December 27th

December 27, 2009- Happy Birthday to my son, Michael Saul, born December 27, 1972.

Also on this Date:

December 27, 1636-  Elizabeth Baset born in Wales. (Elizabeth is Michael's 9th great grandmother.)

December 27, 1762- Valentine Miller is born to Christian and Mary Miller in Neersville, Loudoun County, Virginia. (Valentine Miller is Michael's 5th great grandfather.)

December 27, 1785- Elizabeth Knott is born to John Basil Knott and Mary Drury Knott in Maryland. (Elizabeth Knott is Michael's 4th great grandmother.)

December 27, 1858- Sebastian Worland dies in Liberty Township, Shelby County, Indiana. (Sebastian Worland is the 3rd great grandfather of Michael Saul.)

1739 Maryland

August 21, 1739- Deed of Gift. Recorded Aug 21, 1739. I, Sarah Robey of Charles County, hereby make over to William Robey, son of Benjamin Robey of Charles County, planter (after my death) 1 feather bed and furniture, 1 silk rug, 1 blanket, and 1 pair of sheets, together with a bedstead and hide and cord. And also I hereby make over to Victoria Robey, daughter of the above mentioned Benjamin Robey, 1 4-gallon pot and pot hooks after my death. Signed Aug 18, 1739 - Sarah (H her mark) Robey. Wit - Walter Hanson, Thomas Troughear, John Hanson Jr.

(Sarah Hines Luckett is my 6th great grandmother, she was the wife of John Robey II. Benjamin Robey was their son, and William and Victoria were their grandchildren.
John Hanson Jr. was Sarah's half-brother. Walter was her nephew.)

Charles County Revisited (Images of America)

1739 Pennsylvania

1739- Joseph Burson and wife Mary Rachel Potts move to Buckingham in Plumstead Township, Buck's County, Pennsylvania, where they reside for 12 years.
(Mary Rachel Potts is my 6th great grand aunt.)

1740 To the Inhabitants of Maryland, Virginia...Concerning their Negroes

REV. GEORGE WHITEFIELD To the Inhabitants of Maryland, Virginia, North and South-Carolina,  Concerning their Negroes.

I must inform you in the meekness and Gentleness of Christ that I think God has a Quarrel with you for your Abuse of and Cruelty to the poor Negroes. Whether it be lawful for Christians to buy Slaves, and thereby encourage the Nations from whom they are bought to be at perpetual War with each other, I shall not take upon me to determine. Sure I am it is sinful, when bought, to use them as bad, nay worse, than as though they were Brutes, and whatever particular Exceptions there may be (as I would charitably hope there are some) I fear the Generality of you that own Negroes are liable to such a Charge; for your Slaves, I believe, work as hard if not harder than the Horses whereon you ride. . . .

 . . [God] does not reject the Prayer of the poor and destitute, nor disregard the Cry of the meanest Negroes! The Blood of them spilt for these many Years in your respective Provinces will ascend up to Heaven against you. I wish I could say it would speak better Things than the Blood of Abel. But this is not all ⎯ Enslaving or misusing their Bodies would, comparatively speaking, be an inconsiderable Evil, was proper Care taken of their Souls. But I have great reason to believe that most of you, on Purpose, keep your Negroes ignorant of Christianity; or otherwise, why are they permitted thro’ your provinces openly to profane the Lord’s Day by their Dancing, Piping and such like? I know the general Pretense for this Neglect of their Souls is That teaching them Christianity would make them proud, and consequently unwilling to submit to Slavery: But what a dreadful Reflection is this in your Holy Religion? What blasphemous Notions must those that make such an Objection have of the Precepts of Christianity? . .

But I challenge the whole World to produce a single Instance of a Negro’s being made a thorough Christian, and thereby made a worse Servant. It cannot be. ⎯ But farther, if teaching Slaves Christianity has such a bad Influence upon their Lives, why are you generally desirous of having your Children taught? Think you they are any way better by Nature than the poor Negroes? No, in no wise. Blacks are just as much, and no more, conceived and born in Sin, as White Men are. Both, if born and bred up here, I am persuaded, are naturally capable of the same Improvement. ⎯ And as for the grown Negroes, I am apt to think, whenever the Gospel is preach’d with Power amongst them, that many will be brought effectually home to God.

1740 Pennsylvania

1740- Jonathan Conard born to Anthony Conard and Sarah Hatfield in Germantown, Pennsylvania.

