountains, and then southward, investigating the area around present Pittsylvania County, where he was to return late in his life. Pigg River in the Pittsylvania area was named after him, based upon these explorations.

Paul Pigg married twice, his first wife being Elizabeth Osborne, born in 1692 in Amelia County, VA, and the daughter of William Osborne. Paul and Elizabeth lived in King and Queen County and had three children there, born between 1714-1718. Apparently Elizabeth died, and Paul married Sarah, with whom he had seven additional children. The children of Paul Pigg, by his two wives, were:

By Elizabeth Osborne,

Paul, Jr., born 1714, married Rebecca Clements,

John, born 1716, married Ann Clement,

Elizabeth, born 1718, married an Osten,

by Sarah (Pigg),

James,

Richard,

Pattia,

Sarah,

Ann,

Mary,

William, born 1735, married Mary (Polly) Fields.

One of the four daughters (by Sarah) married Robert Adams, but we do not know which one.

Paul and Sarah Pigg lived in that portion of King William County which became Caroline County in 1723, and continued to reside there until 1734. Paul had continued to obtain property by paying for the transport of immigrants to the colony, as had his father and grandfather. From 1734 on, his transfers and acquisition of property appear to be from straightforward sales and purchases. In that year he sold his Caroline County land and purchased 400 acres (at a cost of 40 shillings) in Prince George County (present Amelia County) and in 1737 another 400 acres (for the same cost of 40 shillings) in Goochland County (present Cumberland County). In fact, these two tracts of land are on opposite sides of the Appomattox River.

In 1756, Paul and Sarah Pigg sold the last of their property on the Appomattox River and moved to Halifax County (present Pittsylvania), buying land on Great Cherrystone Creek and the Bannister River, near the present town of Chatham. He and Sarah lived here until he died on November 27, 1767. At the time of his death he owned 1000 acres and an estimated 500 pounds of additional property, including 10 slaves. All of Paul’s children, except for Paul, Jr. and Elizabeth (Osten) came west to Halifax with him. Richard lived with his mother Sarah, following his father’s death and apparently obtained the family home. William Pigg followed his father’s practice of moving west, going to Kentucky in 1799, where he died in Clay County, KY some time before August 2, 1824.

John Pigg was the second son of Paul Pigg and Elizabeth Osborne. He bought some of his father’s property in Amelia County in 1742 when he married Ann Clement. Ann was born in 1712 in King William County, a daughter of William and Ann Taylor Clement. William Clement (1691-1760) had purchased land in Amelia County in 1735, neighboring that of Paul Pigg. William was a judge and later Sherif of Amelia County, where he died.

William Clement was the son of Benjamin Clement (born about 1650 in Gloucester Co., VA) and Grizelle Coleman (born about 1650). Benjamin’s parents were Francis Clement (about 1630-1719) and Elizabeth Meriweather (about 1630-1710). Francis was born in Gloucester Co., VA and died in Isle of Wight Co., VA. Elizabeth was born in James City (Jamestown). Francis’ parents were Jeremiah and Edy Clement, Jeremiah being born on Nov. 8, 1607 in London and died in 1636 in James City, VA. Jeremiah’s parents were Geoffrey Clement and Elizabeth Fuller of London. Elizabeth’s father was Culbert Fuller.

Elizabeth Meriweather’s ancestors trace back to the Norman invasion of England. Her parents were Nicolas Meriweather and Elizabeth Woodhouse. Elizabeth Woodhouse’s father, Henry, III (about 1608-1644) was born on Bermuda and died in Norfolk, VA. Captain Henry Woodhouse, Jr., born about 1573 in Wayham, England, married Frances G. Pembrookshire. Sir Henry Woodhouse, Sr., (born about 1557) married Ann Bacon (born about 1546 in Chiselhurst, England). The Bacon line is known about twelve additional generations to Grimbaldus Bacon, a Norman who after the invasion lived and died in Norfolk County, England.

John Pigg was a miller. He is believed to have built the first mill on the Appomattox River, which later became known as the Clement Town Mill. In 1763, John and Ann sold their Amelia property and moved to Pittsylvania County, near his father. John Pigg then built a mill on the Bannister River, and subsequently on Pudding Creek in Pittsylvania County. He was a substantial landowner in Pittsylvania County, and was one of the leading churchmen in the Anglican Church. John Pigg was a captain in the local militia, and in 1768 took an oath of loyalty to the King of England, and the English government.

As the events leading up to the Revolutionary War occurred, John Pigg’s loyalty to England and the Established Church of England, got him in trouble with the local Committee of Public Safety, the committees which formed the backbone of opposition to the Crown. On Feb. 22, 1775 the local committee condemned John Pigg. His offenses were the use of East India Tea (the same tea which was taxed by England and for which the Boston Tea Party occurred), and then refusing to appear before the committee to answer its charges. For these offenses he was branded a traitor to his country by the committee. As the war proceeded, he continued to serve as a vestryman for the Anglican Church parish, as more and more dissenters left the Church of England. It is difficult to determine from this whether John Pigg was sympathetic to the English side (a Tory), or just neutral, but it appears unlikely he was a supporter of the Revolution.

In 1782, John Pigg was enumerated in the Virginia census as a head of household in Pittsylvania County. In 1785, the year of his death, he is not listed. John Pigg and Ann Clement had four children, all born in Amelia County:

Hezekiah Ford, born 1742;

Keziah, born 1744,

Elizabeth, born 1748.

Keziah Pigg married John Hubbard, who had been born in Amelia County about 1740, on Feb. 24, 1769. Eady Pigg married John William Owen, born about 1750 in Halifax County, on March 28, 1771. Elizabeth Pigg married Jesse Robertson, born about 1751, and whose parents resided in Prince Edward County. The weddings of all three daughters of John and Ann Pigg took place in Pittsylvania County.

Hezekiah Ford Pigg was named for his uncle, Captain Hezekiah Ford of Amelia, the second husband of Ann Clement’s sister Elizabeth. Captain Ford’s son, Hezekiah Ford Jr. (Hezekiah Ford Pigg’s cousin) was very active on the American side in the Revolution, serving on the staff of General Light Horse Harry Lee and as an aide to Benjamin Franklin on his mission to secure assistance from France.

Hezekiah Ford Pigg was the son of John Pigg and Ann Clement, born in Amelia County in 1742. He married Elizabeth Nash, whose family resided in Prince Edward County, in 1763, and moved with his father that same year to Pittsylvania County. In 1771 he purchased more than 2800 acres in Pittsylvania County in the vicinity of Chatham and his father’s property. In 1793 he purchased, sight unseen, 2000 acres of land in Kentucky, along the Wilderness Road, which passed through the Cumberland Gap, a primary migration route for settlers. He was one of the largest landowners in Pittsylvania and owned slaves. He was enumerated as a head of household in Pittsylvania County in both the 1782 and 1785 Virginia censuses. He died in 1785, at the age of 43, the same year his father died.

The children of Hezekiah Ford Pigg and Elizabeth Nash were:

Kathy, born 1763, married Walker Nash (born 1759 in Pittsylvania County);

John, born 1770, married Polly King;

William, born 1771;

After her husband’s death, Elizabeth Nash Pigg remarried, to Aden Grey. Aden Grey had moved to Pittsylvania County from Maryland with his brother Jeremiah. No children were born to Aden and Elizabeth. Aden Grey died in 1816. Elizabeth died in 1827.

John Pigg was a son of Hezekiah Ford Pigg and Elizabeth Nash. He spent a great deal of his early adult years in Kentucky. He married Polly King, probably in the late 1790's. In January 1800, Polly King Pigg and their first son Peyton were living in the home of Shadrach and Nancy Corder in Pittsylvania County, while John Pigg was in Kentucky. Nancy was John’s sister. Later that month, John returned from Kentucky for the sale of some of his father’s personal property on Aden Grey’s plantation. Following the sale, John, Polly, and Peyton made a difficult winter return to Kentucky. Their second child, Clement, was born in Kentucky.

In 1802, John Pigg and his family returned to Pittsylvania for the settlement of his father’s landed estate. John inherited 275 acres and the family settled on it. The children of John Pigg and Polly King were:

Hezekiah, born 1807 in Pittsylvania County, died 1856;

William, born 1811 in Pittsylvania County;

John Pigg died in January 1816, at the age of 46. On February 24, 1817, Polly King Pigg married Nathan Hutcherson. Polly had five additional children by Nathan, Thomas, Samuel, James, Lerina Ann, and Doctor. Polly King Pigg Hutcherson died sometime between 1832 and 1836, when Nathan remarried Elizabeth Price.

It is Elizabeth H. Pigg’s generation that was the connection between the Gregory and Pigg families. Although her brother Clement married Jennie Gregory, we do not yet know how Jennie is related to the Gregory family we know. Elizabeth’s cousin Elizabeth H. Corder married her brother-in-law John K. Gregory. And Elizabeth married Richard Dennis Gregory.

Elizabeth lived with her mother and stepfather Nathan Hutcherson until she married. She seemed to be alone among her siblings in maintaining a close relationship with her stepfather and stepbrothers and sisters, as her natural brothers fought with Nathan Hutcherson in court over the estates of John Pigg and Polly King Pigg Hutcherson. Elizabeth named two of her children after Lerina and Doctor, her stepsister and brother. Nathan Hutcherson provided a surety bond for her wedding. The Hutcherson name was passed down as a middle name to her grandson, Thomas Hutcherson Gregory.

Richard Dennis Gregory and Elizabeth H. Pigg frequently covered notes and debts for Elizabeth’s relatives, especially her brother Hezekiah, and this nearly brought them to ruin. By 1843 they had lost all their property, primarily to her relative’s debts. Finally Elizabeth put a stop to her family’s requests and by 1847 Richard Dennis and Elizabeth were in a position to purchase land again. They started to buy land on the Franklin Turnpike between Swansonville and Callands, which became the Gregory homestead. Elizabeth H. Pigg Gregory died August 13, 1873 and Richard Dennis Gregory died July 18, 1885. Both are buried in the family burial plot a short distance from their residence. The descendants of Richard and Elizabeth have been described in the first two chapters.

The Griggs and Gregory families joined when Thomas Adolphus (Tobe) Gregory married Mary Catherine Griggs on April 7, 1887 in Patrick County, Virginia. They were the grandparents of Mildred Easley Gregory. Mary Catherine, "Kate," had been born October 4, 1867 in Henry County, Virginia, one of twelve children of Lewis Julius Griggs and Sarah Dandridge Maddox. Tobe and Kate’s family has been described in Chapter Two.

The Griggs family of Henry County, Virginia, is descended from Michael Griggs, according to "The History of Patrick and Henry Counties." This Michael Griggs arrived in Virginia before 1640. He died while living in Lancaster County, Virginia Colony. His will was dated April 17, 1687, probated September 10, 1688 in London, England, and mentioned his wife Anne and father-in-law, Robert Schofield. In his will he was referred to as a gentleman. In 1690, his widow, Anne Schofield Griggs, married Richard W. Willis, a gentleman of Middlesex County, Virginia.

Three brothers who were descendants of Michael Griggs moved to Henry County immediately after the Revolutionary War. They were Jeremiah Michael Griggs, Peter Griggs and John Griggs. Peter Griggs did not marry. John Griggs married Phoebe Acholas on July 30, 1792 and was the father of Peter Griggs, the owner of the Snowbird Mill in Henry County, who did not marry. Jeremiah Michael Griggs married four times and was the grandfather of Mary Catherine Griggs.

We do not know the line of descendants from Michael Griggs and Anne Schofield to Jeremiah Michael Griggs and his brothers. There is one unverified indication from the World Family Tree Project of Broderbund Inc., who is compiling genealogies of its software customers, that provides four generations of ancestors of Jeremiah Michael Griggs. This genealogy was submitted by an unknown member of the present Griggs family, and provides only names of ancestors of Jeremiah Michael Griggs, with only one birth date and no other dates or details. This account indicates that the father, grandfather and great-grandfather of Jeremiah Michael Griggs were each named John Griggs. It also indicates Jeremiah Michael Griggs’ great-great-grandfather was named Thomas Griggs and born in 1657.

Jeremiah Michael Griggs was born in 1778. Assuming "The History of Patrick and Henry Counties" is correct, and Jeremiah Michael Griggs is a descendant of Michael Griggs, who died in 1687 or 1688, there would probably be four to six generations between them. The account of John Griggs, John Griggs, John Griggs, and Thomas Griggs being the ancestors of Jeremiah Michael, if true, would account for most or all of the intervening generations. It is a plausible explanation but additional research is needed to confirm it or determine it as incorrect.

The four wives of Jeremiah Michael Griggs had 13 children. These were:

Jeremiah Michael, Jr., born Sep. 27, 1800,

Susan;

Mariah, born Apr. 20, 1806, married a Pace;

Wesley, born July 12, 1808, married Susan W. King;

Joseph H., born Aug. 11, 1810;

Ira H., born Aug. 10, 1812, married Sally King;

Peter Franklin, born Sep. 26, 1814, married Dorothea Clanton;

George, born Oct. 9, 1816, married Frances Wills;

By Patsey Perkinson, who married Jeremiah on June 4, 1817, no children,

John Green, born July 7, 1824, married Sarah F. Stults;

William Brice, born Mar. 10, 1826, married Cassandra Clark;

Lewis Julius, born Dec. 7, 1827, married Sarah Dandridge Maddox;

Laverna, born July 4, 1829;

Nancy M., born Nov. 19, 1831.

There are some differing accounts as to the wives and children above. Susan is sometimes shown as the daughter of either Katy Stults or Sarah Pedigo. Mariah has been shown as a daughter of Betsey Minter.

The 1850 census enumerates Jeremiah Michael and Sarah Pedigo Griggs in Henry County, VA with property valued at $1000. Living with them is their son, John Green Griggs, his wife Sarah, and their grandchildren (by John Green and Sarah) William and Lewis. Also living with them are two of Sarah’s sisters, Nancy and Polly Pedigo. Living next door is son Lewis Julius, who is single and Jeremiah’s son by Katy Stults, Ira H. Griggs and his wife Sally. Sarah Pedigo’s ancestry will be described later in this chapter.

"The History of Patrick and Henry Counties" describes Jeremiah Michael, Jr., as a leading citizen of Henry County. It also credits him for being a Civil War soldier who participated in the Battle of Gettysburg. As he would have had to have been in his sixties, that does not seem likely and may indicate the possibility of a grandson, Jeremiah Michael, III.

George Griggs, son of Jeremiah Michael Griggs and Katy Stults, had a son William who was also a soldier at Gettysburg. George and his second wife (name unknown), settled in Ridgeway VA.

Wesley Griggs (son of Jeremiah Michael Griggs and Katy Stults) and Susan W. King (daughter of George W. King and Susan Martin) had a son, George King Griggs. George enlisted in the confederate Army in June 1861. He was an officer in the 38^th Regiment, where five Gregory brothers served, and four died (see chapter one). He rose in rank to Colonel and was severely wounded at Gettysburg.

Peter Franklin Griggs (son of Jeremiah Michael Griggs and Katy Stults) and Dorothea Clanton had a son Greenberry Thornton Griggs. Greenberry was a Captain in Company H, 47^th Virginia Regiment. He was captured before Appomattox and held as a prisoner in Johnson’s Island until after the War. In civilian life he was a strong supporter of establishing public schools.

John Green Griggs, in addition to being enumerated with his parents in the 1850 census, appears in the 1860 and 1870 censuses in Martinsville Township, Henry County. He was a farmer with $1000 in real estate and $1500 personal property in 1860 and $500 in real estate and $250 in personal property in 1870. This decline in value is common in Virginia between the 1860 and 1870 censuses because of the devastation of the Civil War.

Lewis Julius Griggs was a son of Jeremiah Michael Griggs and Sarah Pedigo. He married Sarah Dandridge Maddox (born June 27, 1834) on November 7, 1854. They lived in Henry County through at least 1870 and were enumerated in Patrick County (Mays Magisterial District) in 1880. Lewis was listed as a farmer with real estate worth $300 in 1860. He was indicated as a farm laborer with a personal estate of $400 in 1870. In the 1860 census, a 55-year-old Franny Maddox was living with them and this is Sarah’s mother. In the 1860 census, Lewis’ mother Sally Pedigo Griggs was living next door with his sister Susan, and his stepbrother Ira H. Griggs and his wife Sarah were enumerated next. They may all have been living in houses on the family farm. Sarah Dandridge Maddox Griggs died August 8, 1916 in Cascade, VA.

Lewis Julius Griggs and Sarah Dandridge Maddox had twelve children. They were:

Betty L., born 1868;

William Franklin, born Feb. 1, 1871, married Ada Cashion, died in Marietta, OK;

Jeremiah, born July 10, 1872, married Jennie Love, died of measles.

The ancestry of Sarah Dandridge Maddox, the wife of Lewis Julius Griggs and mother of Mary Catherine Griggs Gregory, is uncertain. Census records indicate that Sarah’s parents were born in Virginia. The middle name of Dandridge poses the possibility of that being a family name. It certainly was a common practice in the Gregory and related families of Virginia to pass on a maiden name as a middle name to a child. The Dandridge family is a long-standing Virginia family which included Martha Dandridge Custis Washington. From the same Griggs family source which listed four ancestors of Jeremiah Michael Griggs, we know of descendants of Lewis and Sarah who are given first and middle names of George Washington and Martha Washington. One branch of the Dandridge family did move to Patrick County, VA. Based on this circumstantial evidence the following are plausible connections that hopefully can be confirmed, or shown incorrect, by further research.

The 1860 census showed Frances Maddox, Sarah’s mother, living with Lewis Julius and Sarah Dandridge Maddox Griggs. Frances is a common name in the Dandridge family. One branch of the Dandridge family, descended from Bartholomew Dandridge, the brother of Martha Dandridge, settled in Patrick County, VA. From census and other records, the only possible connection known at this time would be for a daughter of William Dandridge and Williamette Bailey to beFrances. Unfortunately the censuses before 1850 do not give us the names of children, so while we know there are two daughters of William Dandridge of Patrick County, we cannot yet confirm if one of them is Frances. Nor do we know the name of Mr. Maddox, Sarah’s father.

Before concluding the description of the Griggs family, there is one more branch of which we have substantial knowledge. This is the ancestry of Sarah Pedigo, the fifth wife of Jeremiah Michael Griggs and the grandmother of Mary Catherine Griggs. The Pedigo family is of French Protestant descent, supposedly from a leading family of the province of Perigord, from which the original name of Peregoy is based. Joseph Peregoy, born in France in 1665, the son of William Peregoy, came to Maryland and married Sarah Mumford, the daughter of Edward and Ann Mumford, in Baltimore County, Maryland. Joseph is supposed to have left France to avoid persecution following the Edict of Nantes. His wife, Sarah was born in Baltimore in 1672. Her father, Edward Mumford, was born in England about 1650 and died in Baltimore in 1694.

Joseph Peregoy and Sarah Mumford had five children, all born in Baltimore County:

Edward, born 1690, married Avarilla Bowen about 1715, died 1746 in Baltimore;

Susannah, born 1696, married Robert Greene in Maryland, died in Baltimore;

St. Paul’s Parish is the oldest Episcopal (Anglican) parish in Baltimore, founded in 1692. It was located at Patapsco Neck in Baltimore County until 1739, when it moved to its present site on Charles Street in Baltimore City. Joseph and Sarah must have worshiped there, Henry and his siblings were probably members and married there, and many of Joseph and Sarah’s grandchildren were christened there.

Amy Green, the first wife of Henry Peregoy, was born in Baltimore in 1698. Henry and Amy had seven children, and we know many were christened at St. Paul’s Parish. The children were:

Ann, born Sep. 25, 1719, married William Brock, died Nov. 4, 1745 in Baltimore;

Henry, Jr., born Oct. 29, 1722, married an Alice in April 1761, died 1802;

Elisha, born in 1724, married Alice Edwards on June 21, 1750;

Mary, born Aug. 16, 1736.

