Families related to Tysons

William Jeanes and Elizabeth McVaugh

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William Jeanes was born in 1754, the son of Isaac Jeanes and Isaac’s second wife Mary Walton, Quakers of Moreland, Philadelphia County.1 William would not have known his father. Isaac died in 1757, leaving Mary with three children: William, Levi, and a daughter Mary from his first wife, Abigail Sands. Four years later the widowed Mary married James Tyson. But she died in 1762 or 1763, leaving James with the Jeanes children, and in 1764 James Tyson married Sarah Harper at Oxford Meeting. James and Sarah became the step-parents of the Jeanes children, and went on to have a large family of their own children. William may have lived with them, as one of the older children, or he may have been apprenticed out to another family.

In the tax assessment of Cheltenham for 1776 William was listed as a single man.2 He probably married Elizabeth McVaugh the next year, since he was disowned by Abington meeting in 11th month 1778 for going out in marriage.3 From her last name and the name of her son Edmund, Elizabeth was from the McVaugh family of Montgomery County, but her parentage is not yet known.4 It is also not known where William and Elizabeth were married or when their children were born. William and Elizabeth were not members of a Quaker meeting, although two of their children applied to join as adults, and when their daughter Rebecca married the Quaker Seth Holt, it was contrary to discipline and Holt was disowned.5

William and his brother Levi inherited their father’s property in Moreland, over 170 acres. In 1788 Levi sold his share of the land to his brother for £100.6 William and Elizabeth probably moved into the house, if they didn’t already live there. In 1788 William paid taxes for the land with one dwelling, 3 horses and 4 cows.7 He was shown there in 1790 census, in the “windowpane tax” of 1798 (with a stone house 38 feet by 20 feet, assessed at $450) and in the 1800 census.8 In 1820 William is still in Moreland, in a household with 17 people.9 William died in March 1828, leaving no will. His estate was administered by Isaac and Isaiah Jeanes, two of his sons. The inventory was taken on March 20, and showed the usual household goods and farm tools, along with horses, cows, sheep and pigs.10 Isaiah Jeanes and Seth Holt petitioned the Orphans Court of Montgomery County for partition of a tract in Moreland of 189 acres. It was sold in two pieces, to William Hallowell and to Joseph Wood.11 After paying the usual charges for the funeral and estate, there was almost $8,000 to be distributed to the heirs. After setting aside a one-third share for the widow’s dower, each of the eleven children (or the husbands, in the case of the daughters) received $482.63. Elizabeth died intestate around 1847, in Abington. Her son-in-law Seth Holt administered her estate.12 She had outlived all but seven of her children.

Children of William and Elizabeth: (born between 1780 and 1800)

William Jr., born about 1783. He requested membership at Horsham Meeting in 9th month 1807 and married Hannah Webster there in 3rd month 1809. They were disowned later that year for fornication.13

Edmund, born about 1793, married Mary Eastburn. She was a distant cousin, daughter of David Eastburn and Elizabeth Jeanes.14 Edmund died 5 February 1828 of a “remitting fever”, possibly malaria.15 His estate was administered by his wife Mary, Seth Holt, Isaiah Jeanes and Joshua Jeanes.16 The account of Edmund’s estate showed that he was a grocer like some of his cousins. It included cigars, beeswax, raisins and currants, pepper, mustard, ginger, tea and coffee, soap, crackers, scrubbing brushes, wine and spirits.17 Edmund was not a Friend, but was buried at the Cherry Street burying ground because his wife was a member.18

Isaac, married and left a child.19

Benjamin, alive in 1830

Sarah, alive in 1847, no further information.

Isaiah, possibly born about 1799, married Sarah LNU, moved to New Garden, Chester County, and kept a store in Toughkenamon. He appeared in the 1850 census with Sarah and two children. He was in the census there in 1870 and 1880, but as a widower.  Children: Catherine and Joshua.

Hiram, born about 1802, died 1860, probably in Moreland. 20 John Smith was the administrator for his estate, because the widow Agnes renounced.21 Hiram and Agnes were members of Horsham Monthly Meeting and the names of their children were recorded there as Mary, Sarah, and Arthur.

Jonathan, a “lunatic”, died 1831 in Moreland. Seth Holt was the administrator of his estate.22

Mary, married Samuel Lloyd or James Lloyd.23 No further information.

Martha, died between 1807 and 1828.24

Elizabeth, born about 1785, married Aaron Richardson. By 1847 she was married to David McCartney.

Eleanor, born about 1795, died 1876, married Rynear Tyson, born about 1800, the son of Peter and Martha. Rynear was the oldest son of Peter Tyson and Martha Kimble. He and Eleanor married around 1818 and lived in Upper Dublin, where they had six children. Rynear died young, only a year after his father. Eleanor did not remarry and  lived with relatives in Montgomery County. Children: Edmond, Peter, Sarah Ann, William Jeanes, Seth Holt, Ephraim.25 Only Edmond and Ephraim married. Sarah Ann lived with Seth and Rebecca Holt before she died of consumption at age 40. Seth Holt Tyson, named for his uncle, headed west for the gold rush and died in California.

Rebecca, born in 1799, died 1883, married Seth Holt and lived in Philadelphia. Seth Holt was disowned at Philadelphia MM in 1824 for marrying contrary to discipline. In 1850 they were living in the Spring Garden ward where Seth was a confectioner. In 1860 they were in Plymouth, Montgomery County and in 1870 in Germantown. Seth died in 1876 and Rebecca died in 1883; both were buried at Laurel Hill with several of their children. Children: J. Franklin, Seth, Allan, Chalkley, Ann Rebecca, Sarah Cordelia.