(Jonathan Conard is my 5th great grand uncle.)

1740- The Lenni Lenape Indians in Pennsylvania petition colonial officials to address the "Great Wrong We Receive in Our Lands" by the Walking Purchase of 1737 that had tricked them into ceding more land than they had anticipated.


The descendants of John Conard of Loudoun county, Virginia,

1740 Maryland

1740- Joseph Newton, son of Clement Newton, born in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Joseph Newton is my 4th great grand uncle.)

William Hardy, paternal grandfather of Verlinda Hardy, dies in Prince George's County, Maryland.

(William Hardy is my 5th great grandfather.)

Will of William Hardy

Hardey, William, planter, Prince George's Co., 8th Aug., 1740; 16th Aug., 1740.
To sons George, ex., Benjamin, Solomon, William, Henry, daus. Rachel, Elizabeth and Mary Ann, entire estate.
Testator desires that George take 4 young. child, under his care.
Mary Ann to be raised by Elizabeth Hogging.
William to be of age at testator's death.

Overseers: Bro. George and Peter Hogging.
Test: William Hardey, George Hardey, Ann Burgess. 22. 222.

Another Family Document: Charles County, Maryland

Charles County Land Records, 1733-1743; Book O#2, Page 466.
At the request of Sarah Robey of Charles County, widow, the following deed was recorded this Aug 18, 1740.
 We, the undersigned subscribers, for the natural love we have for our mother, Sarah Robey, widow, and for sundry other good causes, do give our part of the goods and chattels which fell to us by the death of our brother, Peter Roby, late of Charles County, deceased, to said Sarah Roby, widow, after his debts are paid by the administrator. Signed Dec 22, 1738 - John Roby Sr, Richard Roby, Elizabeth Henley, Jno (IW his mark) Warnall, Ralph Roby, Thomas Roby, Saml (+ his mark) Roby, William Roby, Geo: Gibbens, Michael Hinds (M his mark) Roby.

(Sarah Hines Luckett, wife of John Robey II, is my 6th great grandmother.)


A Primary Source History of the Colony of Maryland (Primary Sources of the Thirteen Colonies and the Lost Colony)

1740 Virginia

March 5, 1740- Elizabeth Potts born to David Potts and Ann Roberts in Loudoun County, Virginia.

(Elizabeth Potts is my 5th great grandmother.)

1741 Maryland

1741- Thomas Newton, Sr., dies in St. Mary's County, Maryland.

(Thomas Newton is my 6th great grandfather.)

December 6, 1741-

Thomas Newton, Senior. Nuncupative Will:

The Last Will of Thomas Newton, St. Mary's County SS December ye 6th 1741:

Then came James Brown, and Lidia Raley and made Oath On the holy Evangels of Almighty God that they heard Thomas Newton Senor the fourteenth Day of this instant December Lying then very sick and sick as to die who departed this life the fifth of this instant, say and declare that he gave to his son Thomas Newton all his wearing Cloaths and six hundred pounds of Tobacco, and to Elanor Leake he gave one Bed and furniture, and to his grand son Joseph Newton one white heffer and to his Grandson Clement Newton one heffer and his Daughter in Law Elizabeth Newton two hundred pounds of Tobacco due to him from Walter Davis or thirteen yards and halfe of fine White Linen in his Chist, and to his wife, Catherine Newton, two hundred and twenty pound of Tobacco, due him from the widow Hesler and her sons Excepting thirty of said Tobacco he gave to John Henning and to his wife Catherine and his son Clement he gave one Young horse between them ~~~ The Day and year above Said came James Brown and Ledia Raley and made Oath on the holy Evangels of Almighty God that they heard the said Thomas Newton Declare the foregoing as his Last Will, and at the time of his sodoing he was to the best of their knowledge, and apprehension of sound, and disposing mind and memory Sworn to before me~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tho Aisquith Depty Comiss ry of St. Marys County
The Deceased Widow has made her Election, and Takes her thirds
Certified by me Tho: Aisquith Depty Comissry of St Marys Coty


1741- Rachel Livers, mother of Verlinda Hardy, born to Arnold Livers and Mary Anne Drane in Prince George's County, Maryland.

(Rachel Livers is my 4th great grandmother.)



Maryland Calendar of Wills 1738-1743

Is this my Great Grandmother?