Amy Green died in 1744. Henry Peregoy remarried on November 24, 1745 to Providence Corbin, who was born in 1727. Having a stepmother who was younger than some of the older children was difficult on Amy’s children. Henry Peregoy was the owner of a valuable landed estate, and Providence was enamored by fashion and society. The death of the oldest sister, Ann Peregoy Brock in 1745, and the apparent death of the youngest sister Mary, may have added to this stressful situation. Mary’s death is assumed since Henry and Providence had a daughter they named Mary on October 15, 1746. According to Pedigo family accounts, Providence was tyrannical with the two youngest brothers, Robert and Edward.

The family account is that Robert, being sent to drive in a herd of cows one evening, instead chose to run away. Later he returned and convinced his brother to join him. They wandered to the York River Valley in Virginia, until they were grown men. Then they worked their way to the portion of then Halifax County which is presently Henry and Patrick counties. They were among the early pioneers of that area who received large amounts of land under royal grants. Robert settled on the north side of the Smiths River, in what is now Henry County. Edward settled on the south side, in present Patrick County.

Robert Pedigo, although he did not fight in the Revolution, was sympathetic to the Crown of England. If he had fought, it would have been on the British side. He is said to have refused his horse and gun to the Revolutionary cause. It was this generation when the Pedigo name became preferred to Peregoy. One deed to Robert, in fact, has five different spellings of the name (Peregoy, Perigoy, Pedigoy, Pedigoe, and Pedigo). It may be the British sympathies which led to an Anglicized version, since the French sided with the Revolutionaries.

Robert A. Pedigo and Edward Pedigo married sisters after they moved to the Henry and Patrick Counties area. Robert married Mary Phoebe Elkins, and Edward married her sister Hannah. Edward continued to move west and Robert remained in Henry County. Robert and Mary Pedigo had ten children, all born in Henry County:

Joseph, born 1765, married twice, died 1836 in Henry County;

Henry, born about 1766, married Malinda Poston;

Joseph Pedigo, the oldest son of Robert A. Pedigo and Mary Phoebe Elkins, married twice. His first wife was named Lavina, they were married in 1784, and there is no knowledge of any children born to them. Joseph’s second wife was Sallie (Sarah) Mitchell, born about 1802. They were married on October 10, 1821 in Henry County. They had seven children:

John, married Elizabeth;

Henry;

Sarah, born 1790, married Jeremiah Michael Griggs on Nov. 18, 1820;

Nancy, born 1795;

Polly, born 1795;

Joseph, born 1798, married Sarah (born 1804);

Lewis, born 1799, married Nancy (born 1810).

Joseph Pedigo, the son of Joseph and Sallie Mitchell Pedigo, was enumerated in the 1850 census in Henry County with a farm valued at $500. John Pedigo, his brother, was working as a clerk in 1850 and living in Henry County with Samuel A. Smith, a merchant, and Samuel’s brother Harvey, a tobacconist. In 1850 Lewis and his wife Nancy had a farm in Henry County valued at $200. Sarah Pedigo and Jeremiah Michael Griggs have previously been described.

CHAPTER ELEVEN - THE EASLEY FAMILY OF PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY

The mother of Mildred Easley Gregory was Sallie Richard Easley. Born in Pittsylvania County, VA, on March 16, 1893, Sallie married Thomas Hutcherson Gregory and they moved to a farm outside of Crewe, VA, in Nottoway County. The Easley family has been located in Pittsylvania County, VA since the Revolutionary War. Some genealogists have shown this family as descended from French Huguenots but thorough research by the major researcher of the Easley family, Virginia Easley DeMarce, has failed to show such a connection..

Sallie Richard Easley and Thomas Hutcherson Gregory had four children, Mary Catherine, Mildred Easley, Thomas Harold, and Annie Elizabeth. Their families have been described in Chapter Two. Sallie died on July 5, 1946 in Crewe, VA. She is buried in the Gregory family cemetery in Callands, Pittsylvania County.

We know with certainty the three Easley generations preceding Sallie, and have information on earlier generations. Pyrant Easley, born in 1808 in Virginia, and enumerated in Pittsylvania County in the 1850 census, is Sallie’s great-grandfather. His wife was Martha Ann Whitworth, and was born in 1813 in North Carolina. In 1850 they had ten children living with them. It is possible that there may have been older children who had left the family by 1850, but since Ann was 18 when she had the oldest of these 10 children, it seems unlikely. There may have also been children born after 1850. These 10 children were all born in Virginia, almost certainly in Pittsylvania County. They were:

Manerva, born 1831;

Sally, born 1835;

Jonathan B., born Sep. 1836;

Henry, born 1839;

Frances, born 1840;

James, born 1842;

Robert, born 1844;

Edward, born 1845;

Elizabeth, born 1847;

George, born 1849.

Pyrant and Ann in 1850 were living with his mother, Mary (Mollie) Ferguson. The farm on which they were living had a value of $2767, with $2255 owned by Mary and $512 owned by Pyrant. Mary Ferguson Easley was born in 1780 in Virginia, and is assumed to be the same Mary who was enumerated in Pittsylvania County as a head of household in 1820 and 1830. This would mean that Pyrant’s father had died before 1820.

The father of the Pyrant Easley born in 1808 was also named Pyrant. He married first, Sarah Crenshaw and second, Mary (Mollie) Ferguson. This Pyrant served as a justice in Pittsylvania County.

The name Pyrant Easley is enumerated in the 1782 and 1785 Virginia censuses and in the 1790 Federal census, each time as a head of household in Pittsylvania County. In 1782, Pyrant Easley is listed in a household of four whites and one black, indicating he was a slave owner. In 1785, Pyrant Easley is listed in a household of three whites with one dwelling and one other building (perhaps a barn). In the 1790 U.S. census Pyrant Easley is listed in Pittsylvania County, 44 years old. If we assume Pyrant to be a family name occurring in several generations, there appear to be three successive generations of Pyrant Easley, father, son, and grandson.

A genealogy exists of the ancestry of a Pyrant Easley of Pittsylvania County, whose father is also named Pyrant and whose mother was named Elizabeth. He also has two uncles, Warham and Daniel. The grandparents of this Pyrant Easley are William Easley (born 1691 in Henrico County, VA) and Mary Pyrant (born about 1697 in New Kent County, VA). Therefore it is the maiden name of Mary which serves as the first name of our Easley ancestors for three successive generations after her. Mary’s parents were John Pyrant (born about 1692 in New Kent County) and Anne Jones (lived about 1662-1705). Anne’s parents were Edward Jones (1645-1694) and Mary Field (1642-1686), both from Henrico County. Mary’s father was Thomas Field.

William Easley and Mary Pyrant were married before 1726. William was born about 1695 in Henrico County, VA. He sold 57 acres on the north side of the James River to Joseph Mayo on March 7, 1726. He purchased 275 acres on fine Creek and the south side of the James River and sold it to Joseph may on May 16, 1737. On March 20, 1738 he sold 275 acres he inherited to William Walker. He evidently left Cumberland County, VA in early 1753 to escape prosecution for debt and died before May of 1753 in Goochland County, VA.

William’s parents were Robert Easley and Anne Warham Parker. Anne was born in 1659 in Surrey, England and died April 10, 1720 in Henrico County. Ann’s parents were William Parker (born in Henrico Co., VA and died October 1, 1677 in Jamestown) and Katherine Warham (born in Henrico Co. and died May 30, 1721 in Jamestown). Different genealogies show different parentage for William Parker. One lists his parents as Thomas Parker and Elizabeth Sharpe. Another lists William Parker, Jr., (born 1618 in VA) and Ann Powell, the daughter of Captain William Powell who died at Jamestown colony. William Parker, Jr.’s, parents were William Parker, Sr. (born in England about 1596) and Anne Eyre, the daughter of Stephen Eyre of Derbyshire, England.

Robert Easley is the earliest known Easley member in America. He was born about 1655, some claiming he came from Basses-Alpes, Provence, France, others that he was born in England. He was probably in Virginia before 1680 as Colonel William Byrd received 1280 acres for paying for passage of 122 people in 1676. Robert and Ann lived on Manakin Creek in Henrico County, VA. The assumption of his being French Huguenot is based on his living here and being assumed to be a member of Old Manakin Town Society, an organization of French Huguenot refugees, who came to Virginia for religious freedom. However, he was in the VA colony 26 years before this organization was formed and most of the Huguenot members immigrated. Robert received 315 acres on Reedy Creek, in Henrico, in 1704 for paying for 7 persons to come to Virginia. He had joint ownership of 1500 acres in Henrico with Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Turpin, and John Archer, for paying for 18 people to come to the colony. He was fined for swearing in 1709. He made his will on December 17, 1711, and his estate was probated in March 1712.

The undocumented Huguenot genealogies indicate that Robert Easley’s family name was Esley. His father was Henry (Henri?) Esley, born about 1630. His grandfather was Claude Esley, and his great grandparents were Jean Esley (born about 1588) and Marguerite Provost, born January 10, 1593 in St. Jacques, Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France.

We do know with certainty the lineage between the Pyrant Easley, husband of Ann, who appears in the 1850 census and Sallie Richard Easley. Pyrant and Ann’s third child, and first son, Jonathan Pyrant Easley married Caroline (Callie) Celestia Beedlove, who was born in Virginia in July 1843. Jonathan was a farmer and he and Callie are listed in both the 1880 and 1900 censuses living in Pittsylvania County. They had twelve children, ten of whom we know their names. We also know that four of the children had died by 1900. Based on those we know to have been alive in 1900 or after, the four who died would have come from Mollie, Lucy, Edna and the two children who’s names we don’t know. The ten children who’s names we do know are:

John Watt, born Jan. 9, 1862;

Mollie A., born 1864;

Lucy H., born 1866;

Robert P., born 1868;

Charles W., born March 1870;

Edna E., born 1872;

Roy C., born April 1875;

Sudie, born April 1878;

Kate, born April 1880;

At the time of the 1900 census, Charles W. Easley, his wife, Annie W., and their newborn child, Mary D., were living with Jonathan and Callie Easley, his parents. Also living in this household were three grandchildren of Jonathan and Callie, Cordie (aged 16), Carrie (aged 11) and Bertey (aged 11) Mays. A widower, James Mays, who worked as a teamster, lived in a house nearby and is probably the father of these children, and the husband of either Mollie or Lucy.

From the 1920 census, we know that Robert P. Easley married, that his wife Mary was born in 1869 in Virginia, and that they had a son Robert S., born in 1903. They were living near Callands, Pittsylvania County. A black woman servant, Nannie F. Divins, aged 24, was living with them. The neighboring family is also a Divins family, and black, so it is likely Nannie is from this family and Robert and Mary were employing her.

Roy C. Easley married, his wife was Carrie, born in 1883, and they had five children, Janie C. (born 1908), Roy M. (born 1910), Nelson (born 1914), Hilda M. (born Feb. 1918), and Lyn L (male, born Mar. 1919). A 72-year-old uncle, named John Thomas, was living with the family in 1920.

George Easley married May, born in 1884. The 1920 census shows them owning a farm near Callands, Pittsylvania County. A 26-year-old black servant woman, Virginia Yancy, is living with them.

John Watt Easley, a son of Jonathan B. and Callie C. Easley, married Mary Ellen Blair in 1889. Mary Ellen was born March 22, 1870 in Chatham, Pittsylvania County, a daughter of Samuel Britan Blair and Emily Frances Motley. Both the Blairs and the Motleys are important branches of the Gregory family and will be described in the next two chapters. John and Mary appear in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses in Pittsylvania County. In 1910 they were enumerated next to, so presumed living next to, Mary Ellen’s father, Samuel B. Blair. John and Mary had ten children, one of whom died in infancy before 1900 and whose name we do not know. The remaining nine children were:

John Samuel, born August 1889;

Pearl, born January 1892;

Sallie Richard, born March 16, 1893;

Daniel Watt, born August 1899;

William, born 1903;

Ellen Celestial, born 1905;

Earnest, born 1907;

Earl, born 1907.

At the time of the 1920 census, all the children from Sallie and younger were still at home. In addition, John Samuel, his wife Annie, and son Samuel S., were also living with the family. Lena and Pearl had married and moved out, Lena marrying a Burch, and Pearl marrying a Smith.

Ellen married Clinton Hurt Blair (born 1894 in Chatham) and they had four children, Dorothy Ellen, Patsy Ruth, Lindsey Addison, and Peggy Adeline. Patsy Ruth Blair married William Malcolm Patterson. Lindsey Addison Blair married Patricia Anne McMillan. Peggy Adeline Blair married Robert Hacker. Clinton Hurt Blair died in 1960 in Chatham, and Ellen Celestial Easley Blair died in 1993 in Chatham.

Mary Ellen Blair Easley died February 16, 1935. John Watt Easley died July 30, 1941.

CHAPTER TWELVE - THE BLAIR FAMILY

Mary Ellen Blair married John Watt Easley in 1889 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. She was the mother of Sallie Richard Easley and the grandmother of Mildred Easley Gregory. Mary

Ellen was born on March 22, 1870 in Chatham, Pittsylvania County. She was the second of ten children of Samuel Britan Blair and Emily Frances Motley. Mary Ellen Blair died February 16, 1935 in Pittsylvania County where she had spent most of her life. Her immediate family and children have been described in the previous chapter on the Easley’s.

The Blair family name is of Scotch-Irish descent. Mary Ellen Blair’s great-grandfather was William Blair, an immigrant from Ulster, northern Ireland. He was born in 1750 in Moneymore, Londonderry County, Ireland. William Blair married Sarah Suter in York County, Pennsylvania, about 1779. Therefore he immigrated either as a young man, or as a child, before the American Revolution. William’s emigration from Ulster occurred simultaneously to a wave of Irish Protestants, mostly Presbyterian and originally of Scottish descent, leaving northern Ireland.

The Scots’ presence in northern Ireland was due to English policy toward Ireland that began in 1610 to place English, Scotch, and Welsh farmers in northern Ireland. Throughout history the English have not been able to pacify Ireland after military conquests, and this policy was an attempt to place some of the land under the control of those from newly united England, Wales and Scotland. King James I of England (King James VI of Scotland) came to the combined throne upon the death of Queen Elizabeth. He provided for the Crown to sell confiscated land in northern Ireland to English landlords, who then rented it to Scotch, English, Welsh, and sometimes Irish, farmers. Because lowland Scotland was very close to Ulster, and James himself was Scotch, the majority of farmers who moved to northern Ireland were lowland Scots. It is likely that the Blairs were among them.

For nearly a century the Scots (and others who moved into Ulster) prospered, at least whenever there was no fighting. However, the resentment of the Irish for these occupiers of their land caused constant friction. Then a change in English land rental policy led to additional problems that caused a series of five Scotch-Irish waves of emigration, mostly to America. These occurred in 1717-18, 1725-29, 1740-41, 1754-55 and 1771-75. William Blair was probably in the last wave. The policy change was essentially the removal of "rent-control," allowing each English landlord to rent to the highest bidder. Seeing an opportunity to get back their land (or at least rent it), many Irish families would join together and outbid a single Scot family for renting a farm. Knowing the farm would only support one family, many Scots would not match the price and be displaced. If economic times were hard, as they were during these five periods, the Scots might emigrate to America. The Irish families didn’t benefit either, as the inability of the farm to support a multitude of families kept them in poverty, and in debt to their English landlord.

In America, each of these waves of immigration established the Scotch-Irish further along the frontier. The first wave found Pennsylvania an attractive destination. The Penn family continued to encourage immigration, and the Scotch-Irish came to the counties surrounding Philadelphia and New Castle County in Delaware. The second wave moved further west into Pennsylvania, into the Susquehanna River valley. The third wave then pushed southwest into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The fourth wave followed the paths established by the previous immigrants into the Pittsylvania County area and into the western parts of the Carolinas. The final wave moved into these areas previously settled by Scotch-Irish. Consistent with this movement, William Blair married in York County, Pennsylvania, and settled in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. He served as a Captain in the 6^th Battalion of York County Militia during the Revolutionary War. He enlisted on February 28, 1776, was taken prisioner on June 8, 1776, and paroled on August 9, 1776. The date of his capture coincides with the Battle of Trois Reveries, Quebec, Canada. He appears in Pittsylvania County in the 1785 Virginia census as a head of household responsible for eight whites. A deed to Sarah dated February 19, 1798 would indicate that William had died by then.

William Blair’s wife, Sarah Suter, was born about 1760. Her father was George Suter, who served in the Revolutionary War as a soldier in the 6^th Battalion of the York County Militia. George died in York County about 1800. Sarah also had a brother William who died in 1771. Sarah provided power of attorney to her son James, to sell her lands, in 1807. She then went with her daughter, Mary, who married William Mack, to Murray County, Tennessee. William Blair and Sarah Suter had nine children.

John, born 1773 in York Co., PA;

George, born 1773 in York Co., PA;

James, born Mar. 27, 1775, in York Co., PA;

Mary (Polly), born Jan. 20, 1777, in York Co., PA;

Elizabeth, born about 1779;

William, Jr., born Feb. 25, 1781;

Joseph, born about 1785;

Samuel, born April 11, 1789 in Pittsylvania Co., VA

Ralph, born about 1791.

John Blair, a son of William Blair and Sarah Suter, married Sally Wade on August 14, 1810 in Pittsylvania County. Before about 1850, when John died, they had moved to Rockingham County, Virginia. Sally died there about 1870. They had four children.

Henry W., born 1811, married Sally Shreves on Dec. 26, 1832;

John, Jr., born Sep. 6, 1817, married Sallie Sarah King on Oct. 10, 1840;

William, born 1820, married Permelia Kurn;

Mary, born 1822, married Driskel Laten.

George Blair, a son of William Blair and Sarah Suter, married Martha Fulton (born 1768) on April 18, 1796. Before George’s death on June 27, 1848, they had moved to Rutherford County, Tennessee, where Martha died on July 25, 1857. They had four children.

Ralph A., born 1797, married Asenath McFadden (born 1798);

John F., born 1798;

William L. J., born 1803, married Margaret Williams (born 1801);

James W., born 1805, married Lucinda Marilla May (born 1807).

James Blair, a son of William Blair and Sarah Suter, married twice, first to Polly Dickerson on April 1, 1796, and again to Anna Coleman. This family had settled in North Carolina but James must have returned to Pittsylvania County where he died on May 28, 1840. James and Polly had four children.

Nancy, born 1796, married John Booker (1797-1858), died 1858.

Sally Sara, born 1799, married Meredith Dallas (born 1794), died about 1855;

Drury, born 1801, married Chloe Tice Coleman (1801-1854), died 1864;

John Francis, born 1804, married Christeen Keen (died 1861), died 1860.

Mary (Polly) Blair, a daughter of William Blair and Sarah Suter, married William Mack (born 1775) on October 2, 1799. They moved to Murray County, Tennessee, taking along Mary’s mother Sarah. Mary died there on January 1, 1862.

Elizabeth Blair, a daughter of William Blair and Sarah Suter, married Alexander Shaw on December 26, 1804.

William Blair, Jr., a son of William Blair and Sarah Suter, became a minister in Pittsylvania County, posting a minister’s bond in 1805. He married Nancy Thomas, born Mar. 25, 1782, on May 18, 1801. Rev. Blair died in Pittsylvania County on Oct. 3, 1839, and Nancy died in 1843. They had two daughters. Sarah S. Blair married Silvan Gardner on Sep. 23, 1830. Eleanor L. Blair married James Slaydon on Dec. 19, 1822.

Joseph Blair, a son of William Blair and Sarah Suter, married Jane Mathews on November 29, 1813. We know nothing more about Ralph Blair.

Samuel Blair, a son of William Blair and Sarah Suter, married twice. First he married Mary Polley Reynolds on July 26, 1810, the service being performed by his brother, Rev. William Blair. Mary died in 1833, and Samuel married Clarissa W. Fuller in February 1834. Samuel and Mary had ten children and Samuel and Clarissa had seven. Mary Reynolds was born on March 18, 1781 and Clarissa Fuller was born in November 1802.

