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Adam and Mary Sharpley

Adam Sharpley and his wife Mary emigrated to Pennsylvania around 1682 and settled on Shellpot Creek in northern Delaware. Their origins are unknown. They may have come from Ireland, since they settled near Irish Quakers such as Valentine Hollingsworth, Thomas Conway, Morgan Drewett, and Cornelius Empson, forming the nucleus of Newark monthly meeting.1 Valentine Hollingsworth owned a large tract of almost 1000 acres on Shelpot Creek. He gave a tract to the meeting as a burying place, known as the Newark burying place, after the name of his plantation. Later a meeting house was built there, and the meeting was known as Newark Meeting.2

Adam and Mary probably came in the fall of 1682. In 2nd month 1683 Penn issued a warrant to Ephraim Herman to lay out 300 acres for Adam Sharpley on Shellpot Creek.3 At the same time Herman was to lay out land there for Robert Vanne and William Lester, suggesting that they may have emigrated together. Besides the 300 acres warranted to Adam in 1683, the commissioners of property granted another 100 acres to him in 1694. This land descended to his son William, who sold it in 1717 to Timothy Stedham or Stidham.4

Adam had five known children, born over approximately twenty years. Because of the widely-separated dates, they may be children of two separate wives. The two older daughters, Rachel and Abigail, married between 1686 and 1692 and obviously immigrated with Adam and his then-wife Mary.5 Adam also had a son William, whose birthdate is unknown. He signed the marriage certificate of his sister Abigail in 1693, so he must have been born before 1675 (or earlier), and immigrated with his father. Adam and Mary had twins Benjamin and Charity born in early 1687.6

Adam and Mary were active in Newark Meeting, serving on committees of clearness or relief of the needy. In 1690 Adam was a delegate to the yearly meeting in Burlington; in 1693 he was a delegate to the quarterly meeting.7 He was clearly a trusted leader. In 1690, when Cornelius Empson married his late wife’s sister, he was reprimanded by the men’s and women’s meetings. Adam Sharpley and Valentine Hollingsworth were appointed to meet with him.8 In 5th month 1694 Adam Sharpley was to inquire about the needs of David Richardson. This is Sharpley’s last action for the meeting. He died in 9th month 1694 and was buried at Newark Meeting.

Adam made his will in November 1686, leaving everything to his wife Mary.9 The witnesses were Robert Vance, John Vance, and Thomas Pierson. Robert Vance was probably the Robert “Vanne” whose land was laid out in 1682. Pierson had married to Adam’s daughter Rachel a month a few months earlier.

The will was not probated until 1720, probably when there was some question of land inheritance.

In 2nd month 1696, Andrew Thompson proposed to Salem Meeting to marry Mary Sharpley, widow of Adam.10 The meeting gave him a certificate of clearness, but this proposed marriage might not have happened.11

Children of Adam:

Rachel, b. about 1665, d. 1687, m. 1686 Thomas Pierson the surveyor, buried at Newark. Thomas later married Rose Dixon and had two daughters, Susanna and Rose. Pierson apprenticed as a surveyor in England and arrived in New Castle in 1683. As a deputy surveyor he worked with Isaac Taylor to lay out the circular line dividing New Castle from Chester County.12

Abigail, b. ab. 1670, d. 1748, m. in 1693 Alphonsus Kirk at Newark Monthly Meeting. He was born in County Armagh and immigrated as a young man in 1688. He married Abigail in 12th month 1692/93 and they settled in Christiana Hundred, New Castle County. They had eleven children, most of whom married in Quaker meetings. Alphonsus died in 1745, leaving an estate of only £31.13 Children: Roger, Elizabeth, Jonathan, Mary, Deborah, Abigail, Timothy, Alphonsus, Adam, William, Timothy. Four of the children (Mary, Deborah, Abigail, the first Timothy) died young, the latter three within a month in the fall of 1704.14

William, b. around 1670, disowned by Kennett Mtg in 1718/9 for an irregular marriage.15 There are no records of marriage for William, but he had at least two sons, William and Daniel, who inherited his interest in the land of their grandfather Adam Sharpley. In 1764 they divided the marsh tract with Adam Kirk (a son of Abigail and Alphonsus) and Thomas Gilpin Jr (who claimed in right of Charity Wollaston).16 A Daniel Sharpley, probably this one, died in New Castle in 1788, leaving a brother William.17

Benjamin, a twin, b. 1686/87, no further records.

Charity, a twin, b. 1686/87, d. 1748, m. 1710 William Wollaston at Kennett Monthly Meeting.18 They lived in Mill Creek Hundred, New Castle County, where William died in 1750.19

 

  1. Albert Cook Myers, Immigration of the Irish Quakers, 1902. A Ralph Sharpley was mentioned in Besse’s Sufferings of the People called Quakers, committed to gaol in Derby in 1659. He later moved to northern Ireland, and influenced some Quakers there to leave the society, weakening the meeting. (Cited in Myers, p. 119) It is possible that Adam was related to this Ralph, but there is no evidence. Martha Grundy discusses Adam and his possible descent from Ralph on her website at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~paxson/price/Sharpley.html, accessed July 2019.
  2. This meeting later became Kennett Meeting. It is not the same as the later meeting in the nearby town of Newark.
  3. Gilbert Cope notebooks, Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
  4. New Castle County Land Records, book 5, p. 80, on Ancestry, Delaware Land Records 1677-1947, New Castle County, image 386. In the abstracts of deeds published in 1699 the date is given at 1699.
  5. If Adam did have an earlier wife her name is unknown.
  6. Records of Newark Meeting, available online and in the Gilbert Cope notebooks.
  7. Cope notebooks.
  8. This was a serious offense, but Empson made acknowledgment and was continued as a member of the meeting.
  9. New Castle County wills, book C, p. 207.
  10. Minutes of Salem Monthly Meeting, in Cope notebooks. How did Mary from New Castle County meet Andrew from Salem County? Did they know each other before immigrating? Andrew Thompson was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, in 1676 and immigrated to West Jersey with his parents. His father, also named Andrew, died in 1696. (Thompson Family of Salem)
  11. The Newark meeting has nothing in its minutes about it, and Andrew later married Rebecca Pedrick.
  12. Penn issued a warrant to Taylor and Pierson for the survey in 8th month 1701 (J. Smith Futhey and Gilbert Cope, History of Chester County, 1881, p. 160)
  13. Delaware Wills and Probate Records 1676-1971 on Ancestry, New Castle Register of wills Kinsler-Kirkpartrick, image 215.
  14. Grundy website.
  15. Newark meeting records. He was “laboured with” but refused to give satisfaction to the meeting.
  16. New Castle County deeds, book 9, pp. 58-60, on Ancestry. It is not clear how Gilpin obtained the rights of Charity Wollaston, probably through purchase. He was married to Rebecca Mendenhall, daughter of Benjamin and Ann.
  17. New Castle County wills, book M, p. 333.
  18. Records of Kennet (formerly Newark) meeting, 7th month 1710.
  19. Ancestry trees.

Robert Pennell and Hannah Hyandson

Robert Pennell and Hannah Hyandson lived in Balderton, a village in the plain of the river Trent, in Nottinghamshire. The tall spire of St. Giles Church was visible from anywhere in the village. Robert’s ancestors had worshipped at St. Giles for generations, and Robert and Hannah were married there in February 1665/66.1 They would turn away from the Church of England to become Quakers and would leave Balderton for the new colony of Pennsylvania.

Robert was probably the son of another Robert, who wrote his will in Balderton in 1663, leaving children Anne, Nicholas, Henry, Robert and Elizabeth (married to Richard Owlatt). His wife’s name is unknown. It is sometimes said to be Isabell, but no marriage record has been found for them.2

The younger Robert married Hannah Hyandson in February 1665/6.3 Their first child, Ann, was born in 1668; she was followed by five more, all born in England. At some point Robert and Hannah became Friends. In 1684 they got a certificate of removal from the meeting at Fulbeck and emigrated before 1686 to Chester County, where they were members of Middletown Meeting.4 Robert was a constable in 1687 and in 1690 served as a supervisor of Middletown.5 In 1688 he signed a petition against selling liquor to the Indians.6

“The Pennell homestead stood a short distance northwest of Howellville…one of the windows has the small leaden lights of Queen Anne’s time.”7 Howellville is now called Gradyville and is just west of Ridley Creek State Park. In 1685 Robert bought 100 acres from Richard Crosby. In 1711 Crosby sold the remainder of his 370-acre tract to William Pennell, son of Robert and Hannah.8 In 1691 Robert bought land in Edgmont township; in 1705 he bought more land. In 1716 he gave a tract of 200 acres to his son Joseph, and a tract of 218 acres to his son William.9

Hannah died in 1711. Robert survived her. He wrote his will in 1727; it was proved in February 1728/29.10 He called himself a yeoman of Middletown. He gave 200 acres to his grandson Joseph, who only survived him by eight months. He named several other grandchildren, his daughter Ann, his son-in-law John Sharpless, and his daughter Jane Garrett and her husband. The residual legatees were sons Joseph and William. The inventory of the estate was taken in 12th month 1728/29. It included money owed on bonds, clothing, bedding, two chests and a box and a warming pan, for a total of £278.  Robert was obviously living with one of his children when he wrote it.11

The children of Robert and Hannah were all Friends.

Children of Robert and Hannah:

Ann, b. 1668, d. 1749, m. 1689 Benjamin Mendenhall at Concord Meeting. They eventually owned over 1500 acres around Concord. He was active in Concord Meeting, where he became an elder, and served as delegate to Quarterly and Yearly meetings. He served one term in the Provincial Assembly but was not active there.12 He wrote his will in 1736, naming his wife Ann, five living children and several grandchildren. He died a few years later. His estate was valued at £760. Ann also wrote a will, proved in 1749.13 She left cash legacies to her children and grandchildren. Children: Ann, Benjamin, Joseph, Moses, Hannah, Samuel, Rebecca, Ann, Nathan, Robert.14

Elizabeth, b. 1670, d. 1700, m. 1690 Josiah Taylor under the care of Chester Meeting.15 Children: Phebe, Hannah, Robert.

Hannah, b. 1673, d. 1721, m. 1692 John Sharpless, son of John and Jane, at the house of John Bowater Children: Caleb, Jane, Hannah, John, Phebe, Rebecca, Margaret, Ann, Daniel.16 John died in 1747, leaving a will.

Joseph, b. 1674, d. 1756, m. 1701 or 1702 Alice Garrett, daughter of William and Ann. They settled in Edgmont. Children: Hannah, Robert, Joseph, Alice, Ann, Mary.17 Joseph died in 1756 at Edgmont; Alice died in 1748.18 Their son Joseph died in 1728, soon after his grandfather Robert. Joseph Jr wrote a will leaving his land to his father Joseph and a walnut chest to his friend Ann Hoopes. “There is a suggestion in his legacy to Ann Hoopes, of a romance never to be fulfilled.”19

James, b. 1676, died young.