I recently recieved this picture from a distant cousin, Jerry Sanner. He believes that it was taken in 1909, and that the central seated figure may be my great grandmother, Estella Lucinda Randall.

He has tentatively identified the individuals as (L-R):

• Chris Johnston b. 1897 age 12, This would be the younger brother of my grandmother, Rosella Johnston, and the son of Estella and her first husband, Aaron C. Johnston.
• Reuben Hower b. 1858 age 50/52 (he d. in 1919), this would be Estella's second husband.
• Estella (Randall) [Johnson] Hower b. 1866 age 42 (she died in 1916), my great grandmother.
• Clarabelle (Johnston) Byzewski b. 1886 age 22, my grandmother's older sister.
• Margaret Hower b. 1906 age 2.5, my grandmother's young half-sister.
• Joseph Byzewski, husband to Clarabelle.

Rosella would not appear as she had married Alfred Leslie Worland in 1908.
Any help verifying this photo would be greatly appreciated. The family lived in Minnesota.

1742 Maryland

1742- A son, Clement Newton, is born to Clement Newton in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Clement Newton is my 4th great grand uncle.)

Thomas Newton marries Susannah Howard in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Thomas Newton is my 5th great grand uncle.)

1742 RENT ROLL - 1642-1753 Rent Rolls Charles County MD Hundred - Piccawaxen or William & Mary: Rent Roll page/Sequence: 457-538: ROBYS RANGE: 256 acres; Possession of - 256 Acres - Robey, Thomas: Originally so called, Re-surveyed for Thomas Roby, 31 Aug 1742, beginning at a bounded white oak standing ona a ["] of a hill in the plantation of John Worland, the beginning of said tract.

(John Worland III is my 4th great grandfather. Thomas Robey and John Worland III were 1st cousins. Their common ancestors are John Robey II and Sarah Hines Luckett. Thomas Robey and I are 1st cousins 6 times removed.)

Mary Ann Drane, wife of Arnold Livers, dies in Frederick's County, Maryland.

(Mary Ann Drane is my 5th great grandmother.)

1742 Pennsylvania

1742- Elizabeth Conard is born to Anthony Conard and Sarah Hatfield in Gwynedd Township, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

(Elizabeth Conard is my 5th great grand aunt.)

1742 Bavaria, Germany

January 12, 1742- Mary Catherine Ernst is born in Bavaria, Germany.

(Mary Catherine Ernst is my 4th great grandmother.)

1743 Maryland

1743- Arnold Newton is born to Thomas Newton and Susannah Howard in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Arnold Newton and I are 1st cousins 6 times removed. Our common ancestors are Katherine and Thomas Newton.)

1743 Pennsylvania

January 8, 1743- Ezekial Potts is born to David Potts and Ann Roberts in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He would serve as a private in the 5th Virginia Regiment in 1776.

(Ezekiel Potts is my 5th great grand uncle.)

1744 Words of an Onondaga Chief

You who are so wise must know that different nations have different conception of things. You will not therefore take it amiss if our ideas of the white man's kind of education happens not to be the same as yours. We have had some experience of it.

Several of our young people were brought up in your colleges. They were instructed in all your sciences; but, when they came back to us, they were all bad runners, ignorant of every means of living in the woods, unable to bear either cold or hunger. They didn't know how to build a cabin, take a deer, or kill an enemy. They spoke our language imperfectly.

They were therefore unfit to be hunters, warriors, or counsellors; they were good for nothing.
We are, however, not the less obliged for your kind offer, though we decline accepting it. To show our gratefulness, if the gentleman of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we will take great care with their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them.

Canassatego - Treaty of Lancaster

Lancaster Treaty of 1744

June 1744- Native-American chiefs of the Six Nations relinquish by treaty all claims to land in Maryland colony. Assembly purchases last Indian land claims in Maryland.

Lancaster, June 29, 1744

 Chief Canassatego spoke as follows:

Brethren,

YESTERDAY you spoke to us concerning the Lands on this Side Potowmack River, and as we have deliberately considered what you said to us on that Matter, we are now very ready to settle the Bounds of such Lands, and release our Right and Claim thereto.


