Walloons, the Inquistion and Murdered in an 'Indian Raid' - Visiting our Mainje and Alberti Heritage

A bit of an exciting update today. We've been looking at the Vandergrifts.  Let's take it back a bit further.

(remember, you can click on a picture to see a larger version)

And, specifically, let's look Jan Mainje, his wife Martha Chambert, their daughter Judith and her husband Pietro Caesare Alberti.

I really should do a full post on Pietro (Peter).   Rather than do that today, Let me just let his monument (in Battery Park, Manhattan) tell the quick story:

Today, I want to share just a bit about Jan (AKA John) Mainje (or Magnee depending upon the record) and his wife Martha Chambert.  According to numerous books (including The ancestry of a certain Burtis family), Jan and his wife were Walloons.

Quick time out for a super brief history lesson.  The Walloons (AKA French Huguenots)  were French Protestants (or French Calvinists).


It is believed the Jan and his wife faced persecution during the Spanish Inquisition and they ended up in the Wallabout area of New Amsterdam.  You know the area as Brooklyn.  

In 1643, about 1,500 Native Americans invaded New Netherlands (of which New Amsterdam was the capital).  Many ended up killed including Anne Hutchinson.  Take note of this because at some point, I plan on writing a post about our ancestors who were Anne Hutchinson followers in Massachusetts.  It really was (and still is) a small world!  

Anyhow, a militia was recruited to battle these 'Indians'.  During one of these battles in 1644, Jan Magnee was killed in Stamford, Connecticut 

Eleven years later, Peter (Pietro) and his wife Judith were killed in an early morning surprise attack by, most likely, the same Native American tribes.  It is said that hundreds, if not thousands of 'Indians' landed while most in New Amsterdam were still sleeping.  About a hundred died during the attack.  Peter and Judith's young children did survive but I've found no record as to how they remained safe.  There are court records trying to find them a home.  Martha married fairly quickly after her husband was killed.  Records show that her second husband, Pieter Linde was appointed guardian of the 'grandchildren' but he declined to take them in. 

Finding Our Jacob Vandergrift

This blog is a great way for me to collect my thoughts.  So easy to meander off on rabbit trails and no sense reinventing the wheel when I meander back.  It's also a way for me to document disproving a line which is what I am doing today.  It's easy to document what you find on Ancestry but not what you find which disproves a line.  Okay, are you confused yet?

Today, I am taking a look at the Jacobs.  I have a number of Jacob Vandergrifts in my family line.  I added this line some years ago and I know I borrowed heavily from sombody's family tree.  I was a 'newer' genealogist.   I no longer trust those trees so I'm anxious to see how correct this line truly is.

Right now I am looking at Samuel's grandfather Jacob who was born in 1730.

While researching this Jacob, I noticed that a number of family trees have this Jacob listed as Samuel's grandfather:
 

Jacob Vandergrift's Memorial at FindAGrave

Notice that there are two wives listed for Jacob - Catherine Hufte and Sarah Ann Titus.

Where this gets confusing is that we know our Jacob lived in the same area and did have a wife named Sarah.  Sarah's last name was Britton (or Brittain).  Taken from her father's will abstract:

If you notice, the children listed in the FindAGrave's Jacob Vandergrift record (taken from his will abstract) do not match up with our Jacob and Sarah Vandergrift.  They had Benjamin, Sarah, Rebecca and Jacob.  Also, Jacob is not mentioned in the will because he passed away before his father-in-law.

Here is what I believe to be the correct grave:

Our Jacob Vandergrift's Memorial at FindAGrave 

Both Jacob's passed away in Bensalom Township and both married Sarah's.  Easy to see why people are confused.  Perhaps, on this journey, I'll figure out how the two Jacob's are related.  Cousins perhaps?

   

The Sad Case of John Thompson (Hart) Vandergrift

I posted recently about Samuel Vandergrift.  He was the one that turned my ninth great grandmother into my tenth as well (Discovering my 10th Great Grandparents are also my 11th)

I always wonder about their deaths.  Samuel's wife Nancy (Robb) was eight years younger but she still lived almost thirty years after he passed away.  I have wondered what happened to him.

I think I may have found that answer yesterday.

First, let's take a look at my ancestry chart.  Charles Henry Whelan was my grandfather.

Samuel was my grandfather's great great grandfather.

Found out yesterday that Samuel's son Thompson has been murdered in 1861.

From the Richmond Dispatch 03 May 1861:

and from the New Orlean's Times-Picayune 18 July 1861:

 and, last but not least, from The Ebensburg Alleghanian 08 August 1861:

As of this time, I do believe that John Thompson (possibility that he also had the middle name Hart) was Samuel's only son.  I would have to imagine his death was so absolutely devastating.  Samuel died a little more than a year and a half later.

Adding a Peruck Maker to the Family Tree - Please Welcome John Knowles

I'm still on the trail of Deborah Scudder's parentage.  While working my way around the family tree, I was taking a closer look at John Hart's (her son) family.

John Hart married Catherine Knowles in 1770.  Catherine's parents are well documented as John and Mary (Wilkinson) Knowles.   I believe him to the be the son of John and Catherine (Wessels) Knowles.