Jane, b. 1678, d. 1736, m. 1698 Samuel Garrett, son of William and Ann. Samuel served in the Assembly but was more active in Darby meeting, as an overseer and delegate to quarterly and yearly meetings.20 Children: Mary, Joseph, Hannah, Samuel, Nathan, James, Thomas, Jane.21

William, b. 1681, d. 1757, m. 1710 Mary Mercer at Concord Meeting.22 Lived in Middletown. Children: Thomas, Hannah, James, Phebe, Ann, Robert, William.23 William left a will, proved in 1757; his estate was valued at £696.24

  1. Roger Heacock, The ancestors of Charles Clement Heacock, 1851-1914.
  2. The marriage register of Balderton is exceptionally complete for the right time period, between 1620 and 1640, with a few Pennell or Pennel marriages, but not Robert. (William Phillimore & Thomas Blagg, Nottinghamshire Parish Registers, vol. 3, 1898, p. 9-11, on Internet Archive) Other volumes of the parish registers were searched. (There are ten volumes available in the series.) A few scattered Pennell marriages were found in surrounding parishes such as Syerston and Holme Pierrepont, but no concentration except in Balderton, where even there the Pennells were not numerous. A few early Pennell marriages were found in Lincolnshire parish registers, but not in the parishes adjoining Balderton in Lincolnshire, but instead in South Kelsey, north of Lincoln.
  3. Her name was mistakenly given as Elizabeth Hyandson in one source, which led people to assume that Robert married twice. Since her name in the Nottingham marriage transcripts was Hannah, not Elizabeth, there is no reason to posit a second marriage to an unknown Hannah. (Phillimore & Blagg, p. 17) Nothing is known of Hannah’s parents. Her surname is sometimes suggested as Ianson or Janson and has many variants. (See a list of spellings at: http://ianson.one-name.net/name.html, accessed May 2019.)
  4.  Russell Newlin Abel, Mendenhall-Newlin Alliance, 1989, p. 157.
  5. John Futhey and Gilbert Cope, History of Chester County, 1881; Chester County Court Records, vol. 1, p. 215.
  6. Chester Monthly Meeting minutes, 5th month 1688.
  7. Henry Ashmead, History of Delaware County, 1884, chapt. XLIII on Edgmont.
  8. Carol Bryant, Abstracts of Chester County Land Records, vol. 1, p. 148.
  9. Chester County Land Records, vol. 1, p. 176, 192.
  10. Chester County wills, vol. A1, p. 293.
  11. Chester County estate papers, #336, 1729, Chester County Archive.
  12. Horle, Craig and Wokeck, Marianne, editors, Lawmaking and Legislators in PA, volume 1, 1682-1709, 1991.
  13. Chester County wills, Book C, p. 149.
  14. In 1754, the heirs of Ann Pennell Mendenhall signed a release for a tract in Edgmont owned by Robert Pennell at the time of his death. A total of 50 (!) heirs signed the release, granting the land to Joseph Pennell. (Chester County Land Records, vol. 4, 1754)
  15. Chester Monthly Meeting minutes, 1st month 1690, their first intention. The parents “being present” consented.
  16. Futhey and Cope, p. 722; George Smith, History of Delaware County, 1862, p. 500.
  17. Mary was not listed in Futhey and Cope, but was named in the will of her grandfather Robert.
  18. Joseph’s will in Chester County wills, Book D, p. 60.
  19. Jane Levis Carter, Edgmont Township, 1976.
  20. Horle and Wokeck, vol. 2.
  21. Nathan’s grandson Thomas Garrett was a noted abolitionist and friend of Harriet Tubman.
  22. Chester Monthly Meeting marriages, 8th month 1710.
  23. Futhey and Cope.
  24. Chester County wills.

Alphonsus Kirk and Abigail Sharpley

Alphonsus Kirk was born in 1659 in Tollygally, near Lurgan, County Armagh, in northern Ireland, the sixth child of Roger and Elizabeth Kirk.1 Roger and Elizabeth originally lived in “Neshagg” (probably Ness Hagg) near Skelton, the North Riding of Yorkshire, just a few miles from the North Sea.2 They became Quakers around the time that they moved to Ireland. According to the records of Lurgan Meeting, “Roger Kirk and Elizabeth his wife dwelt in Neshag in ye prsh of Skelton and ye County of York. Came to Ireland with his wife and five children in ye yeare 1658 (being a Couper by traide) since wch time he hath dwelt at Tolly gally near Lurgan in ye County of Ardmagh and had by his wife Children as followeth…”3

Roger and Elizabeth were members of Lurgan meeting, the first regular Friends meeting in Ireland.4 Alphonsus and his siblings grew up as double strangers in Armagh – as English and as Quakers. There were other English families in the meeting, including others from Yorkshire: the Calverts, the Hoopes’, the Hollingsworths, the Harlans. They came to Ireland, stayed for a while, then some immigrated to Pennsylvania when it opened up for Quakers in 1682.

In 6th month 1688, Henry Hollingsworth of New Castle County returned to Ireland to marry Lydia Atkinson of County Armagh. Alphonsus signed the marriage certificate, along with Roger Kirk (probably his brother) and Kathreen Kirk (probably the wife of Alphonsus’ brother Timothy). “It is likely that Henry encouraged the Kirks to move to Penn’s colony”, since Alphonsus asked for a certificate of removal from Lurgan meeting a few months later.5

“Whereat, the bearer hereof, Alphonsus Kirk, having an intention to transport himself into the Province of Pennsylvania, in America, at the request of the said Alphonsus, we think it our duty thus to certify concerning him. That he hath lived with his father from his infancy until now, and for aught we know, hath been subject and obsequious to his parents; and since his convincement he hath belonged to our Meetings, and hath behaved himself quiet and honest in his deportment and dealings here, and for anything we do know, or now understand, we having made inquiry concerning him, and he saith himself, is free and clear of all women here, on the account of, or concerning marriage or anything relating thereto. We leave him, and advise him to the measure of the grace of God in his own heart, to which if he would submit, it will teach him to deny all ungodliness.

From our Meeting at John Robinson’s, the 9th of 10th month, 1688.

Robert Hoopes, John Webb, John Robinson, Mark Wright, William Porter, Thomas Wainwright, Timothy Kirk, James Webb, Jonathan Hoopes, William Williams, Robert Kirk, Jacob Robinson, William Cook, Thomas Walker.

Roger and Elizabeth added their own note to it: “This is to certify that we are willing our son, above named, should take this journey herein mentioned; desiring the Lord to be his preserver, and leave him to the disposal of the Almighty. And if it be his fortune to marry, we give our consent, providing, it be with a Friend in unity with Friends, according to the order of truth.”

Alphonsus did immigrate, but not directly to Pennsylvania. He landed in Jamestown, Virginia in 1st month (March) 1688/89 and traveled overland to Christiana Hundred, New Castle County, settling on Brandywine Creek. He was not the only Quaker immigrant from Ireland near there. “About 1687, the brothers George and Michael Harlan, from Parish of Donnahlong, County Down; Thomas Hollingsworth, son of Valentine Hollingsworth; Alphonsus Kirk, from Lurgan, County Armagh; William Gregg, probably from the north of Ireland; William Dixon or Dixson, from Parish of Segoe, County Armagh; and other Friends settled on the west side of Brandywine Creek, in Christiana Hundred, New Castle County, near the present village of Centerville, and became the founders of what later was known as Centre Meeting.”6

It would be five years before Alphonsus married, suggesting that he was not able to support a family until then. Perhaps he was working for someone else to pay the cost of his passage. Finally in 12th month (March) 1692/3 he married Abigail Sharpley under the care of Newark Friends Meeting.7 She was the daughter of Adam Sharpley.8 Abigail had immigrated with her father Adam and his wife Mary, around the fall of 1682.9 In 2nd month 1683 Penn issued a warrant to Ephraim Herman to lay out 300 acres for Adam Sharpley on Shellpot Creek.10 Adam and Mary were active in Newark Meeting; Adam served as a delegate to both quarterly and yearly meetings. Alphonsus was also active in Newark meeting, serving on committees and later donating a piece of land for a meeting house and burial ground, which became Centre Meeting.

Alphonsus and Abigail had eleven children. Four of them died in infancy, three of them within a month in the fall of 1704. Of the children who lived to marry, most married in Quaker meetings, although the son Jonathan married out of meeting and was baptized as an adult.

Alphonsus died in 1745 in Christiana Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware. An inventory of his estate, taken on 23 October, amounted to a meager total of only £31.11 With few farm goods, he may have made his living as a carpenter. Abigail died in 1748.

Children of Alphonsus and Abigail:12

Roger, b. 1694; d. 1761; m. 1726 at Nottingham Joan Bowen. As a young man he was in trouble with Nottingham meeting for wagering on a wrestling match and was probably disowned. He left a will in 1762, naming children Abigail, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Hannah, Sarah, Rachel, Margaret, John, Sampson, Henry, William, Timothy.13

Elizabeth, b. 1695; m. 1717 Daniel Brown; had at least three children.14

Jonathan, b. 1697; d. 1735; bapt. at age 21 at St. James Church; m. Mary Anderson at Old Swedes Church in 1720, had children James, Elizabeth, Abigail.

Mary, b. 1698; d. 1699.

Deborah, b. Jan. 1699/70; d. 23 Sept. 1704

Abigail, b. 1701; d. 29 Sept. 1704.

Timothy, b. 1704; d. 19 Oct. 1704.

Alphonsus, b. 1705; d. 1731/32; m. 1730 Mary Nichols, widow, at Center meeting house; Alphonsus was a carpenter. They had only one child, a daughter Hannah, before his death.

Adam, b. 1707; d. 1774; m. 9 mo 1744 Phebe Mendenhall, daughter of Benjamin and  Ann, at Kennett Meeting. Phebe was 17 years younger than Adam. They settled in Christiana Hundred, New Castle County, where he died in 1774. In his will he named Phebe and eight living children.15 After his death she married Joseph Pennock, a wealthy farmer. She died in 1818, a full 44 years after Adam. Children: Lydia, Hannah, Adam, Phebe, Abigail, Caleb, Deborah, Elizabeth, Joshua, William.

William, b. 1708; d. 1787; m. (1) in 1733 Mary Buckingham; m. (2) 1754 Sibilla Williams.16 William wrote a will, proved in 1790, naming his wife Sibilla and living children. Children of William and Mary: Caleb, Ruth, Tamer, Hannah, Othniel, Rebecca, Lydia, Mary, Sarah. Children of William and Sibilla: Isaiah, Elizabeth, Joshua, Ruth, Rachel, Adam, William, Sibilla.17 The daughter Rachel wrote a memoir about the family.18 The daughter Tamar moved to Georgia, where she was killed by the Indians, an incident that was an exception to their usually friendly relations with the Quakers.19

Timothy, b. 1711; d. 1786; m. 1734 at Goshen Meeting Sarah Williams. Moved to East Nantmeal, later to Warrington, York County. Sarah died in 1796. Children: Jacob, Alphonsus, Rachel, Adam, Joseph, Thomas, William, Timothy, Sarah, Ezekiel, Jonathan.