WE are willing to renounce all Right to Lord Baltimore of all those Lands lying two Miles above the uppermost Fort of Potowmack or Cohongoruton River, near which Thomas Cressap has a hunting or trading Cabin, by a Northline, to the Bounds of Pennsylvania. But in case such Limits shall not include every Settlement or Inhabitant of Maryland, then such other Lines and Courses, from the said two Miles above the Forks, to the outermost Inhabitants or Settlements, as shall include every Settlement and Inhabitant in Maryland, and from thence, by a North-line, to the Bounds of Pennsylvania, shall be the Limits. And further, If any People already have, or shall settle beyond the Lands now described and bounded, they shall enjoy the same free from any Disturbance whatever, and we do, and shall accept these People for our Brethren, and as such always treat them.


WE earnestly desire to live with you as Brethren, and hope you will show us all Brotherly Kindness; in Token whereof, we present you with a Belt of Wampum.


In payment, the Iroquois Nation received: Four Pieces of Strowds, Two Hundred Shirts, Three Pieces Half-Thicks, Three Pieces Duffle Blankets, Forty Seven Guns, One Pound Vermillion, One Thousand Flints, Four Dozen Jews Harps, One Dozen Boxes, One Hundred Two Quarters Bar-Lead, Two Quarters Shot, and Two Half Barrels of Gun-Powder.

"We know our lands have now become more valuable. The white people think we do not know their value; but we know that the land is everlasting, and the few goods we receive for it are soon worn out and gone."
-Canassatego


The proceedings of the treaty can be read here, Lancaster Treaty. It is fascinating reading as you watch the cultures collide.

1744 Maryland

June 15, 1744- Frances Decalus Drury is born to John Drury and Susannah Hayden in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Frances Decalus Drury is my 4th great grand aunt.)

1744- Anne Newton, daughter of Clement Newton, is born in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Anne Newton is my 4th great grand aunt.)

1744- John Worland III marries in Charles County, Maryland. This could have been his marriage to Rebecca, although other sources claim this marriage was to another unnamed first spouse.

(John Worland III is my 4th great grandfather.)

1744- John Knott marries Elizabeth Skeen in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(John Knott is my 5th great grandfather.)

1744 Pennsylvania

1744- Elizabeth Thomas is born in Germantown, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.

1745 Virginia

1745- Mary Russell is born in Hillsborough, Virginia.

(Mary Russell is my 5th great grandmother.)

1745- Fairfax Monthly Meeting of Friends is established.

The Friends Meeting took the name Fairfax in 1745, honoring the county it was in at the time, though Loudoun County would be carved out of Fairfax 12 years later.


Meetings for worship could be held anywhere and were often held in members homes. They might be called indulged meetings or particular meetings. They were usually held on First-days (first day of the week) and sometimes one was held during the week. No preacher or leader was used, as the oral ministry of any member could be given. Sometimes the entire meeting was given over to the silent communion of worship.

Monthly Meetings were business meetings where official records were kept of births, deaths, and marriages, and of the work of committees who were charged with the welfare of the membership. There were separate monthly meetings for men and women. While Quakers gave women much more equal status than was usual in the early days of America - the men's meetings took care of Quaker business in their interaction with the outside world, while the women's meetings had the task of maintaining discipline within the ranks of the female members of the Quakers. Meetings were presided over by Elders, assisted by Overseers who had oversight of such things as taking care of the needy. Quaker ministers had a calling from God and were often called to travel so they did not preside over meetings. Elders actually had oversight over ministers that they did not overstep the bounds of proper Quaker behavior. The traveling ministers fulfilled somewhat the same function as traveling minstrels in Europe in that they were also carriers of news.

Gwynedd and North Wales, Pennsylvania

North Wales is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is one of the three historic population centers that make up the North Penn Valley. The population was 3,342 at the 2000 census.
As its name suggests, North Wales was settled by Welsh immigrants who named it after North Wales in Wales. Part of a 1702 William Penn land grant, this rich farming country was given the name "Gwynedd" for the homeland of the earliest settlers and it began as a pastoral village in agricultural Gwynedd Township. In 1741, Gwynedd contained 93 taxables, and Montgomery township 54.

The Welsh Tract, also called the Welsh Barony, was a portion of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania settled largely by Welsh-speaking Quakers. It covers 40,000 acres to the west of Philadelphia. The original settlers, led by John Roberts, negotiated with William Penn in 1684 to constitute the Tract as a separate county whose local government would use the Welsh language, since many of the settlers spoke no English. Notwithstanding this agreement, by the 1690s the land had already been partitioned into different counties, despite appeals from the Welsh settlers, and the Tract never gained self-government.