Let's start with this little tidbit from 1756 about John Knowles:

He was commissioned as a Lieutenant during the French and Indian War.

During the Revolutionary War, he became a Prisoner of War (POW) and was traded in 1778 for Abraham Iredale, a man who had been declared a traitor by George Washington. 

I have also found a record indicating that John Knowles was a Peruck Maker by trade.  What is a Peruck Maker you ask?  I asked that myself.  He was the make of those men's powdered wigs that were big in the 17th and 18th centuries.

You can also see that in 1784, he was commissioned Justice of Peace in the Townships of Oxford, Lower Dublin and Biberry.

He died in 1804 and I found this excerpt of his will:

"Will Abstract(Father of Catherine Knowles who married John Hart son of the signer)KNOWLES, JOHN. Late of Philadelphia, now of Oxford Township, Co. of Phila.July 30, 1795. August 2, 1804. 1.220.Bequeaths land in Philadelphia to son John Knowles, Junr., and daus.Elizabeth Knowles, Sarah Keen, Mary Toy. Legacies to GranddaughtersMary Hart; Susanna Hall, wife of Joseph Hall; Sarah Hart; ElizabethHart and grandson John Hart. Mentions in connection with propertyBryan Wilkinson, decd. Buckridge Sim, Enoch Flower decd., John Keen,William Brewster and wife, Seymour Hart, Wm. Clampfer and William Turner.Exec: Son John Knowles and dau. Elizabeth Knowles.Wit: Thos. Cuthbert, R. Whitehead, Robert Bourne, Robt. Whitehead"

Yet, another intriguing family member to welcome into the ever-expanding family tree.

Coming up soon, I'll blog on our shakin' quakin' Quaker roots!

Discovering my 10th Great Grandparents are also my 11th!

I've been working on my 'Deborah Scudder Momma Problem' (see my last post) when I discovered something so amazingly cool and yet so very confusing.

My tenth great grandparents are also my eleventh great grandparents.  Let me explain.

Here are John and Mary Scudder.  Up until yesterday, they were my 10th great grandparents.

You can see that two of their children were John Jr. and Elizabeth.  I've known Elizabeth was my ninth great grandmother for some time now.  But, this week, I'm really going after that Scudder family line on Deborah's side.  I must admit that with so many names in my family tree, I never even pondered that Deborah might be from the same Scudder line.

So, while I am tracking her family line higher and higher up the tree, I noticed a familiar name - Alberti!  I already know that Pietro Alberti is ancestor of mine and the only Italian one I've found so that name stands out a bit for me.  Wanted to see why the Alberti name was mentioned in a book about John Jr.  Turns out, it was through his sister Elizabeth and then it clicked.  I am a direct descendent from both Elizabeth who married John Alberti AND her brother who married Joanna Betts.  They are both on my father's side so I was very curious about where these two lines met up again.  Started working my way down the tree and found it!

(click on the image above for a larger view)

Elizabeth Scudder's second great grandson Jacob Vandergrift married John Jr's third great grandaughter Mary Hart.  They were fourth cousins.  Mary is John (signer of the Declaration of Independence) and Deborah Hart's granddaughter     Their son Samuel is my fourth great grandfather. 

Looks like this tree is getting a little gnarled up there.  Of course I wonder, could Jacob and Mary have known that they had great great (great) grandparents in common? 

Doesn't help me solve the dilemma over who is Deborah Hart's Momma but I do love these little twists and turns.

On Discovering Deborah Scudder Hart

Deborah Scudder Hart is my 7th great grandmother.  She was married to John Hart who signed the Declaration of Independence.  While researching that family line, I've noticed that quite a few folks on Ancestry, FamilySearch and even FindaGrave have her grandmother listed as her mother.  Not much is known about her mother but I'll be using this blog as a way to help muddle through setting the line to rights.

On many sites, you'll find that Hannah Reeder is listed as Deborah's mother.  Here is how I know that cannot be:

While looking through
The Scudder family of Trenton
Newark, N.J.?: Somerset Press, 1948

I discovered this excerpt:

And here we have his family:

So, he does have a son named Richard II who was born in 1696.  Deborah was born in 1722.  If the elder Scudder fathered her, he would have been 51 years of age whereas the younger Scudder would have been 26.  Of course, both ages are possibilities but Hannah Reeder, the elder Scudder's wife would have been 51 as well and that alone is enough for me to rule out the elder Hannah and Richard as parents.

Now, add in the elder Scudder's will.  He mentions Deborah Hart as his granddaughter.  Now, just to make it confusing, John and Deborah Hart did have a daughter named Deborah.  That Deborah was born in 1765.  Since the will was dated 1754, that rules out the younger Deborah.

I came across the following information on Ancestry's forum and this seems quite a bit more accurate:

We are left concluding that Richard Betts Scudder and Hannah Reeder Scudder are indeed Deborah Scudder Hart's grandparents.  Her parents are the Richard Betts Scudder II and Hannah Stilwell (or Stillwell) and that is what I am hoping to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.