  1. Elizabeth’s name is sometimes given as Elizabeth Duck, but there is no evidence for this. A marriage record has not been found for Roger and Elizabeth. A younger Elizabeth Duck married George Harlan in 1678 in Ireland. Alphonsus Kirk and several other Kirks signed their marriage certificate. See the discussion on the message board on genealogy.com, the Kirk surname, Re: Roger & Elizabeth Kirk/Duck/Harlan?? In the end the discussion was inconclusive.
  2. Ness Hagg Farm was probably in Ness Hagg Wood, near the village of Moorsholm. There is a ruined farmhouse in the wood, “very old”. (Post to Ancestry board for North Riding of Yorkshire, 21 April 2004).
  3. Albert Cook Myers, Immigration of the Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania 1682-1750, 1902, p. 322.
  4. Martha J. P. Grundy, website on Kirk family, https://sites.rootsweb.com/~paxson/price/Kirk.html, accessed May 2019.
  5. Grundy. The text of the certificate is given in Charles Stubbs, Historic-genealogy of the Kirk Family, 1872, p. 233.
  6. Myers, p. 123.
  7. This is the meeting on Shelpot Creek on land donated by Valentine Hollingsworth. It was later called Kennett Meeting and is not in the town of Newark, Delaware.
  8. The known children of Adam Sharpley fall into two clusters, suggesting that he was married twice. The two older children, Rachel and Abigail, were married around the time the two youngest children, the twins Benjamin and Charity, were born. William, disowned for marrying out in 1718/19, was probably born in between the daughters and the twins. With no marriage or birth records, it is impossible to be sure of the parentage.
  9. It is unclear whether Mary was Abigail’s mother or stepmother. There is a wide spread in the birthdates of the children of Adam Sharpley, suggesting the possibility of two wives.
  10. At the same time Herman was to lay out land there for William Lester, suggesting that they may have emigrated together.
  11. Ancestry, Delaware Wills and Probate Records, 1676-1971, New Castle, Register of wills, Kinsler, Christina-Kirkpatrick, Martha, 1880-1884, image 215.
  12. Grundy; Stubbs, pp. 234-236.
  13. Ancestry, Chester County Wills, 1713-1825.
  14. Grundy. Ancestry trees for this couple are wildly contradictory, showing Daniel as marrying again while Elizabeth was still living, with varying numbers of children.
  15. New Castle County wills, Books A-K 1682-1777.
  16. Sibilla was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Davis. Her previous husband was Edward Williams of Pikeland.
  17. Children from Grundy.
  18. Rachel Price, “A history of the early settlers by the name of Kirk”, available online.
  19. Rayner Kelsey, Friends and the Indians, 1917, pp. 75-77.

Adam Kirk and Phebe Mendenhall

Adam Kirk was the son of Alphonsus Kirk and Abigail Sharpley of Christiana Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware. Alphonsus and Abigail were married in 1693 under the care of Newark Friends meeting. Adam was their ninth child, born in 1707, named for Abigail’s father Adam.

Adam’s father Alphonsus was not prosperous, leaving an inventory of only £31 at his death in 1745. Perhaps that explains why Adam waited so late to marry. When he married Phebe Mendenhall in 9th month 1744, he was in his late thirties; she was 17 years younger than he was. Her family was quite well-to-do. Her father Benjamin Mendenhall was one of the wealthier men in Concord Township, Chester County.

Adam and Phebe settled in Christiana Hundred, New Castle County, and had ten known children. He died in 1774. In his will he named Phebe and eight living children.1 He was “under Considerable pain and weakness of Body” at the time, but of sound mind. He left Phebe a one-third part of his estate and the use of the stone end of the house, “from the top to the bottom”, with the use of the garden and with firewood cut for her and with stabling for her mare. The son Adam received the west end of the plantation, about one hundred acres, plus a half share in the grist mill and saw mill. Caleb received the house, the south end of the plantation and the other half of the mill. William received the northeast part of the land, while Joshua received £100. The sons were to be educated, Joshua in particular, “he being weakly”. The four daughters, Lydia, Hannah, Abigail and Phebe, each received £50. In a very interesting bequest, Adam left his “Doctor Books or such Books as treat of Physick” to his son Joshua.2

After his death Phebe married Joseph Pennock, a wealthy farmer and member of the Assembly. She had no children with him. Phebe died in 1818, a full 44 years after her first husband. She wrote a will in 1811, naming five children and several grandchildren.3 The inventory of her property, taken on April 28, consisted of a bed and furniture for one room, including a bonnet box, looking glass, smoothing irons, and a bedpan. The bulk of her estate was a bond for $613 plus interest on it, for a total of $1357.

Children of Adam and Phebe:4

Lydia, born 1st month 1746, died 2nd month 1793, probably unmarried.

Hannah, born 5th month 1747, d. 1829, married Benjamin Jones as his second wife. His first wife Alice Temple died around 1772. Hannah and Benjamin lived in Honeybrook, in the western edge of Chester County. They had nine known children, known of whom married as Friends. Children: Alice, Phebe, Cordelia, Hannah, John, Benjamin, Sarah, Samuel, Mary.

Adam, born 6th month 1749, married at Center Meeting in 1774 Esther Wilson, daughter of Joseph. They moved to Wayne County, Indiana, where Adam died in 1821. He left a will, naming the children, but Esther must have died before him.5 Children: Isaiah, Hannah, Rebecca, Benjamin, Ann, Phebe.

Phebe, born 7th month 1751, d. 1841, married Christopher Chandler, son of Swithen and Ann Chandler. Phebe was Christopher’s second wife; his first wife was Prudence Grubb. Phebe and Christopher were disowned by Kennett Meeting in 4th month 1775 for accomplishing their marriage outside of the meeting.6 Children: Tamar, Caleb, William, Benjamin, Elihu, Jehu, David, Hiram.

Abigail, born 11th month 1753, married 5th month 1780, Daniel Windle of East Marlborough, son of Francis and Mary.7 According to some accounts they moved to Ohio. Children: Joseph, Benjamin, Caleb.

Prudence, b. 1754, died young.

Caleb, born 3rd month 1756, d. 1831, married 4th month 1779, at Centre Meeting, Sarah, daughter of Swithen and Ann Chandler. They were disowned for having a child born too soon after their marriage.8 Children: Joshua, Phebe, Samuel, Caleb, Abigail, Ann, Caleb, Sarah, Lydia, Hannah.9

Deborah, born 1758, died young

Betty, born 1761, died 1764.

Joshua, born 1763, died 1777.

William, born 1764, d. 1841 in Ohio, m. 1 July 1789 Edith Shortlidge at New Garden, Chester County. They moved to Belmont, Ohio before 1820. Children: Isaac, Robert, Phebe, William, possibly others.

 

  1. New Castle County wills, Books A-K 1682-1777.
  2. The will was written in 9th month 1774 (September), and proved less than a month later.
  3. Chester County estate papers, file #6534, Chester County Archive.
  4. Charles Stubbs, Historic-genealogy of the Kirk Family, 1872; Martha J. P. Grundy, website on Kirk family, https://sites.rootsweb.com/~paxson/price/Kirk.html, accessed May 2019.
  5. Ancestry, Indiana Wills and Probate Records, 1798-1999, Wayne, Will books 1-4, 1812-1865, image 51.
  6. Kennett Monthly Meeting, Men’s Minutes 1739-1791, on Ancestry, images 307, 309.
  7. The marriage was reported in 6th month 1780 in the women’s minutes of New Garden Monthly Meeting.
  8. Ancestry, US Quaker Meeting Records 1681-1935, Chester, Kennett, Men’s Minutes 1739-1791, image 379.
  9. From Ancestry trees, no evidence.

Moses Mendenhall and Alice Bowater

Moses was the son of Benjamin Mendenhall and Ann Pennell.1 He was born in 1694 in Concord, Chester County. The Mendenhalls were prominent in Concord meeting and Moses grew up in a strong Quaker tradition. His father was active in the meeting and Moses’ older brother Benjamin later became a traveling Friend, one who visited meetings as an approved minister. Moses would eventually join his brother on a list of Eminent Friends.2 The Mendenhalls were also prosperous. Benjamin was one of the wealthiest landowners in Concord township, surpassed only by his brother-in-law Nathaniel Newlin.3

Alice was the daughter of John and Francis Bowater. Like Moses, she grew up in a strong Quaker tradition. Her grandfather, John Bowater senior, was a minister, imprisoned for his teachings. Her father John had died in 1705 and she probably lived with her mother and four sisters until in 1713 she married Jacob Pyle. Jacob was the son of Robert and Ann Pyle. Robert was a malster who grew barley and processed it into malt for beer-making. He was from Bishops Canning, Wiltshire, the same area as the Mendenhall family (known as Mildenhall in England). The families may have known each other before Robert and Benjamin immigrated. Robert served in the Assembly and in 1698 he proposed that monthly meetings should have the power to free slaves held by Friends, a radical proposal for that time. Jacob and Alice lived in Concord and had two sons before Jacob died in 1717.4 The younger son, James, died before 1719, leaving her with Samuel, who was five years old when she married Moses.

Moses and Alice were married on the 18th of April 1719, at Concord Meeting House.5 The meeting house was built on land sold to the meeting in 1697 by John Mendenhall, Moses’ uncle, for a meeting house and burying ground. A few years after their marriage Moses and Alice moved to Kennett, about twelve miles west of Concord, settling on Brandywine Creek and becoming members of the meeting there.6 He was recommended as a minister in 1726 and was chosen as clerk of the meeting the following year. By then they had four children of their own.

Moses made a will in September 1731, when he was already ailing. His sons Caleb and Moses were each to receive half of the land, as they arrived at age 21. The daughters Alice and Phebe were each to receive £30 at age 18. Alice was to “bring them up and teach them to read and write legiably”, as well as to place Moses as an apprentice when he reached 15.7 Moses died in 9th month (November) 1731. A testimonial to his ministry was written in the minutes of Newark meeting.8

“… in his youth he was religiously inclined, loving the conversation of such and choosing places of retirement to wait upon God. .. As he grew in years he grew in religious experience, and in 1724 appeared in the Ministry: first in a few words, but continuing faithful he increased in his gift, and in time had a Seasonable refreshing testimony, which often affected the minds of the hearers. He visited the meetings in Maryland, New Jersey, and sometimes those near home: being also rightly gifted for the discipline and serviceable therein. … Being sensible in his last sickness that his end was near, he signified ‘He was thankful to the Lord that he was like to be taken from the troubles of this world’, exhorting friends to faithfulness and died in a resigned frame, in the ninth month, 1731, aged about thirty eight years, and a minister about seven years, and was interred in Kennett burying ground.”