Samuel Blair and his family have been found enumerated in the 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, and 1860 censuses in Pittsylvania County. In 1820 they are listed with four children under ten years of age. In 1830 Samuel Blair is shown aged 40-50, with a wife, 30-40, and seven children.

This information implies that two of Samuel and Mary’s children (James H. and Mary S.) of whom we have no more information than their birth dates, died in infancy. The 1840 census shows Sam Blair aged 50-60, with a wife aged 30-40, and eight children at home, the oldest 20-30. The 1850 census shows ten children, including James, John, and Amanda from Samuel’s first marriage, and lists sons James and John as tinners. The value of the farm is given as $287 and children Nancy through Luther were attending school. Clarissa could not read or write. The 1860 census shows Sam and Clarissa with six children at home.

The ten children of Samuel Blair and Mary Reynolds were:

Margaret R., born Apr. 24, 1811;

Joanna A., born Feb. 28, 1813;

Joseph, born Feb. 15, 1815;

Elizabeth E., born Jan. 25, 1817;

James H., born June 3, 1819;

William A. G., born Nov. 1, 1821;

Mary S., born Jan. 8, 1824;

John F. M., born Mar. 30, 1826;

Amanda V., born Mar. 27, 1828;

Edney S. B., born Nov. 26, 1830.

The seven children of Samuel Blair and Clarissa W. Fuller were:

Nancy Sophronia, born Jan. 30, 1835;

Julia F., born Oct. 15, 1836;

Samuel Britan, born May 23, 1838;

George W. R., born June 15, 1840;

Luther Rice, born June 26, 1842;

Suter F., born Nov. 20, 1843;

Arthur Syndor, born Apr. 28, 1845.

Samuel Blair died March 22, 1870. Clarissa W. Fuller Blair died April 9, 1890.

Margaret R. and Joanna A. Blair, daughters of Samuel Blair and Mary Reynolds, married Aaron brothers. Margaret married Abihu Aaron on Oct. 24, 1811. The two couples and Margaret and Joanna’s brother Joseph, went west with a wagon train. Samuel Blair’s will, written in 1868, noted that Joanna was deceased at that time and had descendants.

Elizabeth E. Blair, a daughter of Samuel Blair and Mary Reynolds, married a Reynolds. Her brother James H. Blair, probably died in infancy. Her brother, William A. G. Blair, married Elizabeth Mahan. Her sister Mary S. Blair probably died as an infant. John F. M. Blair, another brother, married Kitty Mahan and served in the Confederate Army. He died in 1898 near Danville, Virginia. Amanda V. Blair, a sister, married Josiah Reynolds. We have no more information on Edney S. B. Blair.

The Fuller family, the ancestors of Clarissa W. Fuller, had been in America prior to 1655. Ezekiel Fuller, the earliest known member of that family, was born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia in 1655. He married twice, first to Mary Bragg, and secondly (in 1698) to Deborah Spivey, who was also born in Isle of Wight County. Ezekiel and Deborah had fourteen children, all born in Isle of Wight County, between 1700 and 1722. Ezekiel died November 19, 1722.

Arthur Fuller, the 12th child of Ezekiel Fuller and Deborah Spivey, was born in 1717.

He fought in the French and Indian War. Arthur acquired land in Granville County, North Carolina from 1752 to 1763. He married Sarah and they had at least five children while living in North Carolina. Arthur purchased land in Pittsylvania County, Virginia from 1763 to 1767. At least two children were born there. Arthur appeared in the 1790 census for Pittsylvania County with six males less than sixteen and two slaves. The children of Arthur and Sarah Fuller were:

Christina, born 1750, married John Warren;

Brittain, born 1750, married first Nancy Jackson, then Nancy Pearson, died 1818;

Zachariah, born 1752, married Letitia and married Nancy Overton, died 1834;

Sally, born 1753, married Henry Lawrence;

Lamar, born 1755, married John Smith;

Rachel, born 1764, married first, William Lawrence, then Robert Faran;

Joseph, born 1768, married Susannah Aaron in 1796, died 1860.

Brittain Fuller, son of Arthur and Sarah Fuller, married Nancy Jackson (born 1750), the daughter of Jacob and Lydia Jackson. He also married Nancy Pearson following his first wife’s death. The children of Brittain Fuller by Nancy Jackson were Joseph Britain, Timothy, George, Peggy, Lucy, Patsy, and Clarissa W. (who married Samuel Blair). The children of Brittain Fuller by Nancy Pearson were Israel and Zachariah. Brittain and Nancy were listed with five children in Pittsylvania County in the 1820 census.

Nancy Sophronia Blair, a daughter of Samuel Blair and Clarissa W. Fuller, married William M. Settle. Their son, William Settle, Jr., married Martha Walker, the daughter of Nancy’s sister Julia and they lived in Rawlings, Virginia. Nancy Sophronia Blair Settle died February 10, 1910. Julia F. Blair, a daughter of Samuel Blair and Clarissa W. Fuller, married Robert A. Walker. They had at least one daughter, Martha. Julia F. Blair Walker died October 3, 1908.

George W. R. Blair, a son of Samuel Blair and Clarissa W. Fuller, joined the Confederate Army. He was killed at the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865. Luther Rice Blair, a son of Samuel Blair and Clarissa W. Fuller, married Macebeth A. Aaron. Their daughter Myrtle married a Motley and was in possession of Samuel Blair’s family bible. Suter F. Blair, a son of Samuel Blair and Clarissa W. Fuller, joined the Confederate Army and was mortally wounded at the battle of Gettysburg. He died two weeks later, on July 17, 1863. Arthur Syndor Blair, a son of Samuel Blair and Clarissa W. Fuller, was shot by a black youth and died on March 19, 1903.

Samuel Britan Blair, a son of Samuel Blair and Clarissa W. Fuller, was enumerated in the 1860 census as a single man farming in Pittsylvania County. He enlisted in the Confederate Army on August 28, 1861, serving in Company G, 53^rd Regiment of Virginia Infantry, acquiring the rank of sergeant. He was hospitalized twice during the war for dysentery, from October 31, 1861 to January 11, 1862 and from May 13 to May 28, 1862. He was captured near the end of the war on April 6, 1865 near Farmville, Virginia.

Following the Civil War, Samuel Britan Blair married Emily Frances Motley on November 20, 1866. Emily was born in Chatham, Pittsylvania County on November 14, 1842, the daughter of Daniel Edward Motley and Mary Pollie Parsons. The Motley’s are an important branch of the Gregory family and are described in the next chapter. Samuel Britan and Emily Frances are enumerated in Pittsylvania County in the 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1910 censuses. They lived on a tobacco farm near Rondo, Virginia. Daughter Billie F. had died before the 1880 census. The children of Samuel Britan Blair and Emily Frances Motley, all born in Pittsylvania County, were:

James Suter, born Mar. 30, 1868;

Mary Ellen, born Mar. 22, 1870;

Samuel Richard, born Dec. 19, 1871;

Frances Elizabeth, born Aug. 19, 1874;

Billie F., born 1876;

John Daniel, born Apr. 23, 1877;

Jackson, born 1877;

Latisha Virginia, born July 1879;

Cora Della, born Sep. 7, 1883;

William Sidney, born June 24, 1866.

Samuel Britan Blair died April 2, 1911. Emily Frances Motley Blair died February 22, 1921.

James Suter Blair, a son of Samuel Britan Blair and Emily Frances Motley, ran away from the farm and went to Cairo, Illinois. He died there of typhoid fever on January 5, 1893. His sister, Mary Ellen Blair married John Watt Easley and her family was described in the previous chapter.

Samuel Richard (Bud) Blair, a son of Samuel Britan Blair and Emily Frances Motley, married Ruth Myers. They reared thirteen children, Russell, William, Britan, Winnie, Ada, Cecile, Thomas, Archer, Ruth, David, Julian, Rhodes, and Stuart. Russell died after World War I from gas he had inhaled during the War in Europe. William was blinded by a shot when he was seven years old. Cecile had polio as a child. Winnie and Ada were teachers, Ruth was a nurse. Ada married a Reynolds, Ruth married a Miller. Five of the sons served during World War II. Thomas was injured at Normandy. Stuart survived the Bataan Death March only to die of typhoid in a Japanese prison camp. Samuel and Ruth were enumerated with their family in the 1920 census. Samuel’s mother, Emily was living with them at that time.

Frances Elizabeth (Betty) Blair, a daughter of Samuel Britan Blair and Emily Frances Motley, married Dr. William Yeatts and lived in Danville, Virginia. They brought up seven children, Avon, Sidney, Ethel, Harry, Carol, Robbie, and Virginia. Harry was a surgeon with Standard Oil Company working in Argentina and married a woman of Spanish ancestry and settled there. Avon lived in Richmond, Robbie in Detroit, Sidney in Florida serving with the Coast Guard. Carol lived in Danville and married an Anderson. Ethel married a Drew. Virginia married a Clodfelter. Frances Elizabeth died at the age of 89.

We know nothing more of Jackson Blair. It is assumed he did not grow to adulthood.

John Daniel Blair, a son of Samuel Britan Blair and Emily Frances Motley, spent a few years as a boarding student at Bethel Hill, North Carolina. He enlisted twice in the Coast Artillery Corps, serving time at Key West, Florida, Columbus, Ohio, the Philippines and Japan. On October 11, 1911, he married Lucille Gregory. His immediate family was described in Chapter Two under the Gregory family.

Latisha Virginia (Tish) Blair, a daughter of Samuel Britan Blair and Emily Frances Motley, taught school at Rondo, Virginia, and married Walker DeJarnette, a tobacco warehouseman from South Boston. Their first daughter died in infancy, their second daughter died of diabetes at age seven. Their third daughter, Barbara, married a lawyer named Bagby, and they lived in Halifax County, Virginia. Tish lived to be almost 100.

Cora Della Blair, a daughter of Samuel Britan Blair and Emily Frances Motley, married Silas Reynolds and lived near Rondo on a tobacco farm. Cora and Silas had six children, Arie, Della, Clifton, Fenton, Leonard, and Addison. When she was about 35 years old, and had been ill, Cora went out to retrieve sheep that had gotten outside the fence. She contracted pneumonia and died.

William Sidney Blair ran away from home at age 14 and joined the Navy at an early age. He went around the world with the Navy and brought back gifts from China. He settled in California.

Emily Frances Motley was the mother of Mary Ellen Blair and the great-grandmother of Mildred Easley Gregory. She was born November 14, 1842 near Chatham, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and married Samuel Britan Blair on November 20, 1866. This family lived in Pittsylvania County, appearing there in the 1870, 1880, 1900 and 1910 censuses. After her husband Samuel died, Emily lived with her son Samuel, and was enumerated with him in the 1920 census. Emily died February 22, 1921.

The parents of Emily Frances Motley were Daniel Edward Motley and Mary Pollie Parsons, who married on November 6, 1839. Daniel was born May 29, 1818, the son of Joseph Motley and Mary Polly Jones. Mary Polly Jones’ ancestry is described shortly. Mary Parsons was born November 9, 1820, the daughter of Richard B. Parsons (born about 1794, married November 15, 1819, died Sep. 5, 1865) and Letitia Yeattes. Letitia Yeattes’ ancestry is further described below. Daniel and Mary were enumerated in Pittsylvania County in the 1850 census. Daniel was a teacher, owning $732 worth of real estate. Mary Parsons Motley died on November 7, 1891 and Daniel Edward Motley married a second time, to Lavina Millinder Walton. Daniel Motley died February 17, 1899.

Mary Polly Jones, Emily Frances Motley’s paternal grandmother, was born in 1779 and died January 29, 1862. Her parents were Elisha Jones (born 1762, died October 27, 1848) and Jerusha Watson (died November 11, 1810). Elisha was a Revolutionary War veteran who was at Valley Forge and fought in the Battle of Monmouth. Jerusha’s parents were Thomas Watson (died before May 20, 1811) and Else Justice. Thomas Watson’s parents were John Watson (born in Baltimore, died about 1802 in Pittsylvania Co., VA) and Mary Chenoweth (born about 1708 in Joppa, MD). Mary’s parents were John Chenoweth (born in 1682 in Cornwall, England, died May 6, 1746 in Frederick Co., VA) and Mary Calvert (born 1685 in England and died in 1724).

Letitia Yeattes, Emily Frances Motley’s maternal grandmother, was born in 1796 and died January 22, 1853 in Missouri. Her parents were Samuel Yeattes (born January 22, 1776, died May 22, 1836) and Mary Davis (born about 1774, died May 18, 1858), the daughter of Thomas Davis. Samuel’s parents were Stephen Yeattes (born about 1756, died 1836) and Lydia Parsons (died 1805), the daughter of Richard Parsons. Stephen’s parents were John Yeatts (III) (born about 1720, died before April 23, 1778) and Elizabeth (died before September 21, 1795). The parents of John (III) were John Yeattes, Jr. and Joan, and his grandparents were also named John Yeattes, Sr., and Joan.

The children of Daniel Edward Motley and Mary Pollie Parsons were:

Elizabeth Mildred, born Nov. 13, 1840;

Emily Frances, born Nov. 14, 1842;

James Pendleton, born Apr. 18, 1845;

Joseph Richard, born Sep. 11, 1847;

Milton Hayes, born Nov. 14, 1849

Letitia Missouri, born June 24, 1852;

John Rice Miller, born Jan. 20, 1855;

Sallie Ann, born Sep. 5, 1859.

The earliest known member of the Motley family was Joseph Motley, born in 1671, and the fourth great-grandfather of Emily Frances Motley. This Joseph Motley was the father of Joseph Motley, Jr., born in 1697 in Gloucester County, Virginia. Joseph, Jr., married Elizabeth Forest in 1716 in Gloucester County. She was born about 1700 in Gloucester County, the daughter of Abraham and Judeith Forest. Abraham Forest was born in 1684 in Gloucester County, and died June 10, 1757 in Amelia County, Virginia. Judeith was born in 1688. Joseph Motley, Jr., died in Amelia County on August 27, 1777 and Elizabeth Forest Motley died about 1796 in Amelia County. The children of Joseph Motley, Jr., and Elizabeth Forest were:

Abraham, born 1718;

Joseph (III), born 1720, died 1806;

Judeith, born about 1723;

Ann, born about 1725;

Elise Else, born about 1730;

Mary, born about 1734;

Joice, born about 1737, died 1823;

Martha, born about 1739;

Joel, born about 1750, died 1792.

Joseph Motley, III, married Martha Ellington about 1750 in Amelia County. Martha was the daughter of David Ellington and Martha Ann Tucker, who had married about 1736. David Ellington was born in 1710 in Amelia County and died in 1783 in the same county. His parents were John Ellington, born about 1680 and died March 27, 1783 in Amelia County, and Sabina Worsham, born about 1735 in Chesterfield County, Virginia, and died before 1783 in Chesterfield County. Martha Ann Tucker was born about 1718 in Prince George County and died about 1782 in Lunenburg County, Virginia. The children of David Ellington and Martha Ann Tucker were:

Martha, born about 1725, married Joseph Motley, died 1780 in Amelia County;

Obedience, born 1727;

Jeremiah, born 1737, married Frances Fanny Jones (1736-1810) on Sep. 13, 1757, in Prince Edward County, died Sep. 11, 1801, in Abbeville, SC;

David, born Sep. 7, 1741, married twice, to Jerusha Fowlkes (1747-1789) in 1765, and to Jane Harrison (died 1825) on Jan. 6, 1790, died Jan. 2, 1820 in Wilkes County, Georgia;

Josiah, born 1743;

Hezekiah, born 1745;

Enoch Ward, born 1747;

Stephen, born 1749;

Lucy, born 1751.

Joseph Motley, III, is believed to have been a captain in the Virginia militia. He appears as a head of household in Pittsylvania County in the 1782 and 1785 censuses. In 1782 he is listed as responsible for nine whites and 12 blacks. In 1785 he is shown with eight whites, three dwellings, and five other buildings. All of the children of Joseph and Martha are believed to have been born in Amelia County, the last in 1775. Therefore Joseph Motley, III, must have moved from Amelia County to Pittsylvania County during the Revolutionary War. The children of Joseph Motley, III, and Martha Ellington were:

Daniel, born 1755, married Sarah Sarey Payne (1763-1815) on July 6, 1783 in Pittsylvania County, died 1815 in Pittsylvania County;

Amy, born 1757, married James Carter (1771-1857) on Feb. 3, 1797;

Samuel, born 1759, married Elizabeth Terry;

John, born 1761, married Elizabeth DuPuy (born 1761) in 1789 in Pittsylvania County;

David James, born 1763, married Elizabeth Pendleton (1765-1804) on August 13, 1785, in Pittsylvania County, died March 1826;

Martha, born about 1763, married a Stewart;

Obedience, born 1766, married John Morehead;

Sally, born about 1770, married Francis Anderson;

Delilah, born about 1773, married Benjamin Terry;

Elizabeth, born about 1773, married Floyd Tanner;

Prudence, born about 1775, married Joshua Stone, Jr.

Our present generations are descended from David James Motley and Elizabeth Pendleton. The Pendleton family is an important branch of our family and will be described shortly. The children of David James Motley and Elizabeth Pendleton, all born in Pittsylvania County, were:

James Coleman, born about 1788, married Nancy Haynes (born 1798);

John;

David D., born Sep. 22, 1796, married Elizabeth Nichols;

Samuel C., born Dec. 19, 1800, married Susan A. Moxley (1807-1876) about 1825, died June 11, 1884 in Missouri;

William David, born March 18, 1801, married Elizabeth Kessler (born 1813) in April 1838.

Joseph Motley and Mary Polly Jones were the parents of Daniel Edward Motley and grandparents of Emily Frances Motley. Joseph and Mary were enumerated in the 1820 census with eight children and 23 slaves. Their children, of whom we know, were:

John Jack, born about 1811, married Joannah;

Joseph H., born 1813, married Elizabeth (born 1817);

Daniel Edward, born May 29, 1818, married first Mary Parsons (1820-1891) on Nov. 6, 1839, second Lavina Millinder Walton, died Feb. 17, 1899.

Samuel Pendleton, born Oct. 11, 1820, married Ann (born 1825);

William, born Aug. 7, 1823, married Susan (born 1824);

James, born Dec. 24, 1824, married Martha (born 1839);

Elizabeth;

Patsy;

Marion Milton.

Several of the children of Joseph Motley and Mary Polly Jones are enumerated as heads of households in the 1850 census in Pittsylvania County. John and Joannah Motley owned a farm valued at $165. Joseph and Elizabeth Motley had a farm worth $265. Samuel and Ann Motley’s farm was worth $270, as was William and Susan Motley’s farm. James and Martha Motley’s farm was worth $400. The census also indicated that none of the five wives of these families could read and write, while four of the five husbands could. James (who owned the farm of highest value) was the brother who could not read and write.

The Pendleton family is an important ancestral branch of the Motley family, and therefore the Blair and Gregory families. It begins with Elizabeth Pendleton, the wife of David James Motley, and the great-grandmother of Emily Frances Motley. Elizabeth’s parents were Phillip Pendleton and Martha Aubrey. Martha is the daughter of Chandler Aubrey, and she was born in 1742 in Falmouth, Stafford County, Virginia. The Aubreys provide one of two possible descendancies to the Emperor Charlemagne, King of the Franks. The Aubrey pathway has not been researched by the author to date, so it is not given the same detail as the Thornton pathway, presented at the end of this chapter. It generally lists 16 generations of the Awbrey family (the spelling changes with Chandler’s father), through three generations of the de Clare family and two generations of the de Roucey family to a granddaughter of Hugh Capet, King of France. Capet’s father is Grand Duke Hugh, son of Robert, King of France, who married Beatrice, a granddaughter of Pepin II, who himself is the grandson of Pepin, one of Charlemagne’s sons.