The area is now part of Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware counties. Many towns in the area still bear Welsh names. Some, such as Lower Merion, Upper Merion, Bala Cynwyd, Radnor and Haverford Township, are named after places in Wales. Others, such as Tredyffrin or Uwchlan, have independent Welsh names. Some communities in the area that formerly comprised the Welsh Tract were subsequently given Welsh names. Among these were Gladwyne, formerly "Merion Square" (which was given its new name in 1891 in order to imitate the stylish Welsh names of adjoining towns, although the name is meaningless in Welsh), and Bryn Mawr, formerly "Humphreysville" (which was renamed in 1869).

1745 Pennsylvania

1745- Jane Conard is born in Gwynedd Township, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Anthony Conard and Sarah Hatfield.

(Jane Conard is my 5th great grand aunt. Our common ancestors are Anthony Cunard and Sarah Hatfield.)

Nathan Potts born to David Potts and Ann Roberts in Germantown, Pennsylvania.

(Nathan Potts is my 5th great grand uncle. Our common ancestors are David Potts and Ann Roberts.)

September 27, 1745- Reiner Theissen dies in Fitzwatertown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. His obituary read: "He was innocent and inoffensive in life and diligent in attending his religious meetings." According to William Penn and the Dutch Quakers, Reiner became a man of large wealth and much influence but is said to never have learned to write his name.

(Reiner (Reinert) Theissen is my 8th great grand uncle.)

1745 Maryland

1745- John Robey Worland born to Rebecca and John Henry Worland (John III) in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(John Robey Worland is my 3rd great grand uncle.)

John Basil Knott is born to John Knott and Elizabeth Skeen in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(John Basil Knott is my 4th great grandfather.)

Henry Thomas Newton born to Thomas Newton and Susannah Howard at St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Henry Thomas Newton and I are 1st cousins 6 times removed. Our common ancestors are Thomas Newton and Katherine.)

Catesby Cocke, Land Speculation and George Washington

1725-1742: Prominent Tidewater Virginia politicians and businessmen buy huge tracts in this era of land speculation. William Fairfax, uncle of Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax, amasses more than 35,000 acres; Francis Awbrey, 29,000 acres; Catesby Cocke, 23,000; John Colvill, 22,000; Robert Carter, Lord Fairfax's real estate agent, 21,000. These five own 40 percent of future Loudoun's 330,800 acres. The land is often leased in 100- to 200-acre tracts or after a few years is sold; many double their money.

William Cocke and son, Catesby
Dr. William Cocke, of Suffolk, England, came over to Virginia in June, 1710 and settled at Williamsburg. He came over in the Deptford with Alexander Spotswood, and lived there prior to about 1720.

It is known that Dr. Cocke came as private physician to Lt. Governor Spotswood. Then, in June, 1712, Dr. Cocke was sworn in as Secretary of the Colony of Virginia. He had been recommended to this office by Spotswood and Edmund Jenings, former Secretary of State and former acting Governor. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Cocke had sent for his wife, Elizabeth Catesby Cocke, sister of Mark Catesby, the naturalist; and his two children who were in England. They arrived in the Hanover in April, 1712. Apparently, Catesby was with them for a few days after they had been met and taken to Williamsburg in the Governor's coach. Soon Dr. Cocke, his family and Catesby were visiting at "Westover." Cocke had been a classmate of William Byrd in England.

By 1713 Dr. Cocke had been appointed to the Council. From 1716-1718 he was in England on business for the Colony. On October 22, 1720 he "was struck with a fit of apoplexy in the Capitol and died immediately and fell on me," so reported Byrd. Dr. Cocke left a widow and six children: Mrs. Elizabeth Cocke Pratt (widow), Catesby (born 1702), William, Anne, Susanna and Lucy.

He was a member of the Council, Secretary of the Province and a Judge of the General Court.

Catesby Cocke, his son, lived at Belmont, Fairfax County. Catesby Cocke lived next door to George Mason's Gunston Hall and across the Potomac River from Nathaniel Chapman. He was the first Clerk of the Court for both Prince William County and Fairfax County. Like many wealthy men of the day, Catesby was a land speculator. In 1731, 292 acres of land on both sides of Broad Run in Thoroughfare Gap were patented to him by permission of Lord Fairfax. Since he never made any improvements of the land, he had to relinquish it to Lord Fairfax in 1737. Subsequently, Godfrey Ridge bought the land and flipped it to Jonathan Chapman for 10 pounds in 1741. In 1742 Jonathan Chapman bought a sliver of land that would enable the Chapman Mill head race to reach Broad Run above the 87 feet it descends. This information suggests the mill could have been built any time after 1737 and before 1742.

Catesby Cocke and George Washington, Tax Evaders

In making a schedule of his property, an owner took an oath that the list recorded everything subject to taxation. If a man omitted one carriage or slave, he perjured himself.
As inscribed in the hand-written, leather-bound book of the court, the following is the report of the Grand Jury of Fairfax County, Colony of Virginia, rendered to the court on May 21, 1760. The names of the 15  defendants add some color and character, humor and historical interest, to the proceedings.
"We present George William Fairfax, George Washington, John Carlyle, Daniel French, Robert Bogges, Catesby Cocke, Townshend Dade, Sylbill West, Garrard Alexander, J. Emima Minor, William Ramsay, Benjamin Grayson, George Mason, John Plummer, Daniel McCarty and Abraham Barnes for (not) entering their wheeled carriages agreeable to law, as appears to us by the list delivered to the clerk of the county."

1746 Virginia

November 16, 1746- David Potts leased a tract of land from Catesby Cocke, for five shillings in hand paid, with power to purchase. The lease covered a tract of 866 acres on Kittockton Run, in Fairfax County. The annual rental was one ear of Indain corn. Later, Catesby Cocke and his wife Mary conveyed the land by deed to David Potts, who is described as yeoman.

David Potts was a prosperous yoeman or freeholding farmer. He had intended this ground to comprise his home plantation for the support of his family and near relatives.

David Potts was descended from Quaker stock from Pennsylvania, but lived among the Baptists of Virginia. He was a slave owner.

Early on, the Quaker church had championed the manumission of slaves and the abolition of slave labor. But that had little to do with Loudoun County during the colonial era. The Quakers of the time were losing members to other Protestant churches, and some of the leaders of the Fairfax meeting were slaveowners. In the end, they were simply colonials.

David Potts was also an entrepreuner who developed plantations and a water grist-mill near the Gap of Short Hill on the waters of the North Fork of Catoctin Creek.

 

1746- Daughter Jane Potts is born to David and Ann Potts in Loudoun County, Virginia.
 
(Jane Potts is my 5th great grand aunt. Our common ancestors are David Potts and Ann Roberts. David Potts is my 6th great grandfather.)

Kittockton

Catoctin Mountain is the easternmost spur of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a part of the Appalachian Mountain Range. Catoctin is a mountain ridge running northeast/southwest for about 50 miles from near Emmitsburg, Maryland to near Leesburg, Virginia.

The ridge has no single peak or knob called "Catoctin Mountain" and so is sometimes referred to as the "Catoctin Mountains".

The name "Catoctin" probably derives from the Kittoctons, an American Indian tribe or clan which once lived between the mountain and the Potomac River.

Catoctin is a name used for both a mountain and a stream. Smithsonian ethnologists say that the mountain range was named first and that it means "ancient wooded hill." A local tradition asserts that "Catoctin" means "place of many deer" in an Indian language. Early Loudoun spellings of the mountain and stream prefer "Kittockton," with the accent on the middle syllable.

Catoctin Mountain is best-known as the site of Camp David, a mountain retreat for Presidents of the United States. The resort is extremely well-guarded by the United States Secret Service, and only approved guests of the President are allowed into the retreat.

1747 Virginia

June 9, 1747- David Potts leased for one year, 333 acres, part of a tract of 866 acres on Kittockton Run in Fairfax County, to William Williams at an annual rental of one ear of Indian corn. Later, David Potts and his wife Ann sold the land to Williams.

(David Potts is my 6th great grandfather.)

Tidbit on William Williams:
Williamsburg, January 2, 1752.
WHEREAS I have lately had the Misfortune to lose my Wife, which hath quite frustrated my Intention of settling in this City; I therefore, hereby, give Notice, That on Monday the 13th instant I intend to expose to Sale, for ready Money, at the House where Col. Jones lately lived, sundry Sorts of Household Goods, and also Womens wearing Apparel. And I hereby give Notice, That I intend to depart this Colony, for England, by the first Ship that sails from hence.

Signed: William Williams

Nothing further could be ascertained about William Williams.

Notes on Names- Thones, Cunraed and other German Confusion

The will of Aret Klincken, 1707, mentions Kunrad Kunders. This was the eldest son of Thones Kunders, who signed his name in later life as "Cunraed Cunraeds." His first name was in honor of an ancestor bearing the name Conrad or Coenrad, etc.

Eunicke Klincken, wife of Cunraed Cunraeds, was later known as Ann or Anne.

Thones Kunders' name was variously anglicized as Dennis Conrad, Dennis Conrads or Dennis Cunrads. Dennis was a close rhyme to Thones, which is an old variant of Anton or Anthony. The name Dennis and the name Anthony appear many times in Kunders' descendants, and both referred back to Thones Kunders and/or Thones Klincken, Aret's father. In the name Thones, the 'h' was silent, and sometimes it is seen as Tunis, Toonis, Teunes, and pronounced somewhere between Tennis and Toonis.The surnames Tunis, Tennis, are old remnants of the given name Thones.

Aret Klincken had a brother named Abraham Tunis. Aret Klincken was also referred to as Arnold. The name Aret was generally translated as Arnold.
Niske is also found as Nis or Nees, later referred to as Agnes. Some unwitting researchers have called the same person "Niske Agnes" or "Nees Agnes" not knowing that they were repeating the same name.

1747 Pennsylvania

1747- Cunraed Cunraeds, the oldest child of Thones and Elin Kunders, seems to have spent most of his married life in Worcester Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and died there in 1747, aged sixty-nine years.
His will was dated Feb. 2, 1747, and was proved in March of the same year, showing that he died between those dates. His wife probably died before him, not being mentioned in the will.
His oldest son, Anthony, was willed five shillings. In 1737, Cunraed had deeded a farm of seventy-five acres to his son, Anthony, and may have considered that Anthony had received his proper share. (Anthony would not long survive his father, he died within weeks of his father's death. I would guess this was the result of some illness or an epidemic, I am researching this.)
His son Henry was given the homestead "the 100 acres I bought of Anthony Morris." This is supposed to have been the Heebner farm, near the Worcester creamery.
His third son, James, received the residue of his father's land. He and Henry were the executors. One son, John, seems to have been of weak or infirm mind, as his share of /40 is left in trust to his brothers, Anthony and Henry. He had six children, all sons, named respectively, Anthony, Henry, James, John, Joseph and Dennis, all of whom married and had children except John and Joseph.

(Cunraed Cunraeds is my 7th great grandfather.)

March 1747- Anthony Cunraeds (Conard, Cunard) dies in Worcester Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. In his will, he is referred to as a yoeman, son of Cunraed. His will was proved at Salford, March 17, 1747. It names his wife, Sarah, cousin Daniel Morgan, his brother James and his children, and his children: John, Jonathan, Margaret, Elizabeth, Ann, Jane, and an unborn child.
 
(Anthony Cunard is my 6th great grandfather.)
 
1747- Agnes Conard is born to Sarah Hatfield Conard sometime after the death of her father, Anthony Conard.

The Maryland Tobacco Inspection Act of 1747

The Maryland Tobacco Inspection Act of 1747 established that all tobacco had to be inspected by colonial inspectors. Once the tobacco was inspected, tobacco "notes" were issued that certified the quality. Whoever held these tobacco notes owned the tobacco. A grower could pay a merchant 100 pounds of tobacco by simply signing over the notes to him. That way, he could go to the warehouse with the notes in hand and claim the tobacco as his. He could also give the merchant an I.O.U. that promised to pay him 100 pounds of tobacco in the future, when his crop came in. Before the Inspection Act, the merchant would be less willing to accept this I.O.U., since he would not be sure of the quality of tobacco. After the Inspection Act, the I.O.U. could promise to pay in "certified" tobacco.

Paper tobacco notes more easily functioned as money because bulk tobacco was hard to transport and the quality of tobacco was assured.

1747 Maryland

February 15, 1747- Anastasia Worland is born to Rebecca and John Worland III in Charles County, Maryland.

(Anastasia Worland is my 3rd great grand aunt.)

September, 1747- John Pike marries Kezia Hackett in St. Mary's County, Maryland.

(John Pike is my 5th great grand uncle. Our common ancestors are Lucy and Archibald Pike.)

1747- William Newton is born to Thomas Newton and Susannah Howard in St. Mary's County, Maryland.

(William Newton and I are 1st cousins 6 times removