Who's Your Grammie?

I have been writing about the grandmothers in our family tree since August of 2012. Beginning with "A is for Anna" each entry introduced you to a different grandmother. Telling the Grandmother stories was a fun way to share my research with family and friends. Now I am looking at our Revolutionary War ancestors, their service records, the story of their families and of course the stories of their wives, our grandmothers. After all, "Who's Your Grammie?" is about our grandmothers!

Monday, November 30, 2015

Elias Shull (1755-1838)

Elias Shull was a member of various militia companies during the Revolution. The DAR has a record for him as Ancestor #: A100951. There is also a Sons of the American Revolution record, Membership:62393. He was a private in the company of Capt. Shoop or Shupe, Nockamixon Twp., Bucks Co., Pa, in 1781 when he took part in the Battle of Trenton, NJ. He also served as a private in the company of Capt. Manus Yost, of Haycock Township, Bucks Co., Pa. Militia, 1781.

It was known that he was in service with the Bucks Co. militia at one of the lower points on the Delaware, at the time of the taking of Trenton, by General Washington, on Christmas night, 1776. However, there are no existing muster rolls to show this service.

It is also well documented from accounts given by Elias personally to persons who knew him that he was at the Battle of Crooked Billet on May 1, 1778, a surprise attack staged by a detachment of British Loyalists from Philadelphia, against several militia companies from Bucks and Cumberland Counties, commanded by General John Lacey. The Americans suffered heavy loses.

Elias owned farms at various times both in Tinicum and Buckingham Twps. in Bucks Co., Pa. In 1800, after the Revolutionary War, he decided to sell his land and migrate to Ontario, Canada, where many families of his neighborhood had already located. Having sold his lands, Elias loaded up and started the long journey, but when he reached Easton he heard reports of serious Indian outbreaks. This gave him pause for thought and upon reconsideration he abandoned the plan and instead bought land in Lower Mt. Bethel. Here he remained the rest of his life. He engaged in farming, opperated a tavern, and was the first carpenter and joiner in Lower Mt. Bethel. It was said that during his life he made at least five hundred coffins. At his death he was the largest land owner in Lower Mt. Bethel Twp.

Elias was born in L. Milford Twp., Bucks Co., Pennsylvania on February 3, 1755, and died in L. Mt. Bethel Twp., Northampton Co., Pennsylvania on May 3,1838. His first wife was Catherine Kruger, daughter of Nicholas and Charity Kruger, Jr. Catherine died following the birth of Peter on March 6, 1793. She was also the mother of Anna Catherine, born July18, 1781; Philip, born July 2, 1784; Elias, born November 27, 1786; and Maria Sarah, born October 9, 1789. With a big family like that and an infant who needed tending to Elias immediately married the widow of John Schuman, Charity Gertrant Kruger Schuman. She who was the daughter of Nicholas Kruger, Sr., which meant that Elias married the half aunt of his first wife! And he wasted no time producing a couple of more children. Elias and Charity were the parents of Elizabeth, born April 23, 1794, and Mary, born June 18, 1796. The second Mrs Scholl, died on August 14, 1839 and is buried with Elias at Three Church Hill Cemetery in Lower Mt. Bethel.

FindAGrave Memorial# 145933679

FindAGrave Memorial #146333838

His grave is marked with and American flag to pay homage to his service in the Revolutionary War. The family tree of Lillie Mae Deats Good, the great grandmother of Ron Smith, is ripe with veterans of the Revolutionary War. She is the great, great granddaughter of Elias Shull, John Deats, James Ross, Joseph Fox and the Third great granddaughter of Thomas Ross. I wonder how often the family took time to remember the service of these men and the legacy that they left us.