Martha Aubrey married Phillip Pendleton, who was born in 1741 in Caroline County, Virginia, in 1766. Phillip resigned as a lay reader from the St. Marks Parish (assumed to be an Anglican church) of Culpepper County, Virginia, in 1780 and moved to Pittsylvania County. His name is listed on the Pittsylvania tax list of 1785 and he appeared in the 1785 census as a head of household of ten whites. By family tradition he was a captain for the American cause in the Revolutionary War. Phillip Pendleton died in 1811 in Pittsylvania County. The children of Phillip Pendleton and Martha Aubrey were:

Elizabeth, born 1765, married David James Motley in 1785, died 1804;

James, born 1767, married Sarah Bell, died 1841 in Kentucky;

Martha, married a Watson;

Robert;

Phillip;

Rebecca;

Coleman;

Gabriel.

The parents of Phillip Pendleton were James Pendleton and Elizabeth Anderson. James was born in 1702 in King and Queen County, Virginia and died before April 8, 1763 in Culpepper County. Elizabeth was James’ second wife as he had married Mary Clayton Lyall on January 8, 1727 in Lancaster County, Virginia. At the time of that marriage James was a member of the Drysdale Parish in King and Queen County. In 1747 James Pendleton was a vestryman in St. Marks Parish, Culpepper County. He served as High Sheriff of Culpepper County in 1758. The children of James Pendleton, all believed to have been born in Caroline County, were:

Henry, born 1733, married Anne Thomas, died 1798;

James, Jr., born 1735, married Catherine Bowie (1747-1795) in 1763, died 1793;

Ann, married James Taylor (1738-1808), her cousin, in 1756;

Phillip, born 1741, married Martha Aubrey in 1766, died 1811.

Phillip Pendleton’s brothers and brother-in-law all served the colony and Commonwealth of Virginia. Henry Pendleton served as a Culpepper County Justice in 1763-64. He was a member of the Culpepper Committee of Safety and attended both the 1775 and 1776 Conventions, which sent Virginia representatives to Philadelphia. Henry served as a captain in the Revolutionary War. James Pendleton, Jr., was a member of the Virginia House of Burgess from Culpepper County. James was a County Justice from 1762-64, the High Sheriff in 1762, and a church warden from 1766-69 and 1776-77. He served as a colonel in the militia during the Revolutionary War. From 1782-88 James Pendleton, Jr., was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, and in 1788 was County Sheriff. James Taylor served in the Revolutionary War.

James Pendleton, Sr., was the son of Henry Pendleton and Mary Bishop Taylor. Henry Pendleton was born in 1683 in Rappahannock County, Virginia. He married Mary Bishop Taylor on August 6, 1701, in King and Queen County. Mary was born on June 29, 1688, in Caroline County. Henry Pendleton was a member of St. Stephens Parish of King and Queen County. He paid taxes on 700 acres in King and Queen County in 1704. He died in May 1721. Mary remarried, to Edward Watkins, and died on June 10, 1770 in Culpepper County. The children of Henry Pendleton and Mary Bishop Taylor were:

Phillip, born 1704, married Martha Ruffin, died 1778;

Mary, born 1717, married James Gaines (1710-1786) in 1731, died 1803;

John, born 1719, married first Sarah Madison, second Phoebe James, died 1799;

Nathaniel Pendleton, a son of Henry Pendleton and Mary Bishop Taylor, was the High Sheriff of Culpepper County in 1765. He was one of 16 County Justices to sign a protest to the Stamp Act. Nathaniel was a member of St. Marks Parish and one of the founders of the town of Fairfax (now Culpepper). He died visiting his son William in Berkeley County, Virginia in 1793. John Pendleton, his brother, was a member of the Virginia House of Burgess in 1765, Sheriff of King and Queen County in 1766, and a Justice from 1765-69. He moved to Hanover County, Virginia in 1770 and represented that county in the House of Burgess in 1779.

Henry Pendleton’s parents were Phillip Pendleton and Isabella Hurt. Phillip Pendleton was born March 26, 1654 in Norwich, Norfolk County, England. He was a schoolmaster who came to Virginia in 1674. Phillip Pendleton was apprenticed to Edmund Caste, the Clerk of Rappahannock County, and he became Deputy Clerk in 1678. He married Isabella in March of 1682. Isabella was born April 26, 1661, the daughter of William and Margaret Hurt. William was born in England in 1620 and died in 1706 in King William County, Virginia. Margaret was born about 1635. Phillip Pendleton returned to England for a short period during 1682 upon the death of his father, Henry Pendleton, Jr. Returning to Virginia, Phillip and Isabella lived in Rappahannock, Essex and King and Queen Counties. In 1704 Phillip owned 300 acres in King and Queen County. He died there on November 9, 1721. Isabella died in Caroline County on November 6, 1724. The children of Phillip Pendleton and Isabella Hurt were:

Elizabeth, born 1685, married Samuel Clayton (1689-1735) in 1701, died 1761;

Isabella, married Richard Thomas;

John, born 1691, married Mary Tinsley about 1719, died 1775;

Phillip, born 1695, married Elizabeth Pollard;

Henry Pendleton, Jr., of Norwich, England, was Phillip Pendleton’s (the immigrant) father. Henry was born in December 1614 and died in 1682, living his entire life in Norwich. He married twice, first to Hanna, and then to Elizabeth Douglas in 1649. Elizabeth was born about 1628 and died about 1708. Henry Pendleton, Jr.’s sons (we don’t know if there were any daughters) were:

by Hanna,

Henry (III), born 1637, died before 1676;

John, born 1640;

Samuel, born Sep. 6, 1647, died Nov. 1647;

Nathaniel, born March 31, 1650;

Henry Pendleton, Sr., born August 12, 1580 in Norwich, was the father of Henry Pendleton, Jr. He married Susan Camden in Saints Simon and Jude Church in Norwich on September 30, 1605. Susan was born in Norwich in 1584 and her ancestry will be described shortly. Henry Pendleton died and was buried in St. Stephens Church, Norwich, on July 15, 1635. The children of Henry Pendleton and Susan Camden were:

George, born 1607, died 1607;

Cecily, born 1608, married Thomas Fitton on Feb. 19, 1625;

John, born 1609, died 1637;

Susan;

Henry, born 1613, died 1613;

Henry;

Ann, born 1615;

Abigail, born 1617, died 1617;

Thomas, born 1619;

Matilda, born 1620, died 1622;

May, born 1623;

Matthew, born 1624, died 1626;

George, born 1626.

The parents of Henry Pendleton were George Pendleton, Jr., and Elizabeth Pettingale. George Pendleton, Jr. was born in 1553 and moved from the town of Pendleton (which gave the family their name), near Manchester, England, to Norwich. He married Elizabeth, the daughter of John Pettingale (born 1554) of Swardeston, Norfolk County, on July 29, 1579 in St. Peters Mancroft Church, Norwich. Elizabeth was born in Swardeston in 1562. George Pendleton, Jr., died in 1603 and Elizabeth died in January 1625. The children of George Pendleton, Jr., and Elizabeth Pettingale of whom we know were:

George;

Henry, born Aug. 12, 1580, married Susan Camden Sep. 30, 1605, died 1635;

Francis, born Oct. 6, 1581, married Anne in 1610;

Agnes, born Aug. 28, 1583;

George, married Elizabeth Osborne on Feb. 13, 1614, died 1621.

George and Anne Pendleton, who lived in the town of Pendleton, were the parents of George Pendleton, Jr. George, Sr. was born in 1536, the son of Thomas Pendleton, and married in 1557. He lived during the reign of King Henry VIII. George and Anne Pendleton’s sons were George, Jr., William, Robert, and Thomas.

Susan Camden was the wife of Henry Pendleton, the grandson of George and Anne Pendleton. Her parents were Humphrey Camden and Cecily Pettus. Humphrey was born about 1566 in London and married Cecily, who was born in 1560 in Norwich, on Sep. 13, 1581 in Norwich. Cecily’s parents were Thomas Pettus and Christian DeThick. Thomas Pettus was born in 1523 in Norwich, and married Christian, who was born in 1527 in Wormejoy, Norfolk County, on Oct. 29, 1548. Thomas died on Jan. 7, 1557 and was buried in St. Edmunds Church, London. The author visited this Church in 1997 but was unable to determine where the remains might be located as the area around the church is completely built up. Christian DeThick Pettus died June 25, 1578. The children of Thomas Pettus and Christain DeThick were:

John, born about 1550, married Bridget Curtis, died Apr. 9, 1614;

Isabel, born about 1551;

William, born about 1551;

Elizabeth, born about 1554, married Augustine Whall on Aug. 29, 1573;

Alexander;

Cecily, born 1560, married Humphrey Camden (born 1566);

The parents of Thomas Pettus were John Pettus and Joan DeThick. John was born in 1496 in Norwich, the son of John Pettus (born 1475 in Norwich). Joan was born about 1500 in Norwich. They married in 1522 in Sts. Simon and Jude Church. John Pettus died Aug. 28, 1558. The children of John Pettus and Joan DeThick were:

Thomas, born 1523, married Christian DeThick Oct. 29, 1548, died Jan. 7, 1557;

Agnes, born about 1525, died Oct. 1, 1544;

John, born about 1525, died 1548;

Anne, born about 1527.

The parents of Christian DeThick were Simon DeThick and Rose Crowe. Simon was born in 1503 in Norfolk, married Rose in 1526, and died about 1545. Rose Crowe was born in 1506 and died in 1566 in Norwich. Simon and Rose’s children were Christian, Christopher, Elizabeth, Rose, John, Richard, Thomas, and Henry. Rose Crowe’s parents were Christopher and Christian Crowe. Christopher Crowe was born about 1480 and died Dec. 7, 1527. Christopher and Christian Crowe’s children were Thomas (born about 1501), Richard (born about 1506) and Rose.

Returning to 17^th century Virginia colony, Mary Bishop Taylor was the wife of Henry Pendleton, who was the first generation of the Pendleton family to be born in Virginia. Mary was born in Caroline County June 29, 1688, the daughter of James Taylor and Mary Bishop Gregory. James was born on February 12, 1610 in Carlisle, England. Mary Bishop Gregory was born in 1665 in Caroline County, Virginia. They married on August 12, 1682 in Caroline County. Mary Gregory was James Taylor’s second wife as he married Frances Walker (born about 1640) in 1666 and she died Sep. 22, 1680 in Orange County, Virginia. James Taylor died April 30, 1698 in Caroline County and Mary Bishop Gregory died in 1747 in Orange County. The children of James Taylor were:

by Frances Walker,

by Mary Bishop Gregory,

Elizabeth, born 1684;

We will now describe the Taylor family ancestry before returning to that of Mary Bishop Gregory. The parents of James Taylor were Thomas Taylor, Jr., and Margaret Swinderly. Thomas Taylor, Jr., was born March 15, 1574 in Hadley, Middlesex County, England. Margaret was born about 1578 in Copenhagen, Denmark, the daughter of Andrew Swinderly (born about 1546 in Copenhagen). Thomas Taylor, Jr., and Margaret Swinderly married on Oct. 9, 1599 and their children were Robert (1601-1689), Margaret (born 1603), William (born 1605), John (1607-1651), Jane (born 1609), James (1610-1698), Ann (born 1611), and Richard (born 1615).

Thomas Taylor, Sr., and Elizabeth Burwell were the parents of Thomas Taylor, Jr. Thomas, Sr., was born September 19, 1548 in Hadley, Middlesex County, England. His parents were Rowland Taylor and Margaret Tyndale. Rowland Taylor was born October 6, 1510 in Rothbury, Northumberland County, England. Margaret was born about 1510. Rowland was burned at the stake on February 9, 1554, although we do not know for what offense. The children of Rowland Taylor and Margaret Tyndale were Susan (born 1535), Ellen (born 1537), Robert (born 1543), Zachary (born 1545), George (born 1546), Thomas (born 1548), Mary (born 1550, Anne (born 1551), and Elizabeth (born 1552). The parents of Rowland Taylor were John Taylor and Susan Rowland. John was born in 1485 and Susan about 1488. They married in Rothbury in 1509 and Susan died the next year, after Rowland was born.

Returning to Mary Bishop Gregory, her parents were Captain John Gregory and Elizabeth Bishop. John Gregory was born in Langston, England in 1623, and immigrated to Rappahannock County. While this Gregory family was also present in early colonial Virginia, we know of no other connection to the main Gregory branch of our family. Elizabeth Bishop was born in 1625 in Caroline County, the daughter of Robert Bishop, who was born about 1600 in England and died April 21, 1676 in Rappahannock County. John Gregory received a grant of 600 acres in Rappahannock County on February 20, 1663 and he married Elizabeth in 1655 and they lived in Farnham and Sittingborne Parishes in that County. John was a vestryman in 1665. The children of John Gregory and Elizabeth Bishop were:

Elizabeth, born 1667;

John, born 1667;

Richard, born 1669, died about 1747;

Robert, born 1669.

The parents of John Gregory were Roger Gregory and Margaret Thornton. Roger was born about 1598 in Stockwith, Lincolnshire County, England. Margaret was born in 1585 in Thornton, Lancaster shire County, England. Roger Gregory also married Mildred Washington. The parents of Roger Gregory were Robert Gregory and Isabel Brocksley. Robert Gregory was born about 1549 in Stockwith and Isabel was born about 1560 in Glentworth, Lincolnshire.

Margaret Thornton’s (Roger Gregory’s wife) parents were Christopher Thornton and Mary Lake. Christopher was born in 1540 in Thornton, Lancastershire and Mary was born about 1550 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, the daughter of William Lake. They married about 1570. Christopher Thornton died in 1590 and Mary Lake Thornton died about 1596. The parents of Christopher Thornton were Stephen Thornton and Cecily Metcalfe, the daughter of John Metcalfe. Stephen Thornton was born about 1504 in Thornton, Lancaster shire. Stephen Thornton’s parents were Thomas Thornton and Elizabeth Metcalfe. Thomas was born about 1475 in Thornton, Lancastershire, and he married Elizabeth about 1494. Elizabeth was born about 1477, the daughter of Reginald Metcalfe of Yoscote, England.

Thomas Thornton, the husband of Elizabeth Metcalfe, is supposedly descended from the Emperor, Charlemagne. Frank T. Blankenship, a son of Irene Blair Blankenship Hagerty, submitted a genealogy to the International Society of the Descendants of Charlemagne and was accepted. Further research has shown the specific line submitted to be in error, however the following line is being researched to determine if it is accurate.

1. Charlemagne (742-814) by his second wife, Hildegarde (757-782) had as a son,

2, Pepin (773-810) who by his wife Bertha (775-847) had,

3. Bernard (797-818) who by his wife Cunigunde (800-835) had,

4. Pepin II (817-840) who by a presently unknown wife, had

5. Herbert (840-902), who by Beatrice (850-915) had

6. Beatrice (880-931), who by Robert I, King of France (865-923), had

8. Hugh Capet, King of France (938-996), who by Adelaide (945-1004) had

9. Robert II, King of France (972-1031), who by Constance had

10. Henry I, King of France (1006-1060), who by Anne, Grand Duchess of Kiev (b. 1024), had

11. Hugh the Great, Count of Valois (1057-1102), who by Adele Vermandois (1050-1120/24) had

12. Isabel Elizabeth Vermandois (1081-1131), who by her second husband, William de Warrenne (1070-1135), Earl of Surrey, had

1. Gundred de Warrenne, Countess (1119-1169), who by William of Lancaster, Baron

(1156-1196), had

14. William of Lancaster, Baron (1156-1196), who by Heloise de Stuteville had

15. Heloise of Lancaster (born 1175) who by Peter the Bruce II had

16. Peter the Bruce III (1221-1241) who by Hillaria de Manley had

17. Laderina de Bruce (1241-1296) who by Sir John de BellaAqua had

18. Sibyl de BellaAqua (1265-1301) who by Sir Miles Stapleton (1263-1314), killed at the Battle of Bannockburn, had

19. Sir Gilbert Stapleton (1290-1321), treasurer to the King of England, who by Agnes Fitz-Brian Fitz-Alan (1298-1348) had

20. Sir Brian Stapleton (1320-1394) who by Alice St. Philbert had

21. Margaret Stapleton who by Sir William Thornton had

22. Sir William Thornton who by Mary Kirby had

23. Sir Roger Thornton who by Katherine Redmagne had

24. Sir Thomas Thornton who by Elinor Bland had

25. Thomas Thornton (b. 1475), husband of Elizabeth Metcalfe (b. 1477). He was described above and leads into the Gregory family tree.

PART THREE - THE COLONNA FAMILY STORY

CHAPTER FOURTEEN - THE COLONNA’S IN AMERICA

The Colonna family described here is of Italian descent, the descendents of Angelo Colonna, his brothers and sister, and their descendants. As a young man, Angelo left Italy in the early 1900’s for the Buenos Aires, Argentina, vicinity There he married and he and his wife came to the United States, settling in Philadelphia, where he established a sheet metal fabricating company. Two of his brothers and his sister also came to the United States, while one brother remained in Italy. There are now four generations descended from Angelo and his siblings living throughout the United States.

Angelo Colonna was born on September 28, 1894, in the town of Atessa, province of Abruzzi, Italy. He was one of four sons and a daughter born to Luigi and Marianna Colonna of Atessa. Marianna was a member of the Rulli family of Castelfrentano, Italy, located in Abruzzi province near the town of Chieti. Members of the Rulli family moved to the Buenos Aires, Argentina, area in the late decades of the 19^th century. The Colonna and the Rulli families were close, and Angelo and his cousin, Angela Martina Rulli, who was born in Tornquist, Argentina on August 17, 1900, were promised in marriage to each other. Angela was the daughter of Esteban (Steven) Rulli and Angelica Bossi, also of Castelfrentano.

Angelo emigrated to Argentina, and married Angela on November 30, 1920. Angelo and Angela came to the United States on the ship "Vauban", leaving LaPlata, Argentina on December 11, 1920 and arriving at Ellis Island, New York by January 3, 1921. They moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the 1920’s, the family lived at 2040 Watkins Street and at 2148 S. Woodstock Street. Angelo founded the Angelo Colonna Manufacturing Company, a sheet metal fabricating company. The company was located at Westmoreland and Boudinot Streets, and produced food and beverage service equipment. The factory also served as a place of employment for Angelo’s brothers, son, and other relatives. Angelo became a citizen on March 4, 1927 and Angela was naturalized June 28, 1929.

The brothers of Angelo Colonna were Joseph, born in 1890, Silvio, and Gino. His sister was Mary. Joseph and Mary immigrated to the United States from Italy in 1912 and 1913 respectively. Gino came to the United States after 1920 and is believed to have left a wife and child in Italy. Silvio remained in Italy.

Joseph Colonna married Mary (maiden name unknown) who immigrated to the United States from Italy in 1906, and they had three children, Louis, Marion, and Anthony. Marion married a Spinelli and they had a son, named Rocco. Joseph and Mary Colonna appear in the 1920 census boarding at 449 N. 65^th Street in Philadelphia at the home of the Victor Gardenano family. Joseph was a tinsmith and both he and his wife Mary became naturalized citizens in 1919.

Silvio married Angiolina (maiden name unknown), and they had four children, Maria, Paola, Leda, and Luigi. Apparently Silvio died before 1972, as Angelo’s will distributed part of his estate equally to Angiolina and the four children.

Mary Colonna married Michael Flocco. The Flocco family is described in the next chapter.

Angelo and Angela Colonna had four children. Marianne Angelica, known as Marion, was born July 22, 1922. George Anthony was born March 25, 1924. Both Marion and George were born in Philadelphia. While Angela was pregnant with their third child, Angelo and Angela separated, and she returned to Argentina where Dina was born in Marmol. Angelo and Angela reconciled, she returned to Philadelphia, and Rosalind Bernice was born. (Angelo and Angela separated again and Angelo had a fifth child, Victoria, by Margaret F. McCaskey.) Angelo died December 25, 1970 and Angela died November 10, 1974. Both are buried in Calvary Cemetery, Conshohocken, PA

Marianne Angelica (Marion) Colonna was baptized November 5, 1922 at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Philadelphia. Her godparents were her aunt and uncle, Mary and Michael Flocco. Marion married John Gilson, son of James J. Gilson and Mary Martha O’Brien Gilson, on August 25, 1956. John was born March 5, 1906 in Philadelphia. John worked for the Internal Revenue Service. Marion was an artist, selling several of her paintings. John and Marion had four children, all born in Penn Wynn, PA:

• Regina,
• Kathleen,
• Patrick,
• John, Jr.

John Gilson died May 8, 1974, and Marion and the family moved first to Elverson, PA, and then to Sea Isle City, NJ. Marion died there August 30, 1990. Both are buried in Calvary Cemetery, Conshohocken, PA.

Regina Gilson has Down’s Syndrome and has been dependent on family or supervised care for all her life. Following Marion’s death she stayed alternatively with her brothers and sisters for a period of time.

Kathleen Gilson is a nurse. She married Michael Buriani in a ceremony in the Shawagunk Mountains in New York. She had been married before, to Augustus Widmann.

Patrick Gilson lives in California.

John Gilson, Jr., married Janice Kuwahara. His godparents were his uncle Robert Ronco and aunt, Rosemary Colonna. John and Janice have three children:

• Tyler Hajime,
• Keenan Akira,
• Joshua Tomio,

George Anthony Colonna was baptized on November 30, 1924 in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. His godparents were Nicholas and Lucy Liberati, close friends of the family. George was employed as a mechanical engineer in his father’s sheet metal fabricating company. He married Rosemary Louise Monks, the daughter of James Aloysius Monks, Jr., and Mary Cecilia O’Connell. Rosemary worked as a secretary and later as a Trust Administrator for Fidelity Bank. They had five daughters:

• Denise Mary,
• Maureen Cynthia,
• Diane Teresa,
• Cecile Cathleen,
• Marcella Rose.

George died of a heart attack on August 23, 1968 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Conshohocken, PA.

Denise Mary Colonna graduated from Drexel University with a degree in mechanical engineering. She was employed by Campbell Soup Company and served as President of the Delaware Valley Section of the Society for Experimental Stress Analysis. While at Drexel she met William G. Richards (son of LeRoy H. Richards and Mildred E. Gregory) and they were married. Bill is employed as an environmental engineer. Denise presently works part-time for PNC Bank. They have two daughters.

• Nicole Marie,
• Melissa Kaye,

Nicole graduated from St. Joseph’s University with a degree in international relations, and Melissa from the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in information science.

Maureen Cynthia Colonna graduated from Penn State University, Capitol Campus with a degree in education. After working as a branch manager for PSFS Bank, she has been teaching computer science. She married James J. Gallagher. He is the son of William Gallagher and Natalie Syrek. Maureen and Jim have two children:

• Christopher Anthony,
• Kathleen Elizabeth,.

Chris attends the University of Pittsburgh and Kathleen attends Northeastern University.

Diane Teresa Colonna has worked at Urbana College the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Swarthmore College. She married John Richard Brown and became mother to his son from a former marriage, Chad Kristian. John and Diane had two children:

• Suzanne Marie,
• Matthew John Richard,

Diane and John divorced. John died of cancer on May 10, 1996. Diane has married Keith Gordon Crompton the son of Phillip Gordon Crompton and Margaret Sturrock Keith. Gordon has two children from a previous marriage; Samuel, and Rochelle. Gordon works for Penn State University.

Suzanne Marie Brown graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition. She married Michael Yost and they have a son, Dustin Tyler Matthew J. R. Brown graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He married Jennifer Simolike.

Cecile Cathleen Colonna graduated from Beaver College with a B.A. in Business Administration. She works for the Beneficial Savings Bank.

Marcella Rose Colonna is a music teacher and store owner, and lives with Maureen McCullough, a building contractor. Marcella has sung with the Music Group of Philadelphia choir including on a tour of Europe.

Dina Colonna, the third child of Angelo Colonna and Angela Martina Rulli, was baptized in the Church of San Gabriel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her godparents were her uncle Antonio Rulli and her grandmother, Angela Bossi Rulli. Dina is an excellent piano player and teacher. She married Richard Haines Doris. Dick is the son of Thomas and Helen Haines Doris.

Rosalind Bernice (Rosalinda) Colonna was the fourth child of Angelo and Angela Colonna. She was baptized at St. Margaret’s Catholic church in Narberth, PA. Her godparents were Matthew and Elizabeth Phayre who were friends of the family. Rosalind is a graduate of Immaculata College. She married Robert Dominic Ronco, the son of Robert Ronco and Lucy Evelyn Farace. Bob was born July 2, 1933 in Roseto, PA, and was a lawyer. He graduated from LaSalle College in 1956 and Cleveland Marshall Law School in 1960. Rosalinda and Bob had three children:

• David Joseph,
• Cynthia Maureen,
• Stephen James.

Robert died September 13, 1977. Rosalinda had been his legal assistant and continued in that career following Bob’s death.

David Ronco is a graduate of Villanova University and is an aeronautical engineer working for Boeing . He is a frequent marathoner.

Cynthia (Cindy) Maureen Ronco married Stephen Arthur Picot, the son of Raymond A. Picot and Virginia A. Watson. They have two daughters, Rachel Nicole and Hannah Elizabeth. Cindy is a graduate of Brandywine College majoring in travel and tourism and a graduate of the University of South Florida in Elementary Education. Steve is a car mechanic and Cindy an elementary school teacher.

Steven James Ronco graduated from Widener University with a degree in hotel and restaurant management, and after several years in the field, is now studying to be a chiropractor.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN - THE FLOCCO FAMILY

Mary Colonna, born in 1891 in Italy, was the sister of Angelo Colonna. She married Michael Flocco who was also born in 1891. Mary and Michael immigrated to the United States in 1913 and settled in Philadelphia, where her brother Joseph was located, having immigrated the previous year. Mary and Michael appear in the 1920 census renting at 1229 Iseminger Street in the 26^th ward. Michael Flocco had become a U.S. citizen by that time and was working as a tailor in a factory. Mary had not become naturalized at that time.

Michael and Mary Colonna Flocco had nine children.

• Concetta
• Alphonse
• Louis
• Joseph
• Angelo
• Michael
• Marion
• Rita
• Benjamin

Alphonse, Louis, and Joseph were listed with the family in the 1920 census. The census information was taken on January 13, 1920. Alphonse was listed as seven years old, born in Italy, and immigrating in 1913. Louis was indicated as five years old and born in Pennsylvania. Joseph was listed as 2 years and 4 months old and born in Pennsylvania. If Concetta was indeed the oldest child, she had to be either deceased or living elsewhere in 1920. It is assumed all the other children were born after January 1920.

Alphonse Flocco was born March 16, 1913, in Italy. He was a sheet metal worker and worked in his brother Angelo’s factory. Alphonse married Phyllis Roseto and they had a son Michael. Michael is deceased. Alphonse died October 29, 1997 and is buried in St. Dominic Cemetery in Philadelphia.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN - THE RULLI FAMILY OF ARGENTINA

Angela Martina Rulli was born in Tornquist, Argentina, on August 17, 1900. She was the daughter of Esteban (Steven) Rulli and Angelica Bossi, both born in Italy. Angela had four brothers and one sister, all born in Tornquist. They were:

• Nicholas
• Esteban, Jr.,
• Angelica
• Adolpho, and
• Antonio, born August 16, 1892, died January 25, 1966.

Angela married Angelo Colonna on November 30, 1920 in Argentina and then moved to Philadelphia. Their family and descendants have been described in Chapter One. Angela died November 10, 1974 in Philadelphia and is buried in the Calvary Cemetery, Conshohocken, PA.

Nicholas Rulli married twice. His first wife was Angela Laura Nelida. Nicholas and Angela had a son, Jorge, born in Argentina. Nicholas’ second wife was Anna Laura Leanilda.

We do not know of the families of Esteban, Jr., or of Angelica.

Adolpho Rulli married Enriqueta Perosanto. They had eight children, all born in Argentina. The children are Adolpho, Jr., Renoto, Nelstor, Alfonso, Alberto, Hector, Relando, and Angelica.

Antonio Rulli married Maria Louisa (maiden name unknown). The children of Antonio and Maria Louisa Rulli are:

• Maria Angelica, known as Quequeca, born in Temperley, Argentina,
• Miquel, born in Temperley, Argentina,
• Marylu, born 1938 in Temperley, Argentina, died October, 1994, in LaPlata, Argentina.

Quequeca (Maria Angelica Rulli) married Osvaldo Belvedere in Temperley, Argentina. Osvaldo is the son of Francisco and Louisa Belvedere.

Miquel Rulli, a son of Antonio and Maria Louisa Rulli, married Elmy. They had three children:

• Alejandro, married Sylvia,
• Esteban,
• Susana.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - THE COLONNA FAMILY IN MEDIEVAL ITALY

We believe that the Colonna family of Luigi Colonna and Angelica Rulli, the parents of Angelo Colonna the immigrant, was located in the Italian province of Abruzzi. The Colonna name historically in Italy is traced to a family that was very powerful in Italy during both the Medieval and Renaissance eras. That family was originally residing in the northern section of City of Rome and the Alban Hills southeast of Rome, and controlled the roads from Rome to Naples and to Abruzzi. Known descendants of that family are operating orchards, wineries, distilleries, and olive oil production centers in Molise, the province southeast of Abruzzi to the present day.

We cannot, at this time, make a direct connection between the present Colonna family described in the previous chapters and the well-known family of Italian history. However that family is long-established in Italy and is known to have descendants in the same geographic area from where the present Colonna family is believed to have emigrated. While a connection cannot be positively made, we also cannot ignore the possibility that the families are the same. More research, probably in Italy, would be needed to confirm or disprove a connection.

It was during the 12^th century that the Colonna family is first known to exist by that name. During the papacy of Paschall II (1099-1118) the Colonna family took control of the town of Cavae, and the Pope responded with troops to drive them out.

As with many Italian and European families, the name is believed to be derived from an ancient village where members of the family first lived. The town of Colonna, southeast of Rome, had its name derived from a set of Roman columns at a castle near that site. This family is said to descend from the Dukes of Tusculum, from the village of Tusculum, who from 1012 to 1048 arranged for family members to serve as three consecutive popes.

Geographically the Colonna were normally located either in the northern section of Rome, or in and around the Alban Hills southeast of Rome. Over time they have moved throughout the area around Rome and east into the Abruzzi province. In Rome they resided between the Mausoleum of Augustus near the Tiber River, through the Montecitorio to the area around the Church of the Twelve Apostles. In the country-side, they resided in the cities of Colonna, Palestrina, Zagarola, Tusculum, Capranica, Genazzano, Subiaco, and others.

By the late 12^th century, the Colonna family was recognized as one of five families ruling feudal Rome. They had substantial influence in Church politics, and it was rare over the following five centuries that there was not a family member in the College of Cardinals, and on several occasions the family was represented by two.

The Colonna family was usually a rival of the equally powerful Orsini family, and much of Rome’s history and that of the Church during this period centered around these two families, and occasionally other families, striving for dominance. Money and power were generally obtained through the lucrative positions of Cardinal in the Church or of Senator in the civil government of Rome. As the civil government of the Papal States around Rome were dominated by the Pope, having a Pope that was favorable to one’s family generally was beneficial and frequently lucrative. The Pope was chosen by the votes of the Cardinals, and the Pope named future Cardinals.

In order to obtain influence with Popes or Papal candidates, the Italian aristocratic families frequently allied themselves with other European governments who tried to influence Papal politics. At various times the Colonnas had such alliances with the governments of France, Spain, Kingdom of Naples, and Germany. However they were known in Medieval times as being generally Ghibelline, which meant that they favored the Holy Roman Empire (the German states) and its emperor, who since Charlemagne’s times were recognized as the temporal defenders of the spiritual leader (the Pope) of the Church. Not all Popes welcomed the Germans as their defenders, particularly those who favored expanding the Pope’s role into political rather than just spiritual venues. Thus it is not surprising that usually the Colonnas were unfavorable to Popes who tried to expand their powers far beyond Church affairs (unless, of course, a Pope was favorable to the Colonnas and included them in his plans). The rival Orsini family, on the other hand, opposed the influence of the Holy Roman Empire (a policy known as Guelf) and promoted Popes who tried to expand the Church’s influence into Italian politics.

This Orsini-Colonna rivalry flared in the early 13^th century when Cardinal Giovanni Colonna (later to be a Roman Senator) was imprisoned by Matteo Rosso Orsini because of his Ghibelline views. Giovanni had been made a Cardinal in 1212 by Pope Innocent III. In the early 1220’s he traveled to Jerusalem and returned with the column believed to be that at which Christ was scourged. It was placed at Santa Prassede and is still venerated. It also became the primary symbol of the family coat-of-arms. Giovanni influenced Innocent III to support the Franciscans. Giovanni supported Frederick II for Holy Roman Emperor and this led the Guelf tyrant Matteo Orsini to imprison him.

In 1241 the Colonnas had two members who were Roman Senators, Annibaldo and Oddone. That year was also one when a papal election was held. Cardinal Giovanni Colonna was the primary supporter of the Holy Roman Emperor’s (Frederick II) papal candidate, Godfredo Castiglioni. He was successful and Castiglioni became Pope Celestine IV. However he died within two weeks, one of the shortest papacies ever.

Margherita Colonna was the sister of Giovanni (described above) and died December 30, 1280. Her father Oddone, died when she was two, and her mother, Margherita Orsini (the sister of Matteo who imprisoned Giovanni, showing even the Colonnas and Orsinis could forgive and get together) died when she was 10. Her brother Jacopo had a dream where he saw Margherita carried off by angels. Margherita interpreted this as her leaving the earthly world to become a nun. By 1273 she stayed at Castel San Pietro located above the Colonna city of Palestrina. She did charitable work among the sick at Zagarola and with lepers at Poli. She formed an order at San Silvestro that was supported by her Orsini cousin Pope Nicholas III, who also appointed her brother Jacopo as Cardinal. San Silvestro became the center of the Colonna holdings within Rome. The convent developed a cult around Margherita in hopes she might be beatified, but that was not to be.

In 1293 the death of an Orsini Senator provoked the Roman people to require the resignation of a Colonna Senator to maintain a balance between the rival families. At this time the most powerful branch of the Colonna family was composed of Cardinal Jacopo and six nephews, the sons of Giovanni. We know the names of four of the six brothers, Giovanni (Jr.), Stefano, Sciarra, and Pietro. Giovani (Jr.) was named Marquis of Ancona (north of the present Abruzzi province) and Stefano named Count of Romagna (includes the city of Bologna) by Pope Nicholas IV, who was favorable to the family.

Pietro was a Roman Senator.

On the death of Nicholas IV in 1294, the College of Cardinals was hopelessly split between Colonna and Orsini candidates. Eventually Benedetto Gaetani began to take actions that would have grave consequences for the Colonna family. Gaetani promoted a hermit monk, Pietro del Morrone, who lived totally isolated in a cave, as a compromise candidate. Cardinal Jacopo Colonna’s religious enthusiasm over a true holy man becoming Pope helped carry the election and Morrone became Pope Celestine V. The hermit proved to be overwhelmed by it all however, and became a puppet for Gaetani. After only four months Gaetani convinced Celestine V to abdicate in favor of himself. Gaetani received the support of the Cardinals and became Boniface VIII. The Colonna family came to dislike this Pope’s highhanded autocratic style, his efforts to increase the power of the papacy, and his supporting Charles II of Anjou over the Spanish claimant to the throne of the Kingdom of Naples. So the Colonna chose to publicly question the validity of Celestine V’s abdication and Boniface’s election. Stefano Colonna intercepted a convoy along the roads through Colonna land that was bringing money raised for Crusades in Palestine to the Pope. Boniface intended to use the money to finance the capture of Italian cities for the Gaetani family.

Boniface’s reaction was quick and extreme. He imprisoned the two Colonna Cardinals, Jacapo and Pietro, and ordered them to turn over three family castles to him. The Colonna’s refused that request but offered to return the stolen gold. But Boniface wanted to destroy the Colonna and directed the Knights Templar against the family. Most of the key members of the family were excommunicated. Papal armies confiscated their estates, besieged their fortresses, and the primary Colonna city of Palestrina was razed. When Stefano was captured, he was mockingly asked "Now where is your fortress?" He placed his hand over his heart and said, "Here." By 1299 all the Colonna cities and castles had been captured. Many Colonna family members went into exile throughout Europe, and several found refuge with King Phillip II of France.

The convent at San Silvestro was also caught up in Boniface’s vengeance on the family. With Jacopo deposed, Boniface named a Franciscan, Matthew of Acquasporta as the protector of the convent and deprived Giovanna (niece of Jacopo and Margherita and sister to the six brothers) of being abbess.

Boniface next responded with an attack on King Phillip for providing safe haven for the exiled Colonna. He was preparing a papal bull (a proclamation of doctrine) that would push the primacy of the papacy further than had ever been done before, by asserting the Pope as having both spiritual and temporal primacy over all living things, and in addition, excommunicating Phillip. With information provided by the Colonna, Phillip then charged Boniface with illegitimacy, sexual misconduct, blasphemy, heresy and usurping power. Phillip sent an army of 2000 under the joint command of Frenchman Guglielmo di Nogaret and Sciarra Colonna that captured the Pope at Agnani, before he could issue the bull. Legend describes Sciarra confronting the Pope and slapping him (author Dante Alighieri placed Sciarra in hell for this act in Dante’s Inferno ). Historical accounts indicate Sciarra went much further than a slap, roughing up Boniface and having his troops strip him and urinate on him. Three days later, Boniface was rescued by Cardinal Nicolas Boccasini, but he died within a month due to his treatment.

Cardinal Boccasini was then elected Pope Benedict XI, probably because of his bravery in rescuing his predecessor. Recognizing the impropriety of Boniface’s actions against the Colonna, Benedict began to overturn Boniface’s civil actions and lifted the excommunications against all but Sciarra.

Following the death of Pope Benedict in 1304, the non-Italian Cardinals allied themselves with the anti-Boniface Italian cardinals and elected a French Pope, Clement V. Clement immediately appointed nine French Cardinals so the Italian Cardinals were out-numbered and moved the papacy to Avignon, France. With a French Pope who had the complete support of King Phillip, the Colonna family was completely rehabilitated and fully compensated (100,000 gold florins) for their losses. By 1306, Stefano was a Roman senator. In 1318 Pope John XXII appointed Cardinal Pietro Colonna as protector of San Silvestro. Eventually even Sciarra was forgiven, and in his old age, while a Roman Senator, he was given the honor in 1328 of crowning Louis IV of Bavaria as Holy Roman Emperor. In gratitude, the Emperor had the crown symbol placed upon the pillar in the Colonna family coat-of-arms.

As the Colonna family was restored, female family members also achieved some distinction. At San Silvestro, by 1368, a Marie Colonna had been installed as abbess. In 1355, Margherita Colonna Conti, the widow of Giovanni Conti, was so moved at Mass in the Augustinian church of San Trifone in Rome at the elevation of the Body of Christ, that she made a great vow of gifts. Colonna and Conti land, money, and rights were given in God’s name to the paupers of San Spirito.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – THE COLONNA FAMILY IN RENAISSANCE ITALY

On September 28, 1420, Pope Martin V rode into Rome and received the welcome and hopes of the city’s residents. It had been more than a century since Clement V’s election (described in the previous chapter). From 1305 to 1378 seven popes had conducted their papacies from Avignon, France. Between 1378 and 1417 the Great Western Schism occurred, during which there were at least two and as many as four rival popes at a time. This meant that no pope who could claim recognition of most of Christendom had ruled in Rome for 115 years. Elected unanimously at a conclave in Constance, Switzerland on November 11, 1417, Martin within three years had convinced rival popes to resign or had reduced their followings to insignificance. He then chose to return the unified papacy to Rome, as the first of the Renaissance Popes.

