Saturday Night Entertainment

I love this picture of Beverly Sue Hill (1942 - 2014) who's my fourth cousin, once removed.*

[Beverly Hill (Hutchings)(Eick) posted to his Ancestry family tree by Kent_Hutchings)

You can read her obituary here.



*Last week I posted several portraits of her parents Ethel Imogene Nash and John Washington Hill.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Ethel Imogene Nash & John Washington Hill

I've found two portraits of Ethel, one of my distant Moore/Matthews cousins)* and her husband John posted by a grandson of the couple who were married in the mid-1930s. As far as I can tell, they always lived in Christian County, Illinois.

["Grandpa Johnny and Grandma Ethel" posted to his Ancestry.com family tree by Kent_Hutchings]

["Grandpa Johnny and Grandma Ethel" posted to his Ancestry.com family tree by Kent_Hutchings]

Here's how we're related:

[Ancestry.com]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Richard Richardson & Margaret Coale Get Married in 1730

As a result of the realization that enough attention hasn't been paid to my ancestors from the Mid-Atlantic states, I've been looking into my maternal Tomlinson upline in Maryland which includes my 5X great grandfather Jesse Tomlinson's wife Milcah Richardson. And I found the Quaker marriage record from West River* for Milcah's parents Richard Richardson and Margaret Coale.

Maryland
                            Whereas Richard Richardson
Son of W"m Richardson and Marg"tt his Wife, 
and Marg"tt Coale Daughter of W"m Coale and Eliz"a his
Wife, Deceased, both of Ann arundel County in
the Province Afs"d Having publickly declared
their Intentions of Marriage with each other
in two Several monthly Meatings of the people
called Quakers which after Just deliberation
thereon no Impedement being found to their
Said Intentions they were approved of by the
Said Meatings and Left to their liberty to
Appoint Convenient time and place for the
Consumation thereof ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now these are therefore to Certifie whome it
may Concern, that on the twenty sixth day of
the third month Commonly Called May, Anno
one thousand Seven hundred and thirty____
Appeared the Afore Said Richd Richardson and
Marg"tt Coale, at the publick Meating house of
the people Called Quakers at West River in the
County afs"d and in a free and open Assembly
of the Said people and others there meet together
did take Each other in Marriage mutually and
Solemnly, promising in the presence of God
and the Afsd Assembly true and faithful fidelity
Each to other as Husband and Wife till Death
Should Seperate, and as a further Confirmation
thereof they the Said Rich"d and Marg"tt She
according to the Custome of marriage assuming
the Name of her Husband have hereunto
Subscribed their names and wee who were
present at the above Said Solemnization
as Wittnesses thereto the day and
year above Said

[Ancestry.com. U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Swarthmore, Quaker Meeting Records. Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes. Hege Friends Historical Library, Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina.Indiana Yearly Meeting Minutes. Earlham College Friends Collection & College Archives, Richmond, Indiana.Haverford, Quaker Meeting Records. Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania.]

Ann Thomas                                   Natn Rigbie                               
Margaret Thomas                           Casandra Rigbie                      Rich Richardson[?]
Elizabeth Galloway                        Gerrard Hopkins                     Wm Richardson
Anna Thomas                                 Margaret Hopkins                   Margaret Richardson
Eliza Richardson                            Solomon Sparrow                    Richard Galloway
Mary Galloway                              Sarah Coale                              Joseph Richardson Junr  
Samuel Galloway                           Rebecca Richardson                Thomas Richardson
Ann Galloway                                Henery Child                           Sarah Galloway
Samuel Smith                                 Elizabeth Galloway Junr         William Coale
Philip Hopkins                               Elizabeth Wooden                    Daniel Richardson
Joseph Yates                                  Hannah Foard                           Richard Galloway Junr
J Richardson Junr                          Mary Richardson                      Joseph Richardson
John Coulston                               Mary Thomas                            Joseph Hill
Sophia Galloway                          Allridge Frankling                     Sarah Hill
James Elderton                             Peter Galloway                         Nathan Richardson
                                                      Joseph Cowman                       W"m Richardson



Richard Richardson's parents' marriage record from 1689 also survives and I'll be sharing it next time.