Children of Moses and Alice:9

Alice, b. 16th of 2nd mo, 1720, d. 1780, m. 1739 William Pennock at Kennett Mtg, son of Joseph and Mary Pennock of Marlborough Twp10. William died intestate in Marlborough in 10th month 1763. Alice was the administrator for his estate, along with their son Moses.11 Children: Moses, Joseph, Hannah, Phebe, William, Caleb, Samuel, Joshua, Alice.12

Caleb, b. 22nd of 7th mo, 1721, d. 1746, m. Ann Pierce, daughter of Joshua and Ann, in Feb 1742/3 at Concord Mtg. They had sons Moses and Caleb, before the death of the older Caleb in 1746. Ann later married Adam Redd at Kennett Meeting.13

Phebe, b. 2nd of 5th mo, 1724, d. 1818, m. Adam Kirk of Christiana Hundred, son of Alphonsus and Abigail. Adam was born in 1707, quite a bit older than Phebe. They had 10 children. Adam died in 1774, and Phebe married second, in 1778, Joseph Pennock, son of Joseph and Mary.14 Joseph had been previously married, to Sarah Taylor, and he had ten children with her.15 Joseph wrote his will in September 1799, provided for Phebe, “Including all that she hath by virtue of the Will of Adam Kirk”. He named some of his children and grandchildren, and left £200 to Londongrove Meeting for the poor and for a school. Phebe wrote her own will in November 1811, naming her grandson Joseph Pennock as her executor.16

Moses, b. 23rd of 2nd mo. 1727, died unmarried.

Children of Alice and Jacob (surname Pyle):

Samuel, b. 1714, m. Sarah Pringle at Kennett Meeting in 2nd month 1739, lived in  Kennett.17 Possible children: James, Phebe, Jacob.18

James, b. 1716, died before spring 1719.

  1. The Mendenhall family has been thoroughly researched. Henry Beeson published his book, The Mendenhalls, in 1969. An older work by William Mendenhall et al, History, correspondence and pedigrees of the Mendenhalls…, published in 1912, has been largely superceded by more recent research. Gilbert Cope, the eminent Chester County genealogist, gathered materials on the family, some available at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The best source for the origins of the family in England is the newsletter of the Mendenhall Family Association, online at mendenhall.org. The Association has published work by careful researchers who use original sources, including Peter Mendenhall, Dan McEver, Herbert Standing, and Ken Mendenhall. In particular, see the excellent summaries by Ken Mendenhall in issue 3(4) and again in 2010 in volume 17(3).
  2. Anna Watring & F. Edward Wright, Early Church Records of Bucks County, vol. 2, p. 177.
  3. Robert Case, Prosperity and Progress: Concord Township PA 1683-1983, vol. 1, 1983.
  4. Jacob left a will, Chester County Estate Papers 1714-1838 on Ancestry, Wills 1-115, images 370-78, will #58. He provided for Alice and his two sons, Samuel and James. The witnesses were Francis Bowater, Alice’s mother, and Shadrach Scarlett who declared his intentions of marriage with Alice’s sister Phebe in the same month that Jacob wrote the will.
  5. In 5th month 1719 their marriage was reported orderly. (Concord Meeting minutes, Historical Society of Penna, p. 410).
  6. Their certificate was dated 4th 4th month (June) 1722.
  7. Moses’ brother Joseph was the executor. There is no mention of Samuel Pyle in the will. At that time fathers were not expected to provide for their step-children. Presumably the estate of Jacob Pyle provided something for him. When Moses and Alice were married, Alice provided a paper to Concord Meeting about her rights to a third of Jacob’s estate, to be held by Jacob’s father Robert. (Concord Meeting minutes, 6th 5th month 1719)
  8. Quoted in Russel Newlin Abel, Mendenhall-Newlin Alliance, 1989, p. 106.
  9. Henry Hart Beeson, The Mendenhalls, 1969, p. 8, 23-24.
  10. J. Smith Futhey & Gilbert Cope, History of Chester County, 1881, p. 680, for a profile of the Pennock family. Beeson, p. 8, gives a second marriage for Alice after William’s death.
  11. Chester County Estate Papers 1714-1838, on Ancestry, Wills 2031-2146, image 486.
  12. US Quaker Meeting Records 1681-1935, on Ancestry, Chester County, Kennett Mtg, Births and burials 1706-1806, image 8.
  13. Beeson, p. 23.
  14. The Pennocks were a well-off family. The older Joseph was a merchant, who served for years in the Assembly and as a Justice. (Craig Horle & Marianne Wokeck, Lawmaking and Legislators in Penna, vol. 2)
  15. According to H. C. Snyder, only four of those Pennock children lived to marry. (The Pennocks of Primitive Hall, website at http://www.pennock.ws/surnames/fam/fam00760.html, accessed May 2019)
  16. Ancestry, PA Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993, Chester, Will Books N-P, Vol 13-15, 1817-1826, images 31-32. It was proved in April 1818.
  17. Their marriage certificate was signed by Caleb, Alice and Phebe Mendenhall, as close relatives of Samuel. (Ancestry, US Quaker Meeting Records 1681-1935, Chester County, Kennett Monthly Meeting, Marriages 1718-1821, image 96)
  18. From Ancestry trees, not proven. Note that there was a Samuel Pyle who died in 1750, with a wife Sarah (possibly Sarah Owens) and different children. That Samuel, a physician and a cousin of Jacob Pyle, left a will naming his children. (His WikiTree entry, for Dr. Samuel Bushell Pyle)

Benjamin Mendenhall and Ann Pennell

Benjamin Mendenhall was born in 1662 in Ramsbury, Wiltshire, the son of Thomas Mildenhall and Joan Stroud of Marridge Hill.1 Thomas and Joan became Quakers in the late 1650s and four of their children, including Benjamin, immigrated to Pennsylvania and changed the spelling of the family name to Mendenhall. Benjamin probably came in late 1682, since his brother John was called to serve on a jury in Chester County Court in April 1683. They had both received a legacy from their father Thomas, who died in 1682 while they were still in England. Thomas left two tracts of land around Marridge Hill to John, who was supposed to pay £40 to Benjamin as his portion, suggesting that the tracts were valued at around £80. By selling that land and buying land in Chester County, both Benjamin and John ended up with extensive land holdings. “It is no surprise that the most valuable landholdings [in Concord] were in the hands of three families, the Newlins, Pyles, and Mendenhalls…While the Newlin and Mendenhall families had acquired some wealth in England and Ireland, thus arriving in Pennsylvania with capital to invest, the other families [Hannum, Palmer, Pierce, Marshall…] rose to prominence from more humble beginnings.”2

Benjamin eventually owned over 1500 acres and on the tax records was usually the second-wealthiest man in Concord township after his brother-in-law Nathaniel Newlin.3 He had trained as a wheelwright, and this skill probably contributed to his success. In 1711 he bought a one-seventh share of a corn mill from Nicholas and Abigail Pyle.4

Benjamin was active in Concord Meeting, where he became an elder, and served as delegate to Quarterly and Yearly meetings. He served one term in the Provincial Assembly but was not active there.5

In 2nd month 1689 he married Ann Pennell, daughter of Robert and Hannah Pennell of Middletown township.6 In 1713 he and Ann built a house on their 250-acre home tract in Concord. The house was extensively rebuilt in the 1800s but still contains a date stone in the gable. Years later their daughter Ann Bartram told the story that when her parents were having their house built, she used to carry dinner to the workmen so they wouldn’t lose time going for it.7

As their children grew to the age of marriage, Benjamin and Ann needed to provide for them. One record of this arrangement has been preserved, a letter from them to Owen and Mary Roberts, parents of Lydia Robert.

“Our son Benjamin has made us acquainted that he has a kindness for your daughter Lydia and desired our consent thereon, and we … having given our consent that he may proceed orderly, that is to have your consent and proceed without it…as touching his place that we have given him for to settle on, we shall say but little at present, Ellis Lewis knows as well or our minds and can give as full account of it as we can…”8

Benjamin wrote his will in 1736, and died probably in early 1740.9 In his will he left one-third of his estate to his wife Ann, along with comfortable furniture for one room. He named his five living children, leaving cash to his sons Benjamin and Joseph, his farming implements to his son Robert, cash to daughters Hannah Marshall and Ann Bartram. He gave bequests to his grandchildren, with an additional sum for his grandson Caleb, son of Moses deceased.

The inventory of his estate yielded the impressive value of £760. Thomas Chalkley, the Quaker traveling minister, attended Benjamin’s funeral and wrote that “This Friend was a worthy elder and a serviceable man in our Society, and one of the early settlers in Pennsylvania; a man given to hospitality, and a good example to his family.”10  Ann also wrote a will, proved in 1749.11 She left cash legacies to her children Robert, Hannah, Ann, as well as the surviving spouses of Benjamin, Samuel and Joseph, plus many of her grandchildren.

Children:12

Ann, b. 3rd month 1690, died in infancy

Benjamin, b. 3rd month 1691, d. 1743 in North Carolina while on a religious visit there, married Lydia Roberts in 1717 at Gwynedd Meeting. There is a charming letter from Benjamin Jr to Lydia expressing his “kind and true respects of Love”, written in 6th month 1716.13 They lived in a stone house in Concord. Children: Joshua, Samuel, Martha, Hannah, Lydia, Mary.14 After Benjamin died, while on a religious visit to North Carolina, Lydia married William Hannum. Benjamin Mendenhall was named on a list of “Eminent Friends”, along with his brother Moses.15

Joseph, b. 3rd month 1692, d. 7th or 8th month 1748, married in 1718 Ruth Gilpin at Concord meeting.16 They settled in Kennet township, Chester County on a large tract of land purchased by his father in 1703.  Joseph donated land for Kennett Meeting House. His will was probated in Chester Co, PA 18 Oct 1748.17 It provided for Ruth, left land to the five sons and cash to the daughters. Children: Isaac, Joseph, Benjamin, Hannah, Ann, Stephen, Jesse. The inventory of the estate came to the large total of £915.

Moses, b. 2nd month 1694, d. 1731 in Concord, married 1719 Alice Bowater Pyle at Concord Meeting. She was the daughter of John and Francis Bowater, and the widow of Jacob Pyle. They settled in Kennet, where Moses was an active member of the meeting and a recommended minister. He also served as clerk of the meeting. He wrote his will in November 1731, leaving his land to his two sons to be divided between them. He left cash to his daughters and the remainder to Alice. She was bring up the children “and teach them to read and write legiably”. The son Moses was to be apprenticed for a trade when he turned fifteen. Children: Caleb, Moses, Alice, Phebe.