Born Oddo Colonna in Genazzano, Italy in 1368, Martin was the only member of the Colonna family of Italy to become a Pope. He was the son of Agapito Colonna and was from a different branch of the family than the Colonnas of Palestrina. He had been made a Cardinal in 1405. Following his election as Pope, King Sigismund of Germany led his horse during his coronation procession. This was another example of the strong relations between the Colonnas and the German royalty.

Called the "Restorer of Rome", Martin spent much of his energies rebuilding the City and its churches. Upon his return to Rome, he negotiated a withdrawal of the Neapolitan troops under Queen Joanna II who had been occupying the City. With the help of the Colonna family, who he also handsomely rewarded, he won battles in 1424 and 1429 that restored papal control of the Papal States surrounding Rome. He exhibited sympathy, unusual for those times, for fair treatment of Jews, denouncing anti-Jewish preaching and opposing forced baptisms of children of Jews. His diplomacy restored badly needed prestige of the papacy.

Martin’s political and financial support of the Colonna family also continued to aggravate the rivalry between the Colonna and Orsini families. In the period preceding his papacy, and following the move of popes to Avignon, the Colonna and Orsini had disputed Rome by fighting each other. Petrarch (1304-1374), a Roman poet, helped the younger Stefano Colonna (son of the Stefano described in the previous chapter) become a Roman Senator despite Stefano slaying an Orsini family member during a truce. Martin V’s reliance upon and enrichment of the Colonna family raised the resentment of the Orsini and other Roman families.

Following Martin’s death on February 20, 1431, Pope Eugenis IV was elected and among his first actions was to move against the Colonna. The family was force to return all territories that Martin had provided to his nephews. The Colonna tried to instigate a revolt, which erupted in Rome in May 1434. Eugenis was force to flee the City in disguise. Eventually Eugenis was able to return but he required the combined armies of Florence, Venice, Naples and rival Roman families under the Orsini to force the Colonna to agree to terms.

On Eugenis IV’s death in 1447, eighteen Cardinals met to elect the next pope. On the first ballot, Cardinal Prospero Colonna (a nephew of Oddo Colonna, Pope Martin V) led the voting, but Nicholas V was eventually elected as a compromise candidate. Cardinal Colonna crowned Nicholas V on March 19, 1447. Nicholas was Pope until his death on March 24, 1455.

The conclave to elect Nicholas’ successor was divided between Cardinal Barbo, supported by the Orsini, Venice and Naples, and Cardinal Capanica, supported by the Colonna. A compromise candidate emerged, the elderly Spanish Cardinal Alfonso de Borja (Borgia, in Italian). It was thought his papacy would be a short one to allow the rival factions to strengthen their positions. But the three year reign of Calixtus III (the name Borgia took) was long enough for him to appoint members of his family to prominence in the Church and was to have serious implications for the next 50 years.

No pope ever interfered more in the quarrels between the Orsini and Colonna. Originally Calixtus reached an understanding with the Colonna and they stood by while he concentrated against the Orsini. After achieving his goals and strengthening his position, Calixtus proceeded to move Borgia family into both Orsini and Colonna estates and positions.

The Borgias built their strength in Italy during the next two papacies, those of Pius II and Paul II. The next pope, Sixtus IV, allied himself with the Orsini. By the conclave of 1484 following the death of Sixtus IV, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia had secured the support of the Colonnas, as well as Milan and Spain. But the opposition of the Orsinis, Venice and France was enough to prevent his election at this time. Innocent VIII was elected as Pope, and the Colonna family gained influence during his papacy.

Twelve years later after the death of Innocent VIII, Rodrigo Borgia was aligned with the Orsini, Milan and Ferrara supporting Cardinal Carafa, against candidates of the Colonna, Naples, Venice, Genoa and the Roman Savelli family. Suddenly Borgia was elected as a compromise candidate and became Pope Alexander VI. Following his installation the Colonna and Savelli families received numerous lucrative estates from the Church. Prospero Colonna (grandson of Stefano and nephew of Cardinal Prospero Colonna) was named as Captain-General of Rome. It is widely believed that the Borgias bought the papacy.

Alexander VI is generally regarded as the most notorious Pope in history. He was deeply involved in numerous intrigues resulting in power and wealth for his family. He was morally decadent, having numerous children from affairs while both Cardinal and Pope. His nepotism exceeded anything seen before. He had no hesitancy to use papal troops and was also willing to murder and poison to achieve his ends. The Spanish Borgias dominated Italy during and for some time after his reign. His son Cesare and daughter Lucrezia carried on his reputation.

Alexander was able to play the Orsini and Colonna against each other to his and his family’s own benefit. By May 1494 he reconciled with the Orsini and forced the Colonna to surrender the port of Ostia to him. The Colonna family turned to France for help. On September 18, 1494, the Colonna and the French retook Ostia. With the French approaching Rome the Orsini abandoned Alexander. Alexander left Rome and while the French proceeded south to Naples, Alexander secured an alliance of the central and northern Italian cities against the French invaders. The French never lost a battle but could not sustain their Italian invasion with most of Italy against them and withdrew.

Switching sides was not unusual for the Borgias or the Italian families. Alexander was out to avenge the Orsini having abandoned him and that mattered more to him than the Colonna’s opposition at Ostia. He convinced the Colonna to join him against the Orsini, and the Orsini then appealed to and obtained France’s support against Alexander. On January 24, 1497, at the Battle of Mont Cimini, the Papal forces under Juan Borgia (one of Alexander’s sons) and the Colonna fought the French and the Orsini. Fabrizio Colonna (grandson of Oddo Colonna’s brother Lorenzio Onofrio Colonna, and nephew of Cardinal Prospero Colonna) led a flanking movement that appeared to be on the verge of winning the battle. However the French counter-attacked the center of the papal troops, who broke, and the battle was lost.

Alexander reached an accommodation with the French, and that left the Orsini family isolated. He then forced the Orsini family to pay an indemnity for opposing him. However, the Colonna did not receive any rewards for their assistance to the Borgias in the war with the Orsini. This may have finally led the Orsini and Colonna to realize that the Borgias were more dangerous to them than they were to each other, for they temporarily put aside their feud and united against Alexander. They sought and gained the support of the Kingdom of Naples under King Frederigo, who was related to Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain.

French and papal troops under Cesare Borgia invaded the Kingdom of Naples in 1501. They advanced on the city of Capua, which was defended by Colonna troops under Fabrizio Colonna. After a long defense, Capua fell and Cesare’s troops brutally sacked the town. At least 40 Capuan women were carried off for Cesare’s enjoyment. The Kingdom of Naples collapsed and Frederigo went into exile in Spain.

The Colonna had lost. Alexander followed the battle with excommunication of family leaders and began to place Colonna cities under Borgia family members. Subiaco was given to Cesare, Genazzano, Marino, and Rocca di Papa were surrendered to Alexander, and Palestrina was given to Giovanni Borgia.

In August 1503, Pope Alexander and Cesare Borgia simultaneously came down with severe illness and fever. Many believe they were poisoned. Alexander died on August 18^th and Cesare took over a month to recover. The Orsini moved to strengthen themselves and organize opposition to the Borgias while Cesare remained weak. The Borgias originally got the Colonna family to support them with a promise to restore their properties. But realizing their ability to recover their property on their own against the weakened Borgias, the Colonna joined the Orsini against Cesare. The united Orsini and Colonna families took Rome and Cesare fled.

Although Rome was secured, it took many years to break the Borgia influence throughout the rest of Italy. In late 1503 Prospero Colonna (former Captain-General of Rome) rescued Sancia, Princess of Squillance, from Castel Sant Angelo. Sancia had been married off to Jofre Borgia (one of Pope Alexander’s sons) as part of the Borgias dynastic plans. Sancia became Prospero’s mistress and she assumed the role of guardian to Giovanni and Rodrigo Borgia, Alexander’s two youngest illegitimate sons, born while he was Pope.

Lucrezia Borgia was the last of the immediate Borgia family to remain at large and to plot to return the family to power. She was reported to have been morally decadent, accused of incest with her father and brother Cesare, and willingly married three times to improve the Borgia family position in Italy. After the loss of Rome, she led Borgia efforts from the city of Ferrara, where she was married to Alfonso d’Este, II, Duke of Ferrara. The Borgias and Alfonso obtained the assistance of France, and again the French invaded Italy. The Spanish royal family had been restored to the Kingdom of Naples, and they supported driving France from Italy. Alfonso and the French met the Spanish and Italians, once more under the leadership of Fabrizio Colonna, at Ravenna. While the French won the battle, their losses were so severe that they had to abandon their invasion and leave Italy. Alfonso abandoned Lucrezia and sought refuge with the Colonna at Marino. The Borgia threat was finally over.

The Battle of Ravenna began a period of Colonna family participation with the Spanish. Both Spain and much of Germany were ruled by the Hapsburg royal dynasty. The Ghibelline history of the Colonna made the extension of alliance with the German Hapsburgs to the Spanish Hapsburgs a natural one. The Hapsburgs were at war with France for most of the period 1521-1559, and occasionally Italy found itself to be a battlefield in these wars.

In 1522, Prospero Colonna (who had rescued Sandia from Jofre Borgia) led a group of Hapsburg troops who were to relieve the city of Pavia, under siege by the French and a number of Swiss mercenaries. Approaching Pavia, Prospero entrenched nearby. The Swiss mercenaries demanded an immediate attack on Colonna’s position. Their motivation was to gain booty, which they felt they could obtain more quickly in open battle than from the protracted siege of Pavia. The battle of Bicocca resulted and Prospero’s defensive positions proved too strong for the Swiss. Swiss losses were so substantial they left Italy and the French troops eventually were unsuccessful in the siege of Pavia, although the siege was maintained until 1525.

In 1523, Giulio de Medici, a member of another famous Italian family and nephew of Pope Leo X, became Pope Clement VII. His policy was to preserve his family’s hold on Florence and to increase the Pope’s strength in the Papal States. To do so, he flip-flopped in his alliances, much as the Borgias had done before him. Clement originally opposed the Hapsburgs and supported the French until they were defeated at Pavia. Then he sought the protection of the Hapsburg Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V of Germany. Clement then joined a military alliance with France, Milan, Florence, and Venice against the Hapsburgs. This led to a German Hapsburg invasion of Italy. Pompeo Colonna organized a raid on the Vatican that preceded Charles’s sack of Rome on May 6, 1527. Clement VII surrendered at Castel Sant Angelo, and was imprisoned for six months. Many historians date this event as the end of the Renaissance papacies, as after Clement is restored, papal intrigues in Italy become less frequent and the Church becomes dominated by its reaction to the Reformation.

Clement V was a patron of the arts and was the Pope who commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel. The poetess Vittoria Colonna, who was the daughter of Fabrizio, was Michelangelo’s lover, and he described her as the only woman he ever loved. Vittoria eventually married the Marchese Francesco d’Avalos in Pescara, Abruzzi province, and they resided in the Palazzo d’Avalos in Vasto, Abruzzi province.

Since the time of the Borgia and Medici papacies, the Colonna family has a history of serving the Church, rather than trying to control or fight with it. In return, some of the Colonna family were raised to become princes and princesses.

In 1571, Marce Antonio Colonna commanded the papal naval forces in a victory over the Turks at Lepanto, Greece, and received a hero’s ovation on his return to Rome.

Fabio Colonna (1567-1650) who suffered from epilepsy made a systematic investigation of plants and their curative powers. This led to his discovery of the valerian root, an anticonvulsant, which was effective in controlling his seizures. He drew accurate pictures of the plants he investigated and developed printing methods to accurately preserve the details in print. He was one of the earliest botanists.

As late as 1621 historians were reporting the Colonna as one of the three most powerful Roman families, along with the Orsini and Borghese families. In 1630 the town of Carbognano in the Cimini Mountains was raised to the status of a principality by Pope Urban VIII and became a possession of the Colonna family.

More recently, Claudia Apriotti of Rome has claimed to be the product of a liaison of a brief relationship between the Italian dictator Mussolini and a then teenage Colonna princess. She is the seventh illegitimate child attributed to Mussolini. Apriotti claims she is the daughter of Princess Sveva Vittoria Colonna who was 19 at the time of the alleged relationship and is still alive. Apriotti says she was first brought up in a castle and then fostered to a couple of peasant farmers north of Rome.

At present, Marina Colonna ( the daughter of Prince Francesco Colonna) runs the family estate, located in Molise province. The farm today contains 450 hectares and grows wheat, sugar beet, sunflower, soia beans and produces olive oil.

CHAPTER NINETEEN - THE EARLY MONKS GENERATIONS

The Monks family is of Irish descent, having emigrated to England in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, and then emigrating to America in the mid-nineteenth century, settling in Philadelphia. The earliest known ancestors are Joseph S. Monks, who was born in England, about 1815, and his wife, Charlotte W. Leigh, born in 1818 in England. Their son Joseph M. Monks, who was born in England, indicated on his citizenship application that the family immigrated in 1848, arriving in New York City. This was a time of significant Irish immigration into the United States. While a great deal of this immigration was due to the Potato Famine in Ireland, since they had lived in England for several decades, our Monks immigrants would have had different reasons for coming to America. Whatever their motivation, there are now six generations of descendants of Joseph S. and Charlotte W. L. Monks that have lived in the United States.

The Monks name, as well as the Irish names of Monaghan, Monohan, and Minogue, is derived from the Irish word manach, meaning monk. Today’s Monk and Monks families may be the descendants of the famous ninth-century Connacht warrior, Manachain. Connacht was the original territory of these families in Ireland.

Joseph’s parents were born in Ireland. While we do not know their names at the present time, there are some clues that may help us to eventually learn who they were. There is a Robert Monks, who was 20 years older than Joseph, buried in the family plot at Old Cathedral Cemetery in Philadelphia. This may be his father or an uncle. There is also a baptismal record (3 Sept 1815) in the register of the Burtonwood Chapel, in Lancastershire, England for a Joseph Monks, born on August 15, 1815, son of Henry (a tailor) and Betty Monks of Rainhill. The Monks are believed to have lived in the Manchester area of England, then a part of Lancastershire. The reference does not give the denomination of Burtonwood Chapel, but it is likely to be Anglican, not Roman Catholic. Charlotte Leigh’s parents were born in England and their names and religion are unknown to us.

Joseph and Charlotte Monks, and their family appear in the 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses. They lived at 2212 Callowhill Street in Philadelphia. This home, and several of the homes occupied by members of the Monks and related families in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia would be torn down in the 1910’s in order to build the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Joseph was a shoemaker. In those days the shoemaker custom made shoes and boots for his clients (it was not shoe-repair as we think of it today). Joseph became a U.S. citizen in 1853. In 1860 his personal estate was valued at $2000 and in 1870 it had increased to $15,500 in real estate and $500 cash. Charlotte was listed as a storekeeper in 1880, and sons Robert and James were also identified as shoemakers in 1870 and/or 1880. So it appears the family business was growing over this period

The children of Joseph and Charlotte were:

• Mary Ann, born September 1840 in England;
• Joseph M., born June 16, 1842 in England;
• Robert Stevens, born in 1844 in England;
• James Aloysius, born in 1850 in Philadelphia;
• Charlotte, born July 31, 1853 in Philadelphia;
• Elizabeth, born January 12, 1857 in Philadelphia;
• Cecillia, born April 28, 1860 in Philadelphia.

An infant child, Harry Monks, enumerated as being born in 1859, appears in the 1860 census. But we have no other record of this child and he was not buried in the family cemetery plot. Cecillia, on the other hand, died on September 1, 1861, at the age of one and was buried at Old Cathedral Cemetery in Philadelphia. Daughter Charlotte died on September 14, 1866, at the age of 13 and was also buried at Old Cathedral.

Joseph S. Monks died September 1, 1893, and Charlotte W. Leigh Monks died October 4, 1898, both in Philadelphia. Both were buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery.

Mary Ann Monks, the eldest child of Joseph and Charlotte Monks, married Andrew A. McFarland on October 30, 1884. He was born in December 1837 in England. Andrew had been married before (his first wife’s name was also Mary, and had three children by him, Mary E., born 1861, Margaret, born 1872, and Andrew I., born 1875). At the time of the 1900 Census, Andrew, Mary Ann, and Margaret were living at 1419 Cumberland Street in Philadelphia. Andrew died on May 19, 1914, and Mary Ann died July 22, 1923. Both were buried in New Cathedral Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Joseph M. Monks, the second child of Joseph and Charlotte Monks, had left the family home and married his first wife, Mary, by 1870. Mary was born January 1839 in Ireland. Joseph and Mary lived at 2200 Lynn (now Aspen) Street in Philadelphia. They had one son, Joseph A. Monks, born June 9, 1870. Joseph and Mary are listed in the 1880 census at 2204 Hare (formerly Lynn, now Aspen) Street. A nephew, George Kraft, was living with them. By the 1900 census they were living at 832 N. Taylor Street in the 15^th Ward of Philadelphia. In that census they indicate that they both immigrated in 1846 (Joseph’s citizenship application indicated he immigrated in 1848). Joseph M. Monks’ wife Mary died July 15, 1902, and was buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery in Philadelphia. Joseph married Margaret Lynch on February 22, 1908. She was born January 30, 1857, in England. Joseph died on March 18, 1910, and was buried at Old Cathedral Cemetery. Later that year, at the time the census was taken, Margaret was living with her sister Elizabeth and brother-in-law Samuel Hanna at 135 East Cumberland Street in Philadelphia. By the time of the 1920 census, Margaret Lynch Monks was living with her nephew, John O’Farrell, in Ardmore, Montgomery County, PA. Margaret died September 8, 1927 and is buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery.

Joseph A. Monks, the son of Joseph M. and Mary Monks, was a plumber and literally married the girl next door. At the time of their wedding on June 27, 1894, Joseph lived at 2208 Hare (now Aspen) Street in Philadelphia. Sarah McGrory (born March 1, 1874) lived in the next house. Sarah’s father was born in Ireland and her mother in Canada (since Sarah spoke both English and French, perhaps her mother was from Quebec). At the time of the 1910 census, Joseph and Sarah lived at 5444 Master Street, in Philadelphia’s 34^th ward.. They had eight children:

• Mary K., born March 1896;
• Joseph T., born May 1898;
• John G., born 1901;
• Charlotte E., born 1903;
• Sarah M., born 1905;
• Marjorie, born May, 1909;
• George S., born 1913;
• Helen, born 1915.

In the 1920 census, the Joseph A. Monks family was listed at 5500 W. Master Street. Marjorie was not enumerated and it is assumed she died in infancy. Daughter Mary was working as a cashier for a radiator firm, son Joseph as a clerk for an iron works, son John as a clerk for a shipyard, and daughter Charlotte as a stenographer for a hospital. John, Charlotte, Sarah, and George were attending school in 1920.

Robert Stevens Monks, the third child of Joseph and Charlotte Monks, married Margaret T. McMackin on April 7, 1874. Margaret was born in Pennsylvania on August 6, 1845, the daughter of James and Bridget McMackin. James McMackin was born about 1825 and died November 22, 1897 in Philadelphia. Bridget McMackin died in 1887. Robert and Margaret Monks had four children, all born in Philadelphia:

• Charles B., born November 17, 1874;
• Charlotte (Lottie), born January 16, 1877;
• Mamie (Mary), born August 13, 1879;
• Veronica, born April 5, 1882.

Robert was a shoemaker. He died of typhoid fever on June 16, 1893 and was buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery. Margaret continued to live at the family home at 1609 Stiles Street. She is enumerated there in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 censuses with her son Charles and daughter Charlotte. Charles was listed as a shipper for a manufacturing company in 1910 and as a bookkeeper in 1920. Margaret died July 1, 1931, Charles died May 25, 1949, and Charlotte died February 20, 1958. All three are buried at Old Cathedral Cemetery.

Mamie (Mary) Monks was the third child of Robert and Margaret Monks. She married twice, the first marriage being on June 14, 1899, to William K. Keely who was born October 9, 1876 in Montgomery County, PA. They had two children, Helen, born in May 1900, and Mildred born in 1904. In the 1900 census, Mamie and Helen were enumerated with her mother, brother Charles, and sister Charlotte. In the 1910 and 1920 censuses, Helen and Mildred are enumerated with their grandmother, aunt and uncle, without either parent present. In the 1920 census Soundex index Mary appears with her second husband, Cyrus Carberry, living at 629 52^nd Street in Philadelphia, and Cyrus P. Carberry, Jr., aged 4. When Margaret McMackin Monks died in 1931, Mamie was still married to Cyrus. Mamie apparently left her children to be brought up by their grandmother, aunt, and uncle, when she remarried.

Veronica Monks, the fourth child of Robert and Margaret Monks, died young.

Elizabeth Monks was the sixth child of Joseph and Charlotte Monks, and she married William R. Sullivan on June 29, 1876 in St. Francis Xavier church in Philadelphia. William was born in December 1850 in England, and there is substantial evidence that the Sullivan and Monks families were close. A John Sullivan served as a witness when Joseph S. Monks applied for U.S. citizenship. When William’s older brother James Sullivan died in 1879, after his wife had died in 1876, Joseph and Charlotte Monks took in their four orphaned children, Mary, John, James, and Daniel.

William R. Sullivan’s parents were born in Ireland and the family immigrated to the United States in 1861. In 1880 William and Elizabeth were living at 2407 Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia. By 1900 they had moved to 1007 South 2^nd Street in Plainfield, Union County, New Jersey. He worked as a machinist. William and Elizabeth had nine children:

• James F., born October 31, 1877 in Philadelphia;
• Mary E., born December 20, 1879 in Philadelphia;
• Charlotte, born December 23, 1881 in Philadelphia;
• Elizabeth Josephine, born March 25, 1884 (died May 23, 1884) in Philadelphia;
• Emma R., born August 29, 1886, in Philadelphia;
• Joseph R., born October 18, 1888, in Philadelphia;
• Elizabeth, born April 5, 1891, in Philadelphia;
• William B., born November 11, 1893, in Philadelphia;
• Edwin Lee, born December 1, 1898, in New Jersey.

While we do not know where William and Elizabeth were living in 1910, that year’s census does show they were no longer at 1007 S. 2^nd Street. William and Elizabeth both died in Plainfield, NJ. Elizabeth died January 19, 1919 and is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery. We do not know the date of William’s death or his burial location.

James F. Sullivan, eldest child of William and Elizabeth Sullivan, married Annie (born 1878) and had a daughter named Carolina (Carrie) born in 1899. They appear in the 1920 census living at 877 N. 50^th Street in the 44^th ward of Philadelphia. James’ occupation was listed as an "investigator" for the U.S. government. Carolina was working as a maid for a theatre.

Mary E. Sullivan, daughter of William and Elizabeth Sullivan, married John F. Delaney on April 15, 1900. He was a machinist who’s parents were born in Ireland. They lived at 941 N. 48^th Street in Philadelphia. John and Mary Delaney had fourteen children, all born in Philadelphia:

• John F, Jr., born February 25, 1901, died January 14, 1977;
• William J., born March 18, 1902, died June 14, 1952;
• Elizabeth M., born November 23, 1903, died January 13, 1993;
• James I., born September 18, 1905, died August 22, 1956;
• Raymond C., born January 18, 1907, died July 19, 1964;
• Marie, born April 6, 1908, died December 3, 1982;
• Charlotte, born June 30, 1909, died February 13, 1910;
• Edwin, born September 27, 1910, died October 22, 1966;
• Margaret, born December 31, 1911, died April 23, 1913;
• Emily, born January 15, 1913, died February 21, 1989;
• Laurence, born February 12, 1914, died May 15, 1965;
• Joseph, born March 2, 1915, died September 1, 1916;
• Grace, born January 29, 1918, died December 23, 1975;
• Paul, born February 16, 1922, died March 15, 1964.

John Delaney died January 8, 1924 and Mary Sullivan Delaney died March 23, 1930, both in Philadelphia.

John F. Delaney, Jr., married Florence James, and they had a son, John. William J. Delaney married Regina Demarest and they had three daughters, Regina, Patricia, and Adeline. Elizabeth M. Delaney married William Hallisey, and they had five children, Elizabeth, Joan, William, Robert, and John. Elizabeth Hallisey married Thomas O’Neill, they had four children. Joan Hallisey married James Connell, and they had three children. William Hallisey married Eileen, and they had two adopted children. Robert Hallisey was a professor at Seton Hall University, married Jackie, and they had two children. John Hallisey died young. Raymond C. Delaney married Nora. Marie Delaney married Al Wagner and had two children, Albert and Mary Elizabeth. Edwin Delaney married Peggy O’Neil and they had three children, Edwin M., John, and Mary Elizabeth. Emily Delaney married Charles Ward. Laurence Delaney married Margaret Gallagher and had six children, Laurence, Donny, Raymond, Gene Florence, and Mary. Grace Delaney married Louis Braasch and they had three children, Louis, Laurence, and Joan. Paul Delaney married twice, having a daughter Cass by his first marriage, and three children by his second marriage.

Charlotte Sullivan, the third child of William R. and Elizabeth Monks Sullivan, was single and boarding at the home of Michael D. O’Keefe at 685 W. 7^th Street in Plainfield, NJ in 1920. She was employed as a dressmaker. The 1920 census also indicated her brothers Joseph and Edwin boarding at this same home.

The fourth child of William R. and Elizabeth Monks Sullivan, Elizabeth Josephine, died at the age of two months. Emma R., their fifth child, became a nun in the St. Vincent de Paul order.

Joseph R. Sullivan, the sixth child of William and Elizabeth Sullivan, married Marie Barrett. They had three children, Elizabeth, William, and Helen. Daughter Elizabeth married twice. Her first husband was Michael Murphy, by whom she had three sons, Michael, Jr., Patrick, and Timothy. Elizabeth’s second husband was Richard J. Hughes, Governor of New Jersey from 1962-70 and a state Supreme Court Justice from 1973-79. He was the author of the Kathleen Quinlan decision, perhaps the landmark right-to-die court case, which was the first to allow next of kin to discontinue medical assistance in cases where recovery was hopeless. Richard was born in Florence Township New Jersey in 1912, and died in Florida in April 1996. He had ten children from a previous marriage, and Richard and Elizabeth Sullivan Murphy Hughes had two children of their own, Helen Sullivan and Thomas More.

Elizabeth Sullivan, seventh child of William and Elizabeth Sullivan, who was named after her deceased elder sister, died on May 3, 1892, at the age of one year. William B. Sullivan, the eighth child of William and Elizabeth Sullivan, married Betty. Edwin Lee Sullivan, the ninth and youngest child of William and Elizabeth Sullivan, married twice, having two children, both from his first marriage.

James Aloysius Monks was the fourth child of Joseph S. and Charlotte W. Leigh Monks. He married Sarah Gertrude Grant, the daughter of Patrick J. Grant and Bridget Logan, in 1880. Sarah was born in Manchester, England, in September of 1855. Patrick J. Grant was born in 1818 in England, and Bridget Logan was born in 1830 in Ireland. Patrick’s father was born in England and his mother in Ireland and both of Bridget’s parents were born in Ireland. The Grant’s immigrated to the United States, arriving in New York in 1858. By the 1870 census, they were living at 521 North 25^th Street in Philadelphia. By the time James and Sarah married, the family had moved to 2419 Spring Garden Street.

Patrick was employed as a weaver in a woolen mill. There were several woolen mills in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia at this time, and working conditions were very difficult, although improving over what they had been in previous decades. In the 1840’s most weavers worked in their homes on materials advanced to them on credit by the mill owners. Skilled weavers, working 14 hours, might earn as little as sixty cents a day. Many manufacturers paid even this pittance in store credits, which took another 8-10% off the worker’s payment. By the 1850’s and ‘60’s, when Patrick was working, the weavers were trade workers on wages, although generally unorganized, working in the mills on a 10 hour schedule, without having to buy materials from the owners.

Patrick and Bridget had five children:

• James P., born 1850 in England;
• Sarah Gertrude; born September 1855 in Manchester, England;
• Mary, born December 8, 1859, in Philadelphia;
• Margaret L., born July 3, 1861 in Philadelphia;
• Ellen (Nellie), born October 8, 1864 in Philadelphia.

Patrick died December 1, 1890, and Bridget died September 8, 1899. Both died in Philadelphia, and both were buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery.

James P. Grant, the first son of Patrick and Bridget Grant, was a weaver as was his father. He died February 3, 1903 and is buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery in Philadelphia. Mary Grant, daughter of Patrick and Bridget Grant, entered the convent and served at the House of Good Shepherd in Philadelphia. She died March 27, 1933.

Margaret L. Grant, the fourth child of Patrick and Bridget Grant, married Michael J. Hayes on September 13, 1888. He was born of Irish parents on June 18, 1858 in Philadelphia. Michael Hayes worked as a conductor for the railroad. They lived in the 3300 block of Brandywine Street in Philadelphia. Michael and Margaret Hayes had four children, all born in Philadelphia:

• Francis Xavier, born July 10, 1889;
• Margaret, born October 14, 1891;
• Joseph L., born April 18, 1894;
• Helen M., born October 15, 1897.

Michael Hayes died September 8, 1942, and Margaret died March 26, 1945 in Philadelphia and is buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery.

Francis Xavier Hayes, the eldest son of Michael and Margaret Grant Hayes, married Mary M. Collins on November 23, 1910. They had five children, Francis (born 1912), Catherine (born 1919), Phillip, Joseph, and Marie. In 1920 they lived at 3620 Olive Street in Philadelphia and at that time Francis was an inspector for the railroad. Francis died July 29, 1946. Margaret, the second child of Michael and Margaret Hayes, died at the age of one on July 15, 1893. Joseph L. Hayes, the third child of Michael and Margaret Hayes, was a doctor and married Helen T. Mulkeen, the daughter of Thomas L. Mulkeen and Mary E. Carmody. Thomas and Mary Mulkeen were both born in New Jersey and both had died before 1931. Helen Mulkeen was born November 26, 1892 in New Jersey. Helen M. Hayes, the fourth and youngest child of Michael and Margaret Hayes, married John C. Morlock. He was born December 15, 1891 in Philadelphia. He served as a revenue collector for the City of Philadelphia, and later as a City Magistrate. In 1920 the family lived at 1403 North 2^nd Street, and later lived off Stenton Avenue in Germantown. The children of John and Helen Morlock were Joan, Virginia, and Margaret.

Ellen (Nellie) Grant was the fifth, and youngest child of Patrick and Bridget Grant. She did not marry but ran the grocery store at 2431 Spring Garden where she lived with her brother James and, after 1900, with her widowed sister Sarah and Sarah’s children. At the time of the 1920 census she was working as a masseur in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and living at the home of her employer, Mrs. Sarah Harvey, at 16 South Indiana Avenue. Ellen died November 12, 1931 in Atlantic City and was buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery in Philadelphia.

James Aloysius Monks and Sarah Gertrude Grant had four children, all born in Philadelphia:

• Gertrude Sarah Veronica, born October 24, 1881;
• James Aloysius, Jr., born December 31, 1883;
• Raphael Ignatius, born October 24, 1885;
• Charles Syril, born October 27, 1891, died June 13, 1892 at the age of seven months.

James Aloysius Monks, Sr., died before 1900. Sarah and the three children moved to 2419 Spring Garden with her sister Ellen and brother James. Ellen ran the store with Gertrude working as a cake packer, James as a bookkeeper, and Raphael as a clerk. By the 1910 census Sarah and the family (including Raphael’s new wife, Annie) had moved to 2421 Brown Street. At the time of the 1920 census, Gertrude was married and Sarah and James were living with Raphael’s family at 813 North 25^th Street. Sarah died April 7, 1922, and was buried at Old Cathedral Cemetery. The descendents of James Aloysius Monks, Sr., and Sarah Gertrude Grant will be described in the next chapter.

The family of James Aloysius Monks, Sr., and Sarah Gertrude Grant resided in the Fairmount Section of Philadelphia following their marriage in 1880. James identified himself as a shoemaker, his father’s (Joseph S. Monks) occupation, at least until he married. The children (Gertrude, James, Jr., Raphael, and Charles) were born between 1881 and 1891. But the 1890’s were to be difficult years for the family.

Charles Syril, the youngest child of James and Sarah, died on June 13, 1892, at the age of seven months. Joseph Monks died September 1, 1893. Charlotte Leigh Monks, James’ mother, died October 4, 1898. All were buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery. James, who was battling alcoholism, left the family and is believed to have died sometime before 1900. By the time of the 1900 census, the widowed Sarah Gertrude Grant Monks and her three teenaged children were living with her younger sister Ellen (Nellie) and older brother James Grant at 2431 Spring Garden Street. Nellie ran the grocery store there and the census enumerated Gertrude as a cake-packer, James Monks as a bookkeeper, and Raphael as a clerk. By 1910, Sarah and the children (now in their twenties) had moved a few blocks north and were renting at 2421 Brown Street. Raphael’s new bride (he married Anne McConnell on November 23, 1909 in St. Francis Xavier church) was with them, as were two boarders, James and Annie MacKenna, a brother and sister.

At the turn of the century, the railroads were a booming business in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest with its Broad Street Station at Broad and Filbert. The Reading Railroad brought coal from the Pennsylvania anthracite mines to 12^th and Market Street. The Baltimore and Ohio had its passenger station along the Schuylkill River at Chestnut Street. One of the largest manufactures of railroad engines was the Baldwin Locomotive Works at Broad and Spring Garden. In 1910, both James Monks, Jr., and Raphael Monks were identified in the census as being clerks for a locomotive works. This almost certainly was the Baldwin plant where later on James was a machinist.

By the 1920 census, the three living children of James and Sarah Monks had all married. Sarah stayed with Raphael and his family until her death on April 7, 1922. As were most of the members of the Monks and Grant families, she was buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery.

Gertrude Sarah Veronica Monks was the oldest child of James and Sarah. Her godparents were her uncle, Joseph M. Monks and her aunt, Mary Grant. She undoubtedly helped her mother in raising the family after her father was gone. At the age of 31, she married Charles F. Herd on May 24, 1913, in St. Francis Xavier Church. Charles was born in Pennsylvania on April 19, 1872. Both his parents were born in Pennsylvania. Charles and Gertrude moved west to Montana, where their first two children were born. By the time of the 1920 census, they were living in Moorcroft, Wyoming, and their last child was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In 1920 Charles was enumerated as a worker on a sheep farm. The children of Charles F. Herd and Gertrude Sarah Veronica Monks were:

• Sarah Marie, born July 28, 1914, in Montana;
• Gertrude Francis, born May 27, 1918, in Hardin, Montana;
• George Charles, born January 27, 1921, in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

In Hardin, Montana, (which is five miles from the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn, or Custer’s Last Stand), there is a museum that has a farmhouse, school, doctor’s office, and other buildings set up just as they existed in the 1910’s, the same period that the Herd’s would have been living there. Charles F. Herd died in Wyoming in 1950. Gertrude Sarah Monks Herd died in Denver, Colorado, on October 6, 1961.

Sarah Marie Herd died in 1972. We know nothing more of her.

Gertrude Frances Herd married Michael E. Shea. They had two daughters, Kathryn and Michelle Frances. Kathryn Shea married Harry L. Inman. Kathryn and Harry Inman have three children, Michael Roy, Sean Patrick, and Katherine Christine. Michelle Frances Shea married William Emery. William Emery was born September 28, 1945 in Torrington, Wyoming. He died on May 26, 1996.

George Charles Herd married Ble’re Plettner. They had two children, Penelope and Charles Gerald.

Raphael Ignatius Monks was the third child of James Aloyisuis (Sr.) and Sarah Gertrude Grant Monks. His godparents were his uncle, Robert Stevens Monks and his aunt, Margaret Grant Hayes and he was baptized at St. Theresa of Avilla Church, in Philadelphia. As discussed above, in his early years Raphael had helped in his aunt Nellie’s grocery store and worked as a clerk at the Baldwin Locomotive Works. He married Annie McConnell on November 23, 1909 at the St. Francis Xavier Church. Annie was born January 31, 1887 in Pennsylvania. In 1910 they lived with his mother, brother, and sister at the rented house at 2421 Brown Street. By the 1920 census, they were living at 813 N. 25^th Street, with Raphael listed as head of household, and with his mother and brother living with them. By this time Raphael had become a revenue collector for the Internal Revenue Service.

Raphael and Annie had five children:

• Sarah, who was born and died on January 16, 1911;
• Robert Howard, born July 6, 1912;
• Anna Helen, born January 30, 1915;
• Gertrude Frances Sarah, born August 23, 1919;
• Kathryn Jane, born November 22, 1920.

Raphael died January 9, 1952, and Annie died seven months later on August 9, 1952, both in Philadelphia. Both are buried in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham, PA.

Robert Howard Monks did not marry and died on January 1, 1963, in Philadelphia.

Anna Helen Monks married Robert Christian Geiger. Robert Christian and Anna Helen Monks Geiger had three children, Christine Anne, Robert Christian, Jr, and William Paul. Christine Anne Geiger married Al Vayda and they had a daughter, Christine Ann. Robert Christian Geiger, Jr. married Margaret Nines. Robert and Margaret Geiger had three children, Robert Christian, III, Paula Anne, and William Peter. William Paul Geiger (son of Robert Geiger, Sr.,) was born on January 27, 1955, and died at the age of ten on June 15, 1965.

Gertrude Frances Sarah Monks, the fourth child of Raphael and Annie Monks, married Stephen W. Lohbrandt. Stephen Lohbrandt was born on January 14, 1910 and died July 18, 1983. Stephen and Gertrude had a daughter, Carol Ann Lohbrandt. Carol Ann Lohbrandt married Ronald J. Madigan. Ronald and Carol Madigan have two children, Sarah Ann and Keith Andrew.

Kathryn Jane Monks, the fifth child of Raphael and Annie Monks, married Gerald F. McMenamin. Gerald McMenamin was born on August 16, 1929, and died on August 2, 1980. Gerald and Kathryn Monks McMenamin had three children, Kathleen, Eileen, , and Paula, born October 29, 1953, who died at the age of one, on March 23, 1955. Kathleen McMenamin married James Lawless. James and Kathleen Lawless have two daughters, Moira, and Megan.

James Aloysius Monks, Jr., was the second child and eldest son of James Aloysius Monks, Sr., and Sarah Gertrude Grant. His godparents were his uncle, James P. Grant, and his aunt, Ellen Grant, and he was baptized at St. Theresa of Avila church. James married Mary Cecilia O’Connell on June 25, 1921, in Philadelphia. Mary Cecillia was the daughter of James Sylvester O’Connell and Rose Catherine Fay, and was born January 31, 1893, in Philadelphia. The O’Connell’s are a major branch of the Monks family and will be described in the following chapter.

We have described how James and his family moved in with his aunt and godmother Nellie after his father left and died, how they moved to 2421 Brown Street, where he and his mother lived with his brother Raphael. He had helped in his aunt’s grocery store, worked as a clerk and then later as a machinist for the Baldwin Locomotive Works and made a career as a sheet metal worker. Mary Cecilia worked as a secretary. James and Mary Cecilia continued to live at the house at 813 N. 25^th Street after Raphael and his family moved out, and stayed there until 1934. The family lived at other Philadelphia addresses after that.