Sources:

Humphrey, John T., Pennsylvania Births, Bucks County, Gateway Press, Baltimore, MD 21202
Records of Keller's Lutheran Church, Bedminster Twp., Bucks Co., Pa, 1751-1798
Scholl, Sholl, Shull Genealogy: The Colonial Branches, John William Scholl, 1930
http://www.findagrave.com. Photo taken by Carol A. Hoff
National Society, Sons of the American Revolution, https://www.sar.org
Daughters of the American Revolution, http://www.dar.org
William J. Heller, History of Northampton County (Pennsylvania) and the Grand Valley of the Lehigh. New York: American Historical Society, 1920.
PA Archives, Third Series, Vol. VI page 135

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GENEALOGY IS A WORK OF HEART Your comments and suggestions are appreciated. It is with pleasure that I am able to present this information here for you to see. If you discover a relationship here, I would very much enjoy hearing from you.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

My Mayflower Connections

What would Thanksgiving be if we didn't take time to remember the Pilgrims who hopped aboard that little sailing ship in 1620 to venture across the sea and take up residence at Plymouth Rock? On this Thanksgiving Day, I want to recognize 5 of those who were on the Mayflower and from whom I have direct lines of descent.


"The Rescue of John Howland"

My grandmother Zilpha Estep Hughes was extremely proud to be descended from John Howland. He was a single young man about the age of 21, traveling as the servant to Governor John Carver. During the Mayflower's voyage, John fell overboard during a storm, and was almost lost at sea, but lucky for him, he was able to grab hold of the topsail halyards and others yanked him back aboard with a boat-hook. Glad you were a strong swimmer and got back on that ship John, because after all these years I can say, I owe my life to you!

But I won't stop there with debts of gratitude to those adventurous Pilgrims. There was a wee girl by the name of Elizabeth Tilly on board also. She was about 13 or so years old and traveled with her parents John and Joan Tilley. Unfortunately John and Joan were among those who died the first winter at Plymouth. That left 13-year old daughter Elizabeth an orphan! Imagine that! Striking out to an unknown place and then your parents die all too soon!

"The First Thanksgiving" (1915), by Jean Louis Gerome Ferris

John Howland and Elizabeth Tilly married and raised a family of 10 children, Desire, John, Hope, Elizabeth, Lydia, Hannah, Joseph, Jabez, Ruth, and Isaac. Their daughter Hope married John Chipman about 1647 and had twelve children. Then we get a whole lot of begats and begottens until it comes down the line to Sarah Angeline Chauncey Scott, my great great grandmother. Awesome!

Elizabeth Tilly Howland lived to the age of 80, a long life in the New World. John lived to be about the age of 72. They must have been folks of strong constitution to survive the voyage to the New World, that harsh first winter and the hardships of building a life in a foreign land.

Now there is one more Mayflower passenger I owe a bit of homage to. That would be George Soule. Like John Howland, George also traveled on the Mayflower as a servant. He, to Edward Winslow and family. George distinguished himself in the town of Duxbury, building the community and serving on various committees; of note the committee formed to address the problem of smoking tobacco. A line of descent from him transpired through the Ayers family who finally reached Lower Mount Bethel twp. in Northampton Co., Pa. where Jane Ayers married Henry Rasley. They were the great grand parents of my mother, Lois McEwen Hughes. George Soule also enjoyed a long life living in the New World. He died at the age of 80.

Edward Tilly, John Howland and George Soule all signed the Mayflower Compact. Happy Thanksgiving to these Pilgrims!

Sources:

http://mayflowerhistory.com, 1994-2015, MayflowerHistory.com
Pilgrim Overboard—The Rescue of John Howland , painting by Mike Haywood
Saints and Strangers, George F. Willison, Reynal and Hitchcock, New York, 1945
Family records of Cynthia Hughes Smith

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Friday, November 13, 2015

James Estep (1818-1901) Immigrant from Wales

James Estep, with determination and fortitude, at the age of 40, decided to bring his young family to the United States of America in 1858. They came to share in the prosperity living here would bring to them. The Estep family represents the most recent immigrant ancestors in our family tree. James and Elizabeth Pritchard Estep, together with their children and others, set sail from Cardiff, Wales. Ten years after arriving James filed his Declaration of Intent for citizenship in the United States of America.

I have searched for a ships record that would document their passage, but have not been able to find one (if someone knows of such, please let me know). (Please see The Sparkling Wave, new information telling the story of their voyage to America) Before, I had to rely on the oral history passed down via my grandmother, Zilpha Estep, who was the daughter of Charles, son of James and Elizabeth Estep. The story was told that it was an arduous journey of six weeks, lasting far longer than the three weeks they had expected due to bad weather. While rations had been provided by the shipping company for the normal length of travel, James had to use his reserved funds to buy food for his family during the extra days at sea. There were 6 children: Sarah, who was about 10 years old; Lewis, who would have been about 8; Ann and John who were about 5; William, about 3 years old and the baby, James II, born in 1857. They were a lot of mouths to feed and preparing meals for the family fell to Elizabeth. Passengers in steerage were expected to prepare their own meals with the food provided which included bread, biscuits, potatoes and water. And that much of the story may have been true, but I discovered in 2017 that the Estep family arrived at the port in New York City aboard The Sparkling Wave, on October 29, 1857.

When their ship finally landed in New York it was necessary for them to travel to Bloomsburg where they were to connect with friends and family already settled there. Not having enough money left to purchase tickets for everyone, the men put their wives and children on board the train for Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania while they set out to walk the distance from Philadelphia to Bloomsburg. It is said that Elizabeth Pritchard Estep had family in the Bloomsburg area. James and his family lived in the Bloomsburg area until 1869, during which time he worker as a coal miner.

Several more children were born during the time James and Elizabeth lived in Bloomsburg. David was born March 2, 1859, Rebecca in 1861, George in 1863, Charles in 1865 and Elizabeth in April of 1867. Before they left Bloomsburg, James had filed his Declaration of Intent for citizenship in the United States of America on September 7, 1868 at the Columbia County Courthouse in Bloomsburg.

The family left the Bloomsburg area in 1869 to move to Covert, Pennsylvania, an area also known as Armenia Mountain, outside of Troy, Pennsylvania in Bradford County. James and his sons were all working in the coal mines now, but James also was able to buy land and operate a farm. It wasn't until August 8, 1872 that James was finally granted his citizenship papers in the Court of Common Pleas in Tioga Co., PA.

One more child came to be a part of the family through adoption. She was Martha, born in 1878 and listed on the Census record in 1880. That is little Martha in this picture with James and Elizabeth and daughter Elizabeth. Since Lizzie got married in 1888 and Martha looks to be about 6, I would say this picture was taken around 1884.

James Estep was born in Wales on May 5, 1818. His wife Elizabeth Pritchard was born, August 16,1822, also in Wales. They were married November 2, 1845, in Llanover (Llanvoyer) Breconshire, Wales. He was an Iron Ore Miner in the County of Breconshire, Wales. James and Elizabeth Estep are now buried in Arbon Cemetery in Blossburg. In October of 1993, Lucille Henderson told me that the graves had been moved from the cemetery at Covert where they were first interred to the Arbon Cemetery so that perpetual care could be provided.

The Wellsboro Agitator, Aug. 21, 1901

The tombstone gives these dates.
James Estep
May 12, 1818 - Aug. 3, 1901
Elizabeth, his wife
Aug. 10, 1826 - ( no death date engraved )
It should be noted that there are several discrepancies concerning the birth and death dates of these two ancestors.

I want express my gratitude to so many people who helped me research the Estep family. I have compiled this narrative from notes written by my grandmother, Zilpha Estep Hughes Lawrence, and from interviews with her sisters, Angie Estep Loomis and Wilma Jane Estep Ferris, granddaughters of James and Elizabeth Estep. Lucille Loomis Henderson, the first born great-granddaughter of James and Elizabeth Estep, was of invaluable assistance. Also contributing a great deal information on the James Estep I family was Roy Estep on Mansfield, Pennsylvania. They all loved history and genealogy, but most of all they loved to share their information with me. It was a joy to have known them all.

Don't forget to follow the links on this page to other posts about members of the Estep Family and see this new page listing the descendants of James and Elizabeth Estep.

Sources:

• Personal family history records of Cynthia H. Smith, Mt. Bethel, Pennsylvania

• https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939V-5P92-9?/cc=1849782&wc=MX62-XZS%3A165789901 : 21May 2014

• New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891, database with images, FamilySearch, 180-23 Oct 1857-24 Nov 1857>image 162 of 640; citing NARA microfilm publication M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~chsmith/estepfamhist.html

Send email to chsmith47@yahoo.com

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