Hannah, b. 6th month 1696, m. in 1718 Thomas Marshall, son of John and Sarah of Darby, at Concord Meeting.18 Thomas died in 1740, leaving a will naming Hannah, seven children, and an unborn child. In 12th month 1741/42 Hannah married Peter Grubb, son of John and Francis.19 Hannah died in 1770. She left a will, naming six children. Children: Benjamin, John, Ann, Martha, Hannah, Mary.

Samuel, d. 1st month 1698, died before 1740, married a woman named Esther.20 No known children.

Rebecca, d. 10th month 1699, d. 1727, married Thomas Gilpin, son of Joseph, in 1726 at Concord Meeting.21 No children have been found for them.

Ann, b. 7th month 1703, d. 1789, married the celebrated botanist John Bartram, lived in Darby, Philadelphia County. She was his second wife, his first wife Mary Maris having died in 1727, leaving him with sons Richard and Isaac. John Bartram traveled extensively, as far as Florida, collecting plant samples for his own garden and for his correspondents in London. He was a friend of Benjamin Franklin and other notables. His sons John and William continued in his footsteps as botanists. He died in 1777.22 Children of John and Ann: James, Moses, Elizabeth, Mary, William, Elizabeth, Ann, John, Benjamin.

Nathan, b. 8th month 1705, died young

Robert, b. 7th month 1713, d. sixth month 1785 in Concord. He married Phebe Taylor in 1734 at Birmingham Meeting. She died in May 1761 and the next year he married Elizabeth Hatton, widow of John Hatton, at Concord Meeting.23 In 1777 he married again, to Esther Temple, widow of William Temple. Robert was a justice on the court of Common Pleas and owned a saw mill. When he was thrown from his riding chair by a runaway horse on the road to Concord Meeting, he was badly hurt but not killed instantly. He was concerned that he had not signed his will. He sent home for it but it could not be found. Several witnesses had to attest to its validity before it could be proved, especially since the son Philip filed a caveat against it, probably disappointed in his legacy of only 50 acres.24 The inventory of the estate came to £1320. He named thirteen children in the will, plus one (Moses) deceased. Children with Phebe: Philip, Ann, Rebecca, Moses, Nathaniel, John, Stephen, Joseph, Robert. Children with Elizabeth: Elizabeth, William, Adam, Phebe.25

  1. Sometimes the family name in England is written as Minall, sometimes as Mildenhall. The American branch called themselves Mendenhall. (Ken Mendenhall, “From Marridge Hill to Concord Township”, Mendenhall Matters Newsletter, 2010, vol. 17(3), online at mendenhall.org) The Mendenhall family has been thoroughly researched. Henry Beeson published his book, The Mendenhalls, in 1969. An older work by William Mendenhall et al, History, correspondence and pedigrees of the Mendenhalls…, published in 1912, has been largely superceded by more recent research. Gilbert Cope, the eminent Chester County genealogist, gathered materials on the family, some available at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The best source for new discoveries is the newsletter of the Mendenhall Family Association, online at mendenhall.org. The Association has published work by careful researchers who use original sources, including Peter Mendenhall, Dan McEver, Herbert Standing, and Ken Mendenhall. In particular, see the excellent summaries by Ken Mendenhall in issues 3(4) and again in 2010 in volume 17(3). These are the text of speeches given by Ken Mendenhall at Mendenhall family reunions, so they are lacking references.
  2. Robert Case, Prosperity and Progress: Concord Township PA 1683-1983, vol. 1, 1983, p. 139.
  3. Case, 1983, includes many references to Benjamin.
  4. Chester County deeds, Book C, pp. 143-150.
  5. Horle, Craig & Wokeck, Marianne, editors, Lawmaking and Legislators in PA, volume 1, 1682-1709, 1991.
  6. Concord Monthly Meeting minutes, Historical Society of Penna, pp. 244-45.
  7. Early Church Records of Delaware County, p. 232, Concord Meeting annotated records.
  8. Quoted in William Mendenhall et al, History and pedigrees of the Mendenhalls, 1912.
  9. No death record has been found for him. His will was proved in April 1740, and the inventory was taken then, which would normally happen a few days after the death. (Chester County estate, 1740, #703)
  10. Thomas Chalkley’s Journal, p. 392, cited in Russell Newlin Abel, Mendenhall-Newlin Alliance, 1989, p. 110. The Journal was originally published around 1751 and has gone through many editions.
  11. Chester County wills, Book C, p. 149.
  12. John Launey, First Families of Chester County, 2008; notebooks of Gilbert Cope at the Historical Society of Penna; Concord Meeting Records, p. 245.
  13. Russell Newlin Abel, Mendenhall-Newlin Alliance, 1989, p. 104.
  14. Mendenhall-Newlin Alliance, p. 104. Some sources add Rachel and Benjamin, but they do not appear in their father’s will, written in early 1743. Benjamin’s will provided for Lydia, two sons and four daughters. (Chester County estates, 1743, #857, Chester County Archive.
  15. Anna Watring & F. Edward Wright, Early Church Records of Bucks County, vol. 2, p. 177.
  16. Cope notebook on the Mendenhall family.
  17. Chester County wills, Book C, p. 67.
  18. Gwen Bjorkman, Quaker Marriage Certificates Concord Meeting, 1991.
  19. John Launey, First Families of Chester County, 2008.
  20. No record of their marriage has been found, and Gilbert Cope said that Samuel died unmarried, but an Esther was named in the 1749 will of Ann Mendenhall as “wife of son Samuel”. Samuel was not in his father’s will.
  21. Bjorkman.
  22. Bartram’s life appears in many secondary sources. His Wikipedia entry has a charming illustration of Bartram by Howard Pyle.
  23. Mendenhall-Newlin Alliance.
  24. Chester County estates, Mendenhall-Newlin Alliance.
  25. The dates of birth for all the children are given in Robert’s profile in the database of the Mendenhall Family Association at mendenhall.org.

Thomas Mildenhall and Joan Stroud

Thomas Mildenhall and Joan Stroud were married in August 1649 in the Anglican parish church in Aldbourne, Wiltshire.1 He was the son of Thomas and Ann of Ramsbury; she was the daughter of Anthony and Margery of Baydon.2 The parishes of Ramsbury, Aldbourne, Baydon and Chilton Foliatt nestle together in the boundary between eastern Wiltshire and neighboring Berkshire. Ramsbury parish extends from the valley of the Kennet up to the steep hills of the Marlborough Downs. Within it lie the villages relevant to the Mildenhalls: Ramsbury, Aldbourne, Mildenhall, Marridge Hill, and Baydon, where Joan’s family lived.3

Thomas’ family lived for generations on Marridge Hill, high on the Downs.4 “The ancestors of Thomas Mildenhall of Marridge Hill (many also named Thomas) were yeoman farmers, that is, persons who held their land freehold from the Manorial lord. … In April of 1567 Lord Pembroke commanded a survey of all his estates including the Manor of Ramsbury, providing a rare record of the names of villagers and where they lived. The name “Myldenhall” appears in the 1567 Pembroke survey.”5 Aldbourne was the nearest village to Marridge Hill, and a weekly market was held there.

After Thomas and Joan were married, they settled on Marridge Hill and started their family.6 In the 1650s their lives changed as they became members of the Society of Friends. The Quaker movement spread early into their part of Wilshire, as the nearby village of Marlborough lay on the main road from London to Bristol. The closest Monthly Meeting to Marridge Hill was in Lambourn Woodland, just across the Berkshire border, and that is where the births of their five youngest children are recorded.7 George Fox, a founder of the Quaker movement, held a meeting in 1673 at Lambourne Woods. The MiIldenhalls were probably there.8

In 1681 William Penn opened up his colony of Pennsylvania for settlement, advertising the fertility of the land, ample natural resources, and freedom of religion.9 Three children of Thomas and Joan decided to go, sailing within a year or two, and two others followed in 1685. The three who sailed earlier were John, Mary and Benjamin. They probably traveled in one of the 23 ships that sailed in 1682, since John ”Mynall” was recorded as a juror in Chester County Court in April 1683. The three settled in Concord Township, where they bought land, using money inherited from their father.

Their father Thomas died in 1682 and left a will.10 He described himself as a yeoman of Maridge, and left the land to his oldest son Thomas. He left a cottage and gardens and five acres of land in Maridge to his son John, plus another tract at “great Rachlett coppice”, “towards his better preferment in marriage and for his marriage portion”. John was to pay £40 to his brother Benjamin. A tract of 30 acres in Chilton Folliott was left to Stephen, another son. The daughters Mary, Margery and Joan got cash legacies. Mary got £4, while the others got a token amount, as they were already married and had presumably receive a portion at the time.11 Joan was the executor and her brother Benjamin Stoud was an overseer of the estate.

In 1685, more of the siblings immigrated. Margery had married Thomas Martin in 1675 under the care of Reading and Marlboro Monthly Meeting.12 Thomas Martin had been imprisoned for practicing his Quaker beliefs. On April 1, 1682 he was arrested by the tithingman of Great Bedwyn and brought before Justice Hungerford, who sent him to prison. At the next Sessions, Martin was indicted for “three weeks absence from the National Worship”. He refused to post bail and was recommitted to prison.”13 At some point he was released and in December 1685 the Martins arrived in Philadelphia on the Unicorn, sailing out of Bristol. Margary’s younger brother Moses sailed with them and bought land in Pennsylvania, but did not stay. He went back to England in 1687, selling his Pennsylvania land to his brothers and sister.

The others stayed in Pennsylvania, prospered and had large families.

Children of Thomas and Joan:14

Margery, b. Dec 1655, d. 1742, m. 1675 Thomas Martin.15 They immigrated in 1685 on the Unicorn with their children and settled in Concord on 100 acres bought from her brother John.16 At some point they moved to Middletown Township, and were taxed there in 1693. Thomas and Margery later turned away from the Quaker society and were baptized in 1697 in Ridley Creek, some of the earliest known Baptists in the colony.17 He died in 1714. Children: Mary, Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, George, Moses, Elinor, Margery.18

Joan, b. ab. 1657, married Dr. John Spier in 1681 at Lambourne Woods Meeting. In their marriage record he was described as a “medicus of chirugus alias physitian” and was the son of John, an apothecary.19 John and Joan stayed in England, where he died in 1703; she died before 1731. Children: Joan, Hannah, James.

Thomas, b. ab. 1657, d. 1729 in Marridge, married a woman named Israel, left children Thomas, Nicholas, Stephen, Joan, Isabel, Israel20. He did not become a Quaker.21

John, b. 8th month 1659, immigrated probably in late 1682. He married in 1685 at Darby Meeting Elizabeth Maris, daughter of George and Alice.22 John bought 300 acres in Concord in 1683, and later bought more land from John Harding and Philip Roman, whom he knew from Wiltshire, since they lived nearby.23 He was active in the meeting in Concord, which was often held at his house. In 1697 for 5 shillings he donated land for the meetinghouse and burying ground for the Meeting. He died in 1743 and did not leave a will. Elizabeth died long before him, in 1691. Children: George, John, Aaron.