James Aloysius Monks, Jr., and Mary Cecilia O’Connell had two daughters, Rosemary Louise, and Eleanor Marie, born March 2, 1925. Rosemary was baptized at St. Francis Xavier Church, with her uncle Raphael and grand-aunt Nellie as godparents. Eleanor was baptized in St. Francis Xavier Church and her godparents were her uncle James W. O’Connell and aunt Rose McGarvey. Eleanor did not marry, and worked at several employers. James Aloysius Monks, Jr., died July 24, 1951, in Philadelphia. Mary Cecilia O’Connell Monks died November 16, 1966, in Philadelphia. Both are buried in Calvary Cemetery, Conshohocken, PA. Eleanor Marie Monks died June 13, 1987 and was also buried at Calvary Cemetery.

Rosemary Louise Colonna worked as a secretary and later as a Trust Administrator for Fidelity Bank. She married George Anthony Colonna. George was the son of Angelo Colonna and Angela Martina Rulli, and was born March 25, 1924 in Philadelphia. George Anthony Colonna was a mechanical engineer in his father’s sheet-metal manufacturing plant at Westmoreland and Boudinot Streets in Philadelphia. They had five daughters:

• Denise Mary,
• Maureen Cynthia,
• Diane Teresa,
• Cecile Cathleen,
• Marcella Rose.

George died of a heart attack on August 23, 1968 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Conshohocken, PA.

Denise Mary Colonna graduated from Drexel University with a degree in mechanical engineering. She was employed by Campbell Soup Company and served as President of the Delaware Valley Section of the Society for Experimental Stress Analysis. While at Drexel she met William G. Richards, son of LeRoy H. Richards and Mildred E. Gregory and they were married. Bill is employed as an environmental engineer working for Hazen and Sawyer, P.C. Denise presently works for PNC Bank. They have two daughters:

• Nicole Marie
• Melissa Kaye.

Nicole graduated from St. Joseph’s University with a degree in international relations, and Melissa from the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in information science.

Maureen Cynthia Colonna graduated from Penn State University, Capitol Campus with a degree in education. After working as a branch manager for PSFS Bank, she has been teaching computer science. She married James J. Gallagher. He is the son of William Gallagher and Natalie Syrek of Philadelphia. Maureen and Jim have two children:

• Christopher Anthony,
• Kathleen Elizabeth.

Chris attends the University of Pittsburgh and Kathleen attends Northeastern University.

Diane Teresa Colonna has worked at Urbana College, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Swarthmore College. She married John R. Brown and became mother to his son from a former marriage, Chad Kristian. John and Diane had two children:

• Suzanne Marie,
• Matthew John Richard,

Diane and John divorced. John died of cancer on May 10, 1996. Diane married Keith Gordon Crompton, son of Phillip Gordon Crompton and Margaret Sturrock Keith. Gordon has two children from a previous marriage; Samuel, , and Rochelle. Gordon works for Penn State University.

Suzanne Marie Brown graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition. She married Michael Yost, and they have a son, Dustin Tyler. Matthew J. R. Brown graduated from Penn State with his major in electrical engineering, and is working for Lockheed Martin Corporation. He married Jennifer Simolike.

Cecile Cathleen Colonna graduated from Beaver College with a B.A. in Business Administration. She works for the Beneficial Savings Bank.

Marcella Rose Colonna is a music teacher and store owner, and lives with Maureen McCullough, a building contractor. Marcella has sung with the Music Group of Philadelphia choir including on a tour of Europe.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE - THE O’CONNELL FAMILY

Mary Cecilia O’Connell married James Aloysius Monks, Jr. on June 25, 1921, in Philadelphia. Mary was born on January 31, 1893 in Philadelphia and was the daughter of James Sylvester O’Connell and Rose Catherine Fay. The O’Connell and Fay families are of Irish descent. The earliest known ancestors of Mary O’Connell were her great grandparents, Michael and Joanna O’Connell.

Michael O’Connell was born in Ireland and there is conflicting information about his birth date. Based on the Old Cathedral Cemetery records in Philadelphia, where he is buried, he would have been born about 1797. Census records from the 1850 census indicate his age as 49, which would indicate a birth date of about 1800. The family belief is that he came from County Kerry, Ireland. There is a baptism record of a Michael Connell recorded for the Killarney and Fassa Roman Catholic parishes, Barony of Magunihy, County and Diocese of Kerry, Ireland. It indicates that Michael Connell was baptized on October 16, 1797, the son of Joeffrey and Hannah Falvey Connell, with Jeremiah Marrinane and Bridget Raymond as witnesses. If we accept the burial records as accurate, and the christening records as applying to the same Michael, we have also extended the known ancestry another generation, to Joeffrey and Hannah in Ireland.

Historically in Ireland, there were three distinct O’Connell clans. One was in Ulster, the second in Connacht, while the third was in Munster, particularly Kerry. These latter O’Connells were driven to the Atlantic coast by the O’Donoghues in the eleventh century where they became chieftains and hereditary constables of Ballycarbery Castle, near Cahirciveen in County Kerry.

Michael and Joanna O’Connell were married about 1828. We do not know Joanna’s maiden name, and based on the 1850 and 1860 censuses she apparently went by the name Anne. Based on inconsistent information, she would have been born between 1800 and 1805. Their first child, Ellen, was born in London, England, in 1829. Their second child, John William, was born in Philadelphia in 1831. Therefore the O’Connell’s left Ireland for England, were there for a period of time, and then emigrated to the United States between 1829 and 1831. Michael had a brother Thomas, who also came to America.

Michael and Joanna O’Connell had seven children:

• Ellen, born in 1829 in London, England;
• John William, born in 1831 in Philadelphia;
• Mary, born in 1833, in Philadelphia;
• Kate, born in 1837 in Philadelphia;
• Joanna, born in 1840 in Philadelphia;
• Josephine, born in 1841, in Philadelphia;
• Cecilia, born in 1845 in Philadelphia.

Michael appears listed in the Philadelphia street directory for the first time in 1839. The 1850 census shows all of the family members, except Kate who has died in infancy, in Philadelphia. Michael was working as a laborer. Their address was not given, but they were recorded in the 1^st Ward of the Southwark District (South Philadelphia) on August 22, 1850. Among the children, Joanna (listed as Ann) and Josephine had attended school during the previous year.

Michael O’Connell died December 30, 1858, and was buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery in Philadelphia. The 1860 census shows a widowed Joanna living at 706 George Street in Philadelphia with her four living daughters (Joanna had died April 8, 1858, and Ellen died in 1859). John William O’Connell had married Martha Burwell and they appeared in the Philadelphia street directory at a different address as early as 1853. Joanna died on February 16, 1876, and is buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery.

Mary O’Connell, the third child of Michael and Joanna O’Connell, married James Daly. Her sister Kate, married James O’Conner sometime after 1860, and died December 7, 1964. Their sister Josephine married James Schimpf on August 19, 1862.

The youngest child of Michael and Joanna, Cecilia, married Carey H. Russell on October 29, 1868. Carey and Cecilia appear in the 1880 and 1900 censuses, living at 1225 Pennsylvania Avenue in Tyrone, PA, in Blair County. Carey was a locomotive engineer in 1880 and an invalid in 1900. They had two daughters, Margaret G. (born September 1876) and Mary Lou (Lulu, born April 1879). Margaret married a Ewing, and had a son, Carey.

John William O’Connell was enumerated as a carpenter in the 1860 census, with his wife Martha, and with children John, William, Annie, and Mary. Martha Burwell was born in Pennsylvania May 12, 1833, and was the daughter of Louis Burwell who is believed to have been a Colonel. According to that census, both of Martha’s parents were born in Pennsylvania.

John William and Martha Burwell O’Connell had 13 children, all born in Philadelphia:

• John, born in 1856;
• William, born in 1857 and died February 23, 1861;
• Annie, born in 1858;
• Mary, born in 1859;
• James Sylvester, born January 5, 1861;
• John F., born and died in 1862;
• Henry, born in 1863 and died July 7, 1864;
• Charles, born in 1865 and died August 23, 1868;
• Kate, born November 3, 1866;
• Joseph, born 1867 and died February 22, 1869;
• Josephine, born and died in 1869;
• Louis, born August 7, 1872;
• Cyrus (or Cyril), born 1874.

The family appears in the 1870 census at 133 Senate Street, and in the 1880 census at 107 Almond Street in Philadelphia. John William died on December 1, 1880. Martha was living with her son Louis at the time of her death on November 1, 1905. Both John and Martha are buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery.

John O’Connell, the eldest child of John William and Martha Burwell O’Connor, appears in the 1900 census renting in Upper Darby, Delaware County, PA. He married Mary A., born February 1858, in 1881 or 1882. Her parents were born in Ireland. Later they lived in Clifton Heights, Delaware County, PA. John was a bookprinter. John and Mary had six children, all boys. The first five were born before the 1900 census and are:

• Joseph J., born December 1884;
• Charles, born October 1886;
• William, born October 1888;
• Cyril, born January 1891;
• Leo, born August 1895.

Annie O’Connell, the third child of John William and Martha O’Connell, married Joseph Schultz and died in 1922. Her sister, Mary, died September 25, 1890.

Kate, a daughter of John William and Martha O’Connell, married Isaac Walker (born September 25, 1863 in Swedesboro, New Jersey) on May 9, 1888, in Philadelphia. They had a son, George, born May 8, 1899, in Philadelphia. Isaac and Kate O’Connell Walker appear in the 1900 census with son George and Isaac’s niece, Agnes, at 1348 Ellsworth Street in Philadelphia. Isaac and Kate had had a second child, who had died by 1900. Kate had died and Isaac had remarried Mary A. by the 1910 census.

Louis O’Connell, the twelfth child of John William and Martha Burwell O’Connor, married Martha Thompson on February 5, 1894 in Philadelphia. Martha’s parents were both born in Ireland, and her mother was also named Martha. They appeared in the 1900 census at 1725 McKean Street with eight boarders. In 1910 they were living at 1505 Shunk Street, an address they shared with Mr. and Mrs. William Thompson. In 1920 they were living at 1513 Shunk Street in Philadelphia. Louis was employed as a manufacturer of soda water and soft drinks.

We do not know any more about Cyrus O’Connell, the youngest child of John William and Martha Burwell O’Connell.

James Sylvester O’Connell, the fifth child of John William and Martha O’Connell, married Rose Catherine Fay on July 15, 1892 in Philadelphia. Rose Catherine was the daughter of Owen and Ann Hogan Fay and was born on April 22, 1864 in New York.

Owen Fay was born in Ireland in 1825, possibly in County Clare. Fay is sometimes a synonym of the Irish names of Foy and Fee. In the Middle Ages, the O’Fays were administrators of a church near Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, Ireland. Ann Hogan was born in 1830 in Ireland. Owen and Ann had emigrated to the United States by 1853 when they had their first of five children. All of their children were born in New York City, where they also appeared in the 1860 and 1870 censuses. The children of Owen and Ann Hogan Fay were:

• James, born 1853;
• Mary, born October 15, 1854;
• John, born 1856;
• Catherine, born April 1, 1858;
• Rose Catherine, born April 22, 1864.

In 1860 they were living in the 7^th Ward, 3^rd District of New York City. Mary McNamara, aged 60, was boarding with them. In 1870 Owen was a widower, living at 6 LaGrange Place. An Anna Delaney was living with him, helping to care for Rose and John. At that time Catherine (at age 12) was staying with her uncle and aunt, John and Catherine Hollahan, in Philadelphia. We do not know where James and Mary were at the time of the 1870 census. In 1880 all of the Fay children, except John, were living with the Hollahan family at 514 Locust Street in Philadelphia. John had married Catherine Green, born in 1859, and was living at the rear of 833 Carpenter Street in 1880. John and Catherine had two sons, James, born in December 1878, and John, born May 1880. His widowed mother-in-law, Mary J. Green, was also with them in 1880.

Owen married twice more, to Ann (Hannah) Carr and to Margaret Kane. Owen was living at 408 Locust Street, Philadelphia, when he died on March 22, 1890. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, in Yeadon, Pennsylvania.

James Fay, the oldest child of Owen and Bridget Hogan Fay, died December 29, 1899, in Philadelphia at the age of 46. His sister Mary was living with her nephew, Joseph Marra in 1910, and at the time of the 1920 census was living alone at 523 Spruce Street in Philadelphia. She owned a candy store. Mary died May 5, 1934, in Philadelphia and is buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Yeadon. We know nothing more of their brother, John Fay.

Catherine Fay, the fourth child of Owen and Bridget Hogan Fay, married Michael Marra, who had been born in Ireland in 1844 or 1845. Michael had served in the Civil War for the Union Army, spending much of his time at the captured Gossport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia. That important Confederate shipbuilding center had been captured in 1862 during General George McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign. In civilian life Michael was a shovel maker.

Michael Marra and Catherine Fay had four children, all sons:

• William, born in November, 1887;
• James, born in June, 1890;
• John, born in October, 1892;
• and Michael J., Jr., born in August 1896.

Michael Marra, Sr., died June 17, 1897 in Philadelphia. In the 1900 census, Catherine and the boys were living at 533 Spruce Street in Philadelphia. Catherine ran a boarding house and William had taken up his father’s trade as a shovel maker. At the time of the 1910 census, Catherine, James and John were living at 3419 Chestnut Street. Catherine owned a cigar store. James was a bookkeeper for a steamship line, and John was a typist for a publishing company. Although we do not know who they were employed with, the International Navigation Company, which ran the American Steamship Company and the Red Star Line, and both the Lippincott and the Curtis publishing companies were major Philadelphia employers at this time. Catherine Fay lived to be 99, and died on July 30, 1957 in Philadelphia. She is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon.

James Sylvester O’Connell, the fifth child of John William O’Connell and Martha Burwell, and Rose Catherine Fay, the fifth child of Owen Fay and Bridget Hogan, had five children, all born in Philadelphia:

• Mary Cecilia, born January 31, 1893;
• Gertrude Marie, born January 31, 1895;
• Rose Catherine, born March 4, 1899;
• John William, born April 24, 1901;
• and James Daniel, born September 30, 1904.

James Sylvester O’Connell was a carpenter. At the time of the 1910 census the family was living at 2003 South Street, in Philadelphia. All five children were at home, and Mary, the oldest, was working as a stenographer. At the time of the 1920 census, the family was living at 2821 W. Diamond Street. The children were still at home with Mary working as a stenographer for a lumber company, Gertrude as a telephone operator, Rose as a clerk in a locomotive office, and John as a plumber. During the 1920’s and 1930’s the O’Connell’s lived at 2235 N. 30^th Street. Rose Catherine Fay O’Connell worked in stationary retail. James Sylvester died January 16, 1939 and his wife Rose Catherine died April 25, 1940. Both are buried in Old Cathedral Cemetery, Philadelphia.

Mary Cecilia O’Connell, the eldest child of James Sylvester and Rose Catherine Fay O’Connell, was baptized February 19, 1893 at Old St. Mary’s church in Philadelphia. Her godparents were Mary Fay and James Fay, her aunt and uncle. She worked as a secretary. On June 25, 1921 she married James Aloysius Monks, Jr. Their family and descendants have been described in the previous chapter.

Gertrude Marie O’Connell, the second child of James and Rose O’Connell, was baptized February 17, 1895 in Old St. Mary’s church. Her godparents were Michael and Catherine Fay Marra, her uncle and aunt. Gertrude did not marry. She died November 16, 1950 at the age of 55 and is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon.

Rose Catherine O’Connell, the third child of James and Rose O’Connell, was baptized March 19, 1899 at Old St. Joseph’s church in Philadelphia. Her godparents were her uncle and aunt, Isaac and Kate Walker. On December 17, 1921, Rose Catherine married Joseph Ignatius McGarvey in St. Francis Xavier Church in Philadelphia. Joseph was born August 14, 1896, in Philadelphia, the son of Thomas McGarvey and Rose Murray. Joseph and Rose McGarvey had two children, born in Philadelphia:

• Gertrude Madeline,
• James J.

Rose Catherine O’Connell McGarvey died November 1, 1972 in Philadelphia. Joseph I. McGarvey died March 16, 1982 in Philadelphia. Both are buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon.

Gertrude Madeline McGarvey married Francis Roy Rogers. Roy was born July 21, 1921, in Philadelphia. Gertrude and Roy had two daughters:

• Barbara,
• Claire.

Francis Roy Rogers died April 18, 1990 and is buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania.

Barbara Rogers married James Crockett. They have one son, Paul Joseph Crockett. Claire Rogers married John Joseph Kelly. They have two children, Jennifer and Jeffrey.

James J. McGarvey, the second child of Joseph Ignatius and Rose Catherine O’Connell McGarvey, married Jeannette McGonigal. They had three children, all girls; Marceline, Maureen and Melissa.

John William O’Connell, the fourth child of James Sylvester and Rose Catherine Fay O’Connell, was baptized in the Old St. Joseph’s Church in Philadelphia on May 5, 1901. His godparents were his uncle and aunt, Joseph and Catherine Hollahan. John William married Ingrid Asiala of Massachusetts. Ingrid was born June 11, 1905, the daughter of Henry R. Asiala and Josephiina Tiilikkala, both of whom were born in Finland. John William and Ingrid O’Connell lived in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where their son, John Frederick, was born on April 12, 1943. John William O’Connell died August 9, 1969, in Ashburnham, MA, and Ingrid Asiala O’Connell died July 17, 1982, in Fitchburg, MA.

James Daniel O’Connell, the fifth and last child of James Sylvester O’Connell and Rose Catherine Fay, was baptized on October 16, 1904, in St. Charles Borromeo Church in Philadelphia. His godparents were his cousin Francis J. Hollahan and his aunt Mary Fay. Francis Hollahan was one of the children of Joseph and Catherine Hollahan (who had raised his mother Rose and aunt Mary after his grandmother’s death). James Daniel O’Connell married Mary Roach on June 27, 1936 in the Most Precious Blood Church in Philadelphia. Mary Roach was born April 19, 1906, in Philadelphia. James Daniel and Mary Roach O’Connell had four children, all born in Philadelphia:

• Kathleen,
• Maryann,
• Eileen,
• and James William.

James Daniel O’Connell died September 23, 1979, in Pennsylvania.

Kathleen O’Connell married Gerald Gillespie. Gerald and Kathleen O’Connell Gillespie have three children:

• Gerald, Jr.,
• Judy,
• and Kevin.

Gerald Gillespie, Jr., has married twice. His first wife was Guelay Toprak. They have one daughter, Judy. Gerald, Jr., and Guelay have divorced. Gerald married Maureen Cassiday. Gerald and Maureen have a son, James.

Judy Gillespie, the daughter of Gerald and Kathleen O’Connell Gillespie, married Michael Jewart. Michael and Judy Gillespie Jewart have three daughters, Kristina Lynn, Kelsea Elizabeth, and Karly Marie.

Maryann O’Connell, the second child of James Daniel O’Connell and Mary Roach, married Joseph Richard Gaul. Joseph Richard and Maryann O’Connell Gaul have three children:

• Michelle,
• Ann Regina (Nancy),
• and Joseph Christopher James.

Michelle Gaul married Timothy Gillispie. They have three sons, Matthew Thomas, Kyle, and Connor.

Nancy Gaul married Timothy Scott Mondon. Timothy and Nancy have three daughters, Jennifer Leigh, Christina Nicole, and Erin Kate. Timothy Mondon has a daughter from a previous marriage, Courntney Samantha Mondon.

Joseph Christopher James Gaul married Katherine Bannister. Katherine died September 13, 1996.

Eileen O’Connell, the third child of James Daniel and Mary Roach O’Connell, has one daughter, Joanne Prisco. Joanne married William J. McGukin. William and Joanne have three children, Lian Patrick, Kerri Leigh Catherine, and Kane Michael.

James William O’Connell is the youngest child of James Daniel and Mary Roach O’Connell. Jimmy Bill is a firefighter. He married Barbara Brady. Barbara was born October 12, 1945, in Philadelphia. They had three children:

• James J.,
• Deborah,
• and Stephen.

James J. Brady married Marjorie McDermott and they have two daughters, Alexa Julie, and Teagan. Barbara Brady died June 15, 1998, in Philadelphia.

PART FIVE - NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHAPTER ONE - THE EARLY GENERATIONS