Keziah, married in 1829 Thomas T. Webster. Thomas Webster was a birthright Friend but disowned in 4th month 1829 by Frankford Monthly Meeting for marrying outside the Society.26 They were probably in the 1840 census in Lower Dublin, with three children under ten, and probably taxed in 1864 on Darkrun Road, north Philadelphia.27 Thomas was probably buried at 1889 at Belvue Cemetery, in north Philadelphia, just south of Frankford.28

  1. It is important to keep the facts of his life separate from those of his two cousins: William, son of Joseph and Sarah (Roberts), who died in 1767 in North Carolina, unmarried; William, son of Jacob and Leah (Harmer), born 1774, married Hannah Webster. Note on places: There were two places named Moreland Township, both originally in Philadelphia County, then in Montgomery County when it was created in 1784. The Manor of Moreland was later called Upper Moreland to distinguish it from Lower Moreland. The Jeanes family lived in the Manor of Moreland (Upper Moreland). ↩
  2. Jacob McVaugh was listed there too, also as a single man. Was he a brother of Elizabeth? Did William own two separate pieces of land or did he move from Cheltenham to Moreland? ↩
  3. He had two cousins named William, as noted above. If this William was in fact the son of Isaac, one of the two men from the meeting appointed to give him the testimony was Samuel Lloyd. In a twist of circumstances, William’s daughter Mary married a Samuel Lloyd, possibly the son of this Samuel. ↩
  4. In the family Bible passed down through the descendants of Eleanor Jeanes Tyson, her name was spelled McVaw. She named her oldest son Edmund, suggesting that she was the daughter of an Edmund McVaugh. She cannot be placed in the known McVaugh family at this time. From her presumed birthdate, she is either a daughter of one of the four sons of the immigrant Edmund McVaugh and his wife Alice Dickinson, or an early birth in the next generation. ↩
  5. A William Jeanes was in trouble with Abington meeting in 1765, but it was more likely William’s cousin William, the son of Joseph Jeanes and Sarah Roberts. In 10th month 1765, the meeting noted that William Jeanes had attended a marriage contrary to the usage of Friends. He was not willing to submit a paper of condemnation, and four months later a new charge was added. He had been at a shooting and gaming match, along with Lewis Roberts, Benjamin Harmer, and the brothers Thomas and Daniel Waterman. In 3rd month 1766, Benjamin Harmer and Thomas Waterman added to their troubles by attending a dancing and fiddling frolic. William Jeanes finally submitted a paper of condemnation in 6th month 1766, but it was not accepted, and in 1st month 1767, he was disowned. (Abington Monthly Meeting minutes, 12th month 1765 through 1st month 1767). Daniel Waterman became ill and died before the case was concluded. ↩
  6. Montgomery County deeds, Book 14, p. 332. ↩
  7. “Moreland Residents 1788”, Old York Road Historical Society Bulletin, Vol. XLIV, 1984. ↩
  8. In the 1800 census William’s household included three males over 45 (William himself and two others), one woman over 45 (probably Elizabeth), one woman over 26 (not identified), and nine younger children. Since William and Elizabeth were believed to have 13 children, this is no surprise. In 1810 William was in the census with no women over 45, 4 sons and 4 daughters. ↩
  9. His son William Jeans Jr. is also shown there, with another large household; he had married Hannah Webster in 1709. By 1830 there is only one William in Moreland, the younger William. By 1840 there are no Jeans left in Moreland. ↩
  10. Montgomery County probate record #RW 12495, at Montgomery County Archive. ↩
  11. Montgomery County Orphan’s Court record #OC 9588. ↩
  12. Montgomery County estate files, RW12332, and Orphans’ Court record OC9215. In Seth Holt’s OC petition, the children living then were: William, Sarah, Hiram, Mary Lloyd widow, Elizabeth intermarried with David McCartny, Ellen Tyson widow, Rebecca intermarried with the Petitioner and Isaac deceased leaving children one of whom is a minor. ↩
  13. Horsham Monthly Meeting men’s minutes. ↩
  14. Findagrave and other web sources. Elizabeth Jeanes was a granddaughter of Joseph Jeans and Sarah Roberts and a great-granddaughter of the immigrant William Jeanes. ↩
  15. Records of Philadelphia Meeting Arch Street. ↩
  16. Seth Holt was his brother-in-law. Isaiah Jeanes could have been his younger brother Isaiah, but was more likely his cousin Isaiah, son of Jacob and Leah (Harmer). The older Isaiah was a successful merchant in Philadelphia; he died in 1850. Joshua Jeanes was a son of Isaiah, the Philadelphia merchant. Isaiah and Joshua were probably administrators because they were grocers in Philadelphia and could assist with the contents of Edmund’s grocery store. ↩
  17. Philadelphia Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993, on Ancestry, Admin Files 21-86, 1828. ↩
  18. Interment records of Philadelphia Meeting Western District. The record gave his age at about 35. ↩
  19. In the OC petition of Seth Holt, 1847 estate of Elizabeth Jeanes. ↩
  20. In the 1840 census there as a farmer. ↩
  21. Montgomery County Orphan’s Court record #OC 9290. ↩
  22. Index of Wills and Administrations at Montgomery County Historical Society, Norristown. ↩
  23. His name was given as Samuel in an Orphans’ Court petition and as James in the 1830 account of her father’s estate. ↩
  24. She was named in the will of her uncle Levi Jeanes in 1807, but was not in the Orphan’s Court petitions of her father’s estate in 1828. ↩
  25. From the Orphan’s Court record #4108, on the death of Rynear’s father Peter, which listed six children of Rynear (who died soon after his father), and the Orphan’s Court docket for Rynear’s own estate, November 1831. ↩
  26. Frankford Monthly Meeting minutes, on Ancestry. ↩
  27. IRS Tax assessment lists, on Ancestry. ↩
  28. Findagrave ↩

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