Benjamin, b. 2nd month 1662, immigrated probably in late 1682, married in 1689 Ann Pennell, daughter of Robert and Hannah. He was a wheelwright, and later a wealthy land-owner, with eventual holdings of over 1500 acres. On the tax records he was usually the second-wealthiest man in Concord township after his brother-in-law Nathaniel Newlin.24 Benjamin was active in Concord Meeting, where he became an elder, and served as delegate to Quarterly and Yearly meetings. He served one term in the Provincial Assembly but was not active there.25 He wrote his will in 1736, and died in 1739. The inventory of his estate yielded a value of £760. Thomas Chalkley, the Quaker traveling minister, attended Benjamin’s funeral and wrote that “This Friend was a worthy elder and a serviceable man in our Society, and one of the early settlers in Pennsylvania; a man given to hospitality, and a good example to his family.”26  Ann also wrote a will, proved in 1749. Children: Ann, Benjamin, Joseph, Moses, Hannah, Samuel, Rebecca, Ann, Nathan, Robert. The daughter Ann married the celebrated botanist John Bartram.

Stephen, b. 6th month 1664, became a Quaker, married a woman named Mary, stayed in Wiltshire where he died in 1721.27

Moses, b. 9th month 1666, d. 1738. Moses immigrated in 1685 on the Unicorn with his sister Margery and her husband Thomas. He had bought rights to 500 acres before leaving England. But by 7th month 1687 he was back in England. He planned to buy 250 acres from the Hitchcock family of Marlborough, but changed his mind, as “his mother would not let him goe back, and besides he sedd he should not give soe much for it”.28 In 1688 Moses sold his 500 acres to his brothers and sisters in Pennsylvania and settled on Marridge Hill where he married in 1690 Elizabeth Bacon, daughter of John.29 She died in 1737; he died the next year, leaving a will. Children: John, Thomas, Stephen, Mary, Sarah, Joseph, Elizabeth, Hannah, Moses.

Mary, d. 1728, m. 1685 Nathaniel Newlin, son of Nicholas and Elizabeth, at Concord Meeting.30 They became the wealthiest family in Concord township, owning much land, a grist mill, and a dry goods store. Nathaniel served in the Provincial Assembly, as a Justice, and was a Commissioner of Property. Mary died in late 1728, and Nathaniel married again, to Mary Fincher. They were only married for a few months before his death in early 1729. Surprisingly, for such a wealthy man, he left no will. His inventory lists pages of personal property and inventory from the dry goods store: surgical instruments, books on law and divinity and medicine, luxury items like ivory-handled knives and forks, many yards of varied fabric types, thread, buttons, nails, glass bottles, nutmeg, gallons of molasses, and over 6000 acres of land.31 Children of Mary and Nathaniel: Jemima, Elizabeth, Nicholas, Nathaniel, John, Keziah, and Mary.

Aaron, b. 7th month 1669, died young

  1. Thomas’ family name comes in many variations. The family took its name from the village of Mildenhall, a few miles away from Aldbourne, pronounced as “Minall” by the inhabitants. Sometimes the family name is written as Minall, sometimes as Mildenhall. The American branch called themselves Mendenhall. (Ken Mendenhall, “From Marridge Hill to Concord Township”, Mendenhall Matters Newsletter, 2010, vol. 17(3), online at mendenhall.org)
    In the marriage record his name is Thomas “Minehall”. (Gary Allen Singleton, post on the discussion tab of the Geni.org page for Thomas Mendenhall I, 1580-1637)
  2. The Mendenhall family has been thoroughly researched. Henry Beeson published his book, The Mendenhalls, in 1969. An older work by William Mendenhall et al, History, correspondence and pedigrees of the Mendenhalls…, published in 1912, has little on the English Mildenhalls. Gilbert Cope, the eminent Chester County genealogist, gathered materials on the family, some available at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The best source for new discoveries is the newsletter of the Mendenhall Family Association, online at mendenhall.org. The Association has published work by careful researchers who use original sources, including Peter Mendenhall, Dan McEver, Herbert Standing, and Ken Mendenhall. In particular, see the excellent summaries by Ken Mendenhall in issues 3(4) and again in 2010 in volume 17(3). These are the text of speeches given by Ken Mendenhall at Mendenhall family reunions, so they are lacking references.
  3. Ken Mendenhall, 2010.
  4. Through a combination of DNA testing and genealogical research, the Mildenhall line has been traced back to the 1200s. This research appears solid on the whole, but there are gaps in the evidence. See Peter Mendenhall, “Our Journey to Mildenhall”, Mendenhall Matters Newsletter, 22(2) and Allen Singleton, “Results of the Mendenhall YDNA group”, Mendenhall Matters Newsletter, 19(3).
  5. Ken Mendenhall, 2010.
  6. The name Marridge has nothing to do with marriage. The “ridge” part refers to the setting, the highest point in the parish of Ramsbury. (Ken Mendenhall, 2010)
  7. Herbert Standing, “The Mendenhall Family”, Mendenhall Matters Newsletter, 2000, 7(2)
  8. Standing, 2000.
  9. For more on Penn’s grant, see my blog at Takingthelongview.org, especially posts on August 20, 2015, also August 26, 2015 and September 2, 1015.
  10. The page for him on Geni.com, as Thomas Mendenhall, III, under the tab for Sources.
  11. Allen Singleton, “Who we left behind”, Mendenhall Matters Newsletter, 2015, 20(2).
  12. Standing, 2000.
  13. Joseph Besse, Sufferings of the People Called Quakers, vol. 2.
  14. Dates of birth from Standing, 2000.
  15. Ancestry, England and Wales Quaker Birth Marriage Death Register 1578-1837, Berkshire, Piece 1269, Reading and Warborough Monthly Meeting, image 17. This is also the source for the marriages of Joan to John Spier, and Moses to Elizabeth Bacon.
  16. Robert P. Case, Concord Township, vol. 1, 1983. This is an excellent township history, thorough and detailed, with family profiles, economic data, inventories and wills, house pictures and floor plans. It is a model for this kind of local history.
  17. Case, 1983. Before that Thomas had been an active member of Chester Meeting, signing testimony against selling rum to the Indians and serving as one of the trustees for the purchase of land for the meeting house in 6th month 1688.
  18. Children from the entry for Margery Mildenhall in the Mendenhall Family Association database.
  19. Piece 1269, Reading and Warborough Monthly Meeting, image 19.
  20. Allen Singleton, “Who we left behind”, Mendenhall Family Association Newsletter, 2015, 20(2). Israel signed the marriage certificate of Joan and John Spier in 5th month 1681 at Lambourne Woods Meeting, just after her husband Thomas. It was also signed by Joan’s father Thomas, mother Joan and their seven living children. (Piece 1269, Reading & Warborough Monthly Meeting, Image 19)
  21. In the database of Mendenhall Family Association as Thomas IV Mildenhall.
  22. Case, 1983. As Case put it, this marriage “cemented ties between two prominent families in early Chester County”. (p. 22)
  23. His profile in the Mendenhall Family Association database, where he is listed as John Mendenhall.
  24. Case, 1983, includes many references to Benjamin.
  25. Horle, Craig & Wokeck, Marianne, editors, Lawmaking and Legislators in PA, volume 1, 1682-1709, 1991.
  26. Thomas Chalkley’s Journal, p. 392, cited in Russell Newlin Abel, Mendenhall-Newlin Alliance, 1989, p. 110. The Journal was originally published around 1751 and has gone through many editions.
  27. The Mendenhall Family Association database has little material on this family. Gilbert Cope, in his notebook on the Mendenhall Family at Historical Society of Pennsylvania, includes a record from Reading and Warboro Monthly Meeting of a Stinn(?) Mindinal buried 10-8-1690. Surely the name is Stephen. Who is this?
  28. Notebooks of Gilbert Cope, Mendenhall Family, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Call number Gen Co 9:56.
  29. Piece 1269, Reading & Warborough Monthly Meeting, Images 21-22.
  30. The Mendenhall Family Association database entry for her gives an exact birthdate of 25 May 1670, and a marriage date of April 1685. It is highly unlikely that she was married at 15. Her birth record has not been found in Piece 1269, Reading & Warborough Monthly Meeting, image 30 through 32, where some of her siblings are found.
  31. Case, 1983. The inventory and account are at Chester County Archives, 1729, #352. The will in 1732 is that of his son Nathaniel.

John Bowater and Frances Corbett

John Bowater was born in 1660 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, the son of John and Ann.1 The older John was a nail-maker who had become a Quaker before then; in 1660 he was put into prison for refusing to take an oath. The son John would inherit his father’s Quaker beliefs and his occupation of nail-making. Bromsgrove was a center for this, close to mills on the River Stour where iron bars were slit into thinner pieces, ready to be hammered out into nails.2

When John was 17, his father left for a voyage to America, to travel around the colonies and preach as a Quaker minister. John was the eldest son and must have been the chief wage-earner in his father’s absence. His father returned in 1678, only to lose his wife Ann, the mother of John and his younger brothers. She died in 1679, according to the records of Warwick North Monthly Meeting.3 It would be six years before the father remarried.

The younger John married Frances Corbett in 2nd month (April) 1683 in Chadwick, Worcestershire. She was the daughter of William Corbett of Sedgley, Staffordshire. John’s father John would normally sign the marriage certificate right after the newly-married couple, but at this time the father was probably still in jail for refusing to pay tithes. John and Frances had a daughter Elizabeth born in 11th month (January) 1683/84, just nine months after their marriage. She died a few months later.

John and Frances emigrated in 1684 and settled in Thornbury township, Chester County. They first presented their certificates to Philadelphia Meeting on 9th month 1684. In May 1688 they joined Chester meeting, along with their two young daughters. They went on to add three more daughters.

John bought 50 acres in 1685, which he later sold. In 1697 he bought 250 acres and in 1700 another 150 acres. Meetings were sometimes held at their house until a new meetinghouse was built in 1700 on adjoining land of Joshua Hastings; this became Middletown Meeting.

In 1705 John wrote his will; it was proved in November 1705.4 It named Frances and their five daughters. After John’s death Frances sold 400 acres, probably the two combined tracts, to George Smedley. Then she bought a tract of 115 acres in 1708 and kept it until 1713.5 When she died she was living in Concord, probably with a daughter. She made her own will, an unusual act for the time, naming all five daughters.6 She died in 1720.

Children of John and Frances:7

Mary, b. 12 mo 1685, d. before 1745, married about 1713 Stephen Ailes.8 In 3rd month 1714 Mary submitted a paper of condemation to the monthly meeting of Chichester and Concord, acknowledging her fault in being with child before marriage and claiming that her mother was “wholly ignorant how it was with me”.9 They lived in Londongrove, Chester County. Stephen left a will, written in November 1755 and proved in June 1758.10 Mary was not named in his will, and must have died before it was written, but the date of her death was apparently not recorded by London Grove Meeting. Both of Stephen’s sons had died before him, and he left the plantation of 200 acres to his grandson William. His daughter-in-law Ann, widow of his son Stephen, was to stay on the plantation to support the grandchildren. The inventory of his estate showed a modest list of furniture, livestock and household goods, with a total value of £86. Children: Hannah, William, Stephen, Mary.

William, b. 11th mo 1686, no further record, probably died before May 1688.

Elizabeth, b. 11th mo 1688 (probably 1688/89), d. 1742, married William Pusey at Middletown Meeting on 5th 9th month 1707.11 William was a miller, probably the nephew of the miller Caleb Pusey, who was prominent in the Quaker meeting and in the government.12 Elizabeth and William lived in West Marlborough, where Elizabeth died in 1742, leaving a will, naming sons John, William, Joshua, daughters Elizabeth, Jane, Mary, Hannah.13

Anne, b. 6th mo 1690, d. bef. Aug 1745, married 1712 William Chandler at Christ Church, son of George and Jane14. William was a shoemaker. They lived in Londongrove, where William wrote his will in 1745. He named his children John, Ann, Thomas, Moses, Mary, William.15 William died the next year. The inventory of his estate included shoemaker’s tools, 37 pounds of leather, plus the house and 100 acres in Londongrove.

Alice, b. 12th mo 1692/3, d. before Nov 1731, married Jacob Pyle in 1713 at Concord Meeting; he died in 1717. He left a will, naming his sons James and Samuel. Alice was the administrator.16 Alice married Moses Mendenhall in 1719 at Concord Meeting. They settled in Kennett, on Brandywine Creek. Moses was a recommended minister, clerk of the meeting, and considered an eminent Friend.17 He died in 1731 and was buried at Kennett burying ground. Children of Jacob and Alice: Samuel, James. Children of Moses and Alice: Alice, Caleb, Phebe, Moses.

Phebe, b. 2nd mo 1697, d. about 1739, m. 1717 Shadrach Scarlett at Concord Meeting.18 They moved to New Garden Meeting, Chester County. He was a prosperous farmer. The inventory of his estate, taken in April 1739, included ten cattle, six horses, 33 sheep and lambs, six swine, plentiful farm tools and household goods.19 1739.] He owned 303 bushels of wheat in the house and mill, probably the grist mill of which he owned half a share. The total value, not including his land, was over £355. Besides the 150 acres in Londongrove where they lived, he also owned 175 acres in Lancaster County. Children: Ann, Nathaniel, Alice, Phebe, Samuel, Shadrach. Phebe probably died before him, since administration on his estate was granted to the son Nathaniel, instead of to her.

  1. John Bowater is often confused with his father John the Quaker minister. They died within a year of each other: the father in London, the son in Westtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The father did not immigrate.
  2. “Nail-making in Bromsgrove”, online at bromsgrovenailmaking.wixsite.com, accessed April 2019.
  3. Stewart Baldwin, “John1 and Thomas1 Bowater and their sister Mary1 (Bowater) Wright”, p. 41, in The American Genealogist, 2000, vol. 75(1), pp. 37-46 and 75(2), pp. 117-123, is the most reliable source for the Quaker Bowater family.
  4. Chester County wills, Book C, p. 10.
  5. Chester County deeds, Book B, p. 205; Book C, p. 436.
  6. Chester County Archives, estate file #123; Chester County wills, Book A1, p. 110.
  7. The births were recorded by Chester Meeting.
  8. They were almost certainly married in a Quaker meeting, but no record has been found.
  9. Concord Meeting Minutes, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 402.
  10. Ancestry, Chester County, Estate Papers 1714-1838, Wills 1659-1790, Images 418-423.
  11. Ancestry, US Quaker Meeting Records, Chester, Chester Monthly Meeting, Certificate of Marriage Records, Image 15. Their certificate was signed by Caleb Pusey, Caleb Pusey Jr, Frances Bowater, Mary Wright (Elizabeth’s aunt), Mary Bowater (her sister), Thomas Bowater (her uncle) and Frances Bowater (her aunt, wife of Thomas). They had declared their intentions the first time, on 7th month 1707 (Chester MM, 1707-1728, image 5) The marriage was reported orderly in 9th month.
  12. Caleb Pusey was an associate of Penn and a leader in Quaker affairs. See the WikiTree entry for William Pusey; also Williamson, “Caleb Pusey and his house”, Bulletin Friends Historical Association, 12(2), 1932, on JSTOR; also Wikipedia entry for Caleb Pusey House. The house is supposedly the second oldest English house still standing in Pennsylvania, where Pusey built a mill on Chester Creek in partnership with Penn and Samuel Carpenter.
  13. Chester Co Estate Papers 753-884, 1700-1810 on Ancestry, image 305. A daughter Lydia died before her mother.
  14. Chandler Families, at: http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mygermanfamilies/Chandler.html
  15. Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records 1683-1993, on Ancestry, Chester County, Estate Papers no. 885-1015, 1700-1810, Images 844-49. It was written in 6th month 1745 and proved 12th month 1746.
  16. Chester County, Estate Papers 1-115, 17109-1810, images 379-387. The witnesses were Shadrach Scarlet (by mark) and Frances Bowater, probably his mother-in-law, although John’s brother Thomas was also married to a woman named Frances at this time (Baldwin, 2000, p. 120)
  17. Records of Kennett Meeting; list of eminent Friends in the records of Bucks County (Anna Watring & F. Edward Wright, Early Church Records of Bucks County, vol. 2, p. 177)
  18. The marriage certificate does not appear in the records of Chester Monthly Meeting.
  19. Chester County, Estate Papers No. 625-752, 1700-1810, images 195-204. There was an inventory, account, and administration papers, but no will. The papers were granted on 26 March 1739, and the inventory was taken on 20th 2nd month [April

John Bowater, Quaker minister

John Bowater was baptized on 25 April 1630 in Bromsgrove, the son of William Bowater, a nail-maker there.1 Bromsgrove was in Worcester, south of Birmingham. Originally a center for cloth manufacture, it was also known for nail-making. It was close to the River Severn, for transport, and close to the River Stour, which was dotted with slitting mills, a water mill for making bars of iron into rods.”2 “Nailmakers would purchase their iron from the nailmasters and sell their nails to nailmasters at set prices, effectively at a piece-rate. The basic technique of nail production did not change much, involving in essence heating iron rods, making a point, half cutting the nail off, fully cutting it and hammering a head. Simple nails might take a few blows and take a matter of seconds to make, while complex nails could involve twelve to twenty blows.”3 Nailmaking was a family occupation. The nailers lived in tiny cottages, with a shed attached for doing the work. They were at the mercy of the nailmasters for their income, and were generally poor. When John’s father William died in 1647, he left his son John a “paier of Bellowes in my shope with all my workinge tooles beelonginge to my trade.”4 Since William owned his own shop, he was a step above the poorest of the nail makers.

John became a Quaker before 1660, when he was put into prison for refusing to take an oath.5 In the town of Worcester the magistrates summoned many known Quakers and required them to swear an oath. Forty-seven of them refused and were sent to prison, including John.6

John traveled to America as a Quaker minister in 1677 and 1678. He visited New England, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, preaching in places along the ways, and wrote a book about his experience, published after his death, called Christian Epistles Travels and Suffering of that Ancient Servant of Christ, John Boweter.7 After his return to England, he was put in Worcester Gaol for failing to pay tithes. He was later transferred to Fleet Prison in London.8

John’s first wife, Ann, died in 1679, leaving him with three grown sons, John, Thomas and William.9

After his release from Fleet Prison, he married Mary Maunder of London under the jurisdiction of Devonshire House Monthly Meeting.10 They had children, Jonathan and Mary. They may have remained in London, since the death of their son Jonathan was recorded there as well as their own deaths. It is not recorded how John made his living in London. Quakers did not pay their ministers, looking down on “hireling priests”. John died in 11th month (January) 1704/05 and was buried at Friends Burying Ground near White Chapel. Mary died the next month, from a fever. They were living on Westbury Street, Spittlefields, now known as Quaker Street.11

Children of John and Ann:

John, bapt. 8 August 1652, d. summer 1705. Like his father and grandfather before him, he was a nail-maker. He married in 1683 Frances Corbett, daughter of William Corbett of Sedgley, Staffordshire, also a nail-maker.12 They were married at Chadwick Monthly Meeting, Worcester.13 The next year they immigrated to Pennsylvania and presented a certificate to Philadelphia Meeting. They moved to Chester County, where John was an active member. They had seven children, all born in Pennsylvania except the first. John left a will naming Frances and five living daughters. Frances lived until 1721. She also left a will. Children: Anne (died young), Mary, William, Elizabeth, Anne, Alice, Phebe.

Thomas, born February 1654/55, died after November 1734, m. Sarah Edge in 1686. Thomas immigrated in September 1683 on the Bristol Comfort as an indentured servant to Frances Fincher from Worcester. After his indenture was over he married Sarah Edge, and after her death married in 1702 Frances Barnard, widow of Richard Barnard.14 Thomas and Frances lived at first in Concord, Chester County, later moved to New Garden Meeting, then to Haverford.15 The dates of their deaths were not recorded, but Thomas was still alive in 1734 when he signed a marriage certificate. Children (with Sarah): Sarah, Thomas.

William, d. 13 Oct 1697 in England, m. (?) Sarah.16 He signed the wedding certificate of John and Frances as a close relative, so he was probably a brother of John and Thomas. He stayed around Bromsgrove, and his death was recorded at Warwick North Meeting.17 Children: John Samuel.

Children of John and Mary:

Jonathan, b. July 1687, d. 1688, age  7 months.

Mary, b. Feb 1688/89, d. before March 1734 in Virginia, m. James Wright.18 Mary immigrated in 1705, just after the death of her parents. She was just sixteen. She married James a few years later. James and Mary lived in Nottingham, Chester County, then moved to Monocacy, Frederick County, Maryland, where they were members of Hopewell Meeting.19 Around 1735 they moved to Orange County, Virginia, where in 1755, when the French incited the Indians of the Shendanoah region, James and Mary were “driven from their habitation” and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting took up a collection for them.20 James died in 1760, leaving a will naming his wife and children.21 In an unusual clause, James added that “I would have no appraisement upon my goods.”22 Mary died in 1764, and named the same children. Children: Mary, Hannah, Martha, Elizabeth, John, James, Thomas, Isaac, Ann, Sarah, Lydia.23

  1. John Bowater the Quaker minister is often confused with his son John, also a Quaker. They died within a year of each other: the father in London, the son in Westtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The father did not immigrate. (See the discussion at https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bowater-5, accessed April 2019.)
  2. “Nail-making in Bromsgrove”, online at bromsgrovenailmaking.wixsite.com, accessed April 2019.
  3. “Bromsgrove”, Wikipedia, citing Bygone Bromsgrove.
  4. Stewart Baldwin, “John1 and Thomas1 Bowater and their sister Mary1 (Bowater) Wright”, p. 41, in The American Genealogist, 2000, vol. 75(1), pp. 37-46 and 75(2), pp. 117-123. This is the most reliable source for the Quaker Bowater family.
  5. Baldwin.
  6. Roger Heacock, The ancestors of Charles Clement Heacock, 1851-1914, online at www.kennyheacock.com/writings/ccheacock.doc. This genealogy, better written than many, includes other Chester County families such as Pyle, Sharpless, Pennock and Mendenhall. It does, however, confuse John Bowater the preacher with his son John. (Heacock, p. 78)
  7. Heacock, Baldwin, 2000. Note that the name can be found as Bowyter, Boweter, Boeter, Bowitter, Bowetter, etc. Baldwin says the name must have been pronounced as Bow’-e-ter, not Bo’-water.
  8. Baldwin, 2000, p. 45, citing Joseph Besse, Sufferings of the People Called Quakers, 1753, vol. 2, p. 76.
  9. Baldwin, 2000. He lists William as possible, based on William’s signing of the marriage certificate of John (the son) in 1683, but I find this evidence persuasive enough to list him as a child. Ann’s last name is unknown. When the son John was baptized in 1652, John and Ann were living in Catshill, a hamlet two miles north of Bromsgrove. (The parish record of baptism, cited in Baldwin)
  10. Baldwin, 2000, p. 45.
  11. History of Spitalfields, online at: http://www.spitalfieldsforum.org.uk/history, accessed April 2019. The origin of the name is not clear.
  12. Baldwin, 2000, p. 117.
  13. Chadwick was eleven miles southwest of Bromsgrove, a comfortable ride on horseback. Sedgley was further north; how did John meet Frances?
  14. Baldwin, 2000, p. 120. A Findagrave entry for Frances Lambe Barnard Bowater claims that Frances did not marry Thomas, based on an erroneous date of death for him. He was still alive in 1720 when they received a certificate for New Garden Meeting.
  15. Some sources confuse New Garden Meeting, Chester County, with New Garden Meeting, North Carolina. There is no evidence that they ever moved out of Pennsylvania.
  16. There is no birth record for him that would show conclusively that he was a son of John and Ann. However he signed the marriage certificate of John Bowater and Frances Corbett in 1683 as a close relative, right after Thomas Bowater, John’s known brother. Baldwin lists him as a probable child of John and Ann, and there is no other known William in the family who would be at the wedding. (Baldwin, 2000, p. 46)
  17. Baldwin, 2000, p. 46. Warwickshire is just east of Worcestershire. The range covered by Warwick North Monthly Meeting would include Bromsgrove. See the detail map at: https://theironroom.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/a-lesson-in-good-record-keeping-from-the-quakers/.
  18. Some researchers claim that James Wright married Mary Davis. This error apparently started with Walter Farmer’s 1987 book In America Since 1607. He gave a date for Mary’s birth that does not match the birth date for her in Hopewell Meeting Records. (See the WikiTree page for Mary (Bowater) Wright (1789-1764)). The marriage to Mary Bowater has been proven by Stewart Baldwin using evidence from English and American Quaker records, especially the witnesses who signed as close family at the marriages of the children of James and Mary. (Stewart Baldwin, “Quaker Marriage Certificates: Using Witness Lists in Genealogical Research”, TAG, vol. 72, 1997, pp. 225-43. A researcher who argues for Mary Davis as the wife of James Wright published her argument on the Findagrave entry for Stephen Ailes. She correctly noted that there were two men named John Bowater, father and son, but confused the Mary Bowater born to each of them. She produces as evidence the 1726 will of John Beals, which named a kinswoman Mary Davis of Philadelphia, but by 1726 James Wright had been married for almost twenty years. His wife would not have been named by anyone with her maiden name. She also failed to grasp Quaker marriage culture, arguing that James Wright would attended some Bowater marriages as a traveling minister, which was not typical for the time. (Findagrave ID# 116561689 for Stephen Ailes). See the marriage certificates for Hannah Wright and Mary Wright, daughters of James and Mary, on Ancestry, New Garden Monthly Meeting, Marriage Records 1704-1765, Image 57 and image 65, where the witnesses included many Bowaters and no Davis. The Findagrave entry for Mary Bowater Wright (ID# 32113214) gives the correct parentage for Mary, provides the text of her will, and lists her ten children. Other careful researchers such as Martha Grundy support the Bowater identification. Grundy provides details of the lives of James and Mary in their Quaker community. (her website at: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~paxson/griffith/Wright.html, accessed April 2019)
  19. Baldwin, 2000, p. 121.
  20. Grundy web page on James Wright.
  21. His will was written in 1751, proved in Frederick County, Virginia in 1760.
  22. Without an inventory his executors would not have to produce a balanced account of their credit and debits.
  23. The daughter Martha married John Mendenhall Jr and was noted as an “able minister of the Gospel”. (Grundy)

John and Lydia Goforth

John Goforth was born in Yorkshire about 1667, the son of William Goforth and Ann Skipton.1 His parents were convinced Quakers, who were married in 1662 in a meeting at Elloughton, East Riding of Yorkshire. They immigrated in 1677 to West Jersey with their five sons, including John, and lived at first in Burlington, New Jersey. William died in March 1678, six months after their arrival. Ann soon married William Oxley and had a daughter Honora with him. They moved to Chester County, Pennsylvania. John was not yet of age then, and would have grown up with his mother, stepfather, and two stepbrothers and a stepsister. William Oxley died in 1717 and Ann died in 1723. After that the Goforth sons—John, George, William, Miles and Zachariah—scattered. George stayed in New Jersey, where he died in 1732. In his will he left land to his son, but if the son did not arrive to claim it, it was to go to his brother John. William lived near Easton, Maryland, but moved to Red Lion Hundred, New Castle County before his death in 1748. Miles moved to Kent County, Delaware and died there before 1734. Zachariah also died in Kent County, in 1736.

John moved to Red Lion Hundred, where he was a tanner and miller. He owned a sawmill on Christiana Creek, but worked as a tanner2. He bought land in St. Georges Hundred in 1725, and another tract in 1728, on the road to Bohemia Manor.3 He was supposed to have a wife Hannah who died in 1721.4 At some point he married a woman named Lydia. John had five known children, named in his will.5

John and Lydia were not Quakers. In 1740 they were both baptized at Welsh Tract Baptist Meeting in Pencader, just west of Red Lion Hundred.6 John died in 1750. In his will he left land and the sawmill to John, land to William, and money to the three daughters, following the typical pattern of the time. He hoped to keep the land in the family, and left it entailed, to the heirs of his sons. 7

Children of John:8

William, the eldest son. He married twice. He married before 20 July 1742, Ann, daughter of Andrew Anderson.9  By 1756 he was married to a woman named Mary. William and Mary bought and sold several pieces of land, including some of the land he had inherited from his father John. John had left the land entailed, to William “and the heirs of his body lawfully begotten for ever”. William had to go through a process of Common Recovery in order to own the land in fee simple, so that he could sell some of it.10 The last reference to William and Mary is in 1767 when they sold a tract on the Kings Road and another near the Black Bridge.11

John, alive in 1750. He may have lived in Bucks County for a time, possibly as an apprentice to learn the sawmill trade. In October 1747 a John Goforth was accused in Bucks County of fornication and bastardy with Rebecca Kelly. William Groom, father of Thomas Groom, stood surety for John.12 In 1750 John inherited a saw mill on Christiana Creek with its “great saw and timber wheels”, and the adjoining land, partly in Pencader Hundred and part in White Clay Hundred. He was to inherit the silver watch and some of his father’s apparel. A marriage or probate record has not been found for him.

Elizabeth, married a Cochran before 1750, possibly the James Cochran, mariner, who gave power of attorney to his wife Elizabeth in 1783.13

Margaret, married a Cannon before 1750.14 “The Cannons were a prominent family who came to [St Georges Hundred] in 1724.15 She might have been the wife of Isaac Cannon, who was living near the Dragon Swamp in 1742.16

Lydia, m. 1750 Thomas Groom of Bucks County, son of William and Margaret. They lived in Southampton where Thomas owned a mill. They were often in debt and in 1785 they lost the mill property in a sheriff’s sale.17 After that they lived on a property leased from their son Thomas. Children: Thomas, John, William.

 

  1. George Tuttle Goforth, Goforth Genealogy, 1981, 1988.
  2. He described himself as a tanner in his will.
  3. New Castle County land records 1715-1728, deeds of 20 Aug 1725 and 22 Nov 1728.
  4. Goforth Genealogy.
  5. Since there are no marriage or birth records for this family, it is difficult to know which mothers bore the children. The relatively uncommon name of Lydia surely means that Lydia was the daughter of Lydia.
  6. Church Records of New Castle County, vol. 1.
  7. Ancestry, Delaware Wills and Probate Records 1676-1971, New Castle Register of Wills Glasgow-Goldsborough, image 632.
  8. Since John’s brother William also lived in Red Lion Hundred, it can be difficult to untangle the records of his life and his children from John’s children.
  9. F. Edward Wright, New Castle County, Delaware, Marriage References & Family Relationships, 1680-1800.
  10. Delaware Land Records 1677-1947, New Castle, on Ancestry, Roll 8, p. 172; Roll 7, p. 362. Other land transactions of William and Mary at: Roll 5, p. 235; Roll 6, p. 548; Roll 7, p. 348, p. 454, p. 497.
  11. Delaware Land Records, Roll 8, p. 309.
  12. Bucks County Criminal Papers, #458, Spruance Library, Doylestown. This is an unlikely scenario, since Bucks County is 70 miles north of Red Lion Hundred. However, there is no question about the identity of the Thomas Groom who married Lydia Goforth in May 1750, and a relation between William Groom and the Goforth family would explain how Thomas and Lydia met.
  13. Delaware Land Records 1677-1947, New Castle, roll 11, image 707-08.
  14. Not Andrew Cannon, who was married to Veronica Gooding. (Delaware Land Records, Roll 6, p. 634).
  15. J. Thomas Scharf, History of Delaware, 1609-1888.
  16. Delaware Land Records, Roll 4, p. 389. Delaware Wills and Probate, on Ancestry, New Castle, Register of wills, Cann, Eliza-Cantrill, Samuel, Image 647-648, has his inventory but no will.
  17. Bucks County deeds, vol. 31A, p. 457.