*Here's a 19th century description of location of the West River Meeting House:

[The early Friends (or Quakers) in Maryland (1862) by Norris, J. Saurin (John Saurin), 1813-1882
Source: The Internet Archive]



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: Thomas Ward - Bertie County, North Carolina, 1796

At the end of my Monday post about his second wife, Pheraby Sowell, I promised to look into her husband Thomas Ward's will which he made in March of 1795.* Although he described himself as "being sick and weake in body" at the time it wasn't presented in Bertie County probate court until the November court term of 1796. It's clear from its provisions that Thomas was a wealthy man who was able to bequeath land, slaves, livestock and beds and furniture to his surviving family members.

I have transcribed the parts of the will that mention Pheraby in red.

In the name of God amen (March fourteenth year of
our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety five)
I Thomas Ward of Bertie County and state of North
Carolina being sick and weake but of sound of body
but of sound and disposing mind and memory thanks
be unto God for the same and calling to mind the
uncertainty of this mortal life and knowing it is
appointed once for all men to die, do make and or-
dain this my last will and Testament in manner and
form ^as^ followith ----
Item First  I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife
Pheraby Ward one negro woman named Sufia half
of my hogs three cows and calves four ewes and lambs
one horse called Springer one bridle & saddle one bed and
furniture to dispose of as she shall or may think proper
I also lend my beloved wife two negroes one negro man
named Black Dave one Girl named Hester all my
plantation utensils and Kitchen furniture that I have

not given away to the several Legatees in their legacies
during her natural life with the uses of my houses &
plantation I now live
Item  I give and bequeath unto my daughter Winiford
Holley one negro woman Pegg and her increase one bed
and furniture one large Iron pott two cows and calves which
said property is now in her possession. I say to her and her heirs
forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my son Michael Ward
one negro boy named Simon one Stear one bed and furni-
ture all which is now in his possession Except the negro boy
I say to him and his heirs forever I likewise lind my son
Michael Ward the plantation whereon he now lives his na-
tural life and after his death I give and desire the said
land and plantation unto my Grandson William Ward
son of the said Michael Ward I say to him and his heirs
forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my son James Ward four
hundred acres of land whereon he now lives one negro boy
Go one bed and furniture one Gun one cow & calf which
is now in his possession I say to him and his heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my son Isaac Hill Ward
one Negroe boy named Charles one bed and furniture
two cows and calves to him and his heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my son Joshua Ward the
Land plantation whereon I now live with all my 
Land adjoining thereto two negroes (to wit) Yellow

David and one boy named James one bed & furniture
one paid of Grist Mill Stones one paid of hand mill stones
one whipsaw one croscut saw one yoke of oxen cart
and wheels & one brandy Still I say to him and his heirs
forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my daughter Mary
Garrett one negro girl named Jumima to her and
her heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my Daughter Martha
Luten one negro girl named Rose one bed ^and^ furniture
one Linnen wheel two cows and calves four head of 
Sheep all which she hath now possession of and one
walnut desk I say to her and her heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my daughter Pheraby
Sparkman one negroe boy named Daniel one bed
and furniture on linnen wheel two cows & calves and
one looking Glass all of which she hath heretofore received
I say to her and her heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my daughter Elizabeth
Ward one negro woman named Lidia and her child
named Rachel one bed and furniture one Linnen 
wheel two cows and calves two ewes and Lambs
I say to her and her heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my daughter Ann Outlaw a
Negroe woman named Dinah one bed and furniture 
one Linnen wheel two cows and calves which she hath
heretofore received and two ewes and Lambs I say to her & to her

heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my daughter Elendar
Ward one Negroe man Black David one Negroe Girl
named Hester after the death of my beloved wife
Pheraby Ward likewise on bed and furniture one Linnen
wheel two cows & calves two ewes and Lambs - I say
to her and her heirs forever I also will and desire that
the house before mentioned in my beloved wife's Legacy
shall be given & I do hereby give and bequeath them
to my said Daughter Elendar Ward (after the decease of
my beloved wife to her and her heirs forever ----
Item  I hereby inpower and direct my Executors to make
a good and lawfull Rite and Title To Jeremiah Freeman
for a certain messuage or tenement track or parcel
of Land which I now hold under entry which land Jno.
Freeman dec'd bought of Michael Brittain the said Jere
miah Freeman paying to them the cost and Expense
of saving the same ----
Item  I will and desire that all my just debts and
funeral charges be paid and discharged and that
the remainding part of my Estate that hath not
before been mentioned be sold and my Just
debts funeral charges & be paid & discharged out
of the money arising therefrom and that the 
remainding part be equally divided amongst
my six children Joshua Ward  Martha Luten  Pheraby
Sparkman  Elizabeth Ward  Ann Outlaw  Elendar

Ward ----
Item  Lastly I constitute and appoint my friend
Solomon Cherry and my three sons Isaac H. Ward  James
Ward and Joshua Ward Executors to this my last will
and Testament and I do hereby Revoke disallow and
make void all my former wills and Testaments heretofore
by me made and ratifying this and no other to be my
last will and Testament
Signed Sealed & Delivered }          Thos. Ward
in the presence of . . . .        }
Gen Wm. Watford
Jona. Spivey
Jno. Campbell

State of No. Carolina     }    Nover. Term 1796 ----
     Bertie County           }   The last will and Testament
of Thomas Ward dec'd. was proved in open Court
by the Oaths of Wm. Watford & Jonathan Spivey
two of the subscribing witnesses and ordered to be
recorded ----                                     George Grayble



Next week I'll look at Pheraby's probate records from 1813.

Thomas and Pheraby/Feriby are the great grandparents of my great great grandmother Martha Heath Hardy, the wife of J.T.S. Warren.



*Actually I got it wrong, confusing him with another ancestor, who died five years after making the will presented in probate. (I've corrected the original post.)


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Elizabeth Jordan (About 1787 - 1865)

When Elizabeth Jordan became the second wife of Josiah Freeman in 1814,* she was marrying a man nearly twice her age and half of his children by his first wife were already adults. In their ten years of marriage she would give him six more children, including my paternal great great grandfather Henry Hill Freeman (1815-1887).

[The State of Georgia, Carey's General Atlas, Improved And Enlarged; Being A Collection Of Maps Of The World And Quarters, Their Principal Empires, Kingdoms, &c. ... Philadelphia: Published By M. Carey. 1814. David Rumsey Collection]

When Josiah came to write his will in August of 1824 in Jasper County, Georgia, his first thought was to provide for "the children of my last wife" so he bequeathed the "Land & Plantation, whereon I now live, with Two Negroes viz, a Negro man, named Hard & a negro Girl, named Matilda, the above property to be kept together, for the Support of the Children & my wife during her widowhood." To that end Josiah gave an extensive list of the livestock (by name) and farm and household goods to be included in his bequest.**

[Ancestry.com. Georgia, Wills and Probate Records, 1742-1992 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: 

Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Georgia County, District and Probate Courts.]

Elizabeth never remarried as we can see from succeeding U.S. Census records from Jasper County.

In 1830 she was named as Executrix of Josiah Freeman dec'd.

[1830; Census Place: Regiment 38 and 30, Jasper, Georgia; Series: M19; Roll: 18; Page: 386; Family History Library Film: 0007038. Ancestry.com]

By 1840 Elizabeth was Head of Household in her own right.

[Year: 1840; Census Place: Davidson's District 290, Jasper, Georgia; Roll: 44; Page: 78; Image: 162;

Family History Library Film: 0007045; Ancestry.com]

The 1850 U.S. Census is the first one that asked where the person was born, and her answer was Georgia. Her name was the last one on the page but the following page shows that her youngest son Isaac, a farmer aged 24, and 19-year old Jefferson Hunt, also a farmer, are living with her, along with the ten enslaved persons listed on the Slave Schedule.

[Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1850. M432, 1,009 rolls.]

The final record we have for Elizabeth is in the 1860 U.S. Census. The $5,000 listed as her personal estate is almost certainly her human property, but I didn't find her name in the Slave Schedules for that census.***

[Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.]

We have so few records for this paternal great great great grandmother, related to me through my father's lineage. The names of her parents are uncertain, although her father may have been a William Jordan from Albermarle County, Virginia, (1747-1803) and that there may be a connection with the Hill family is suggested by my ancestor Henry Hill Freeman.There's a date of June 4, 1865 for her death, but that is unsupported by any evidence. We don't know where she's buried.


*Probably in Clarke County, Georgia.
**The second page of his will makes provision for his children by his first wife.
***Perhaps she had rented them out, a common practice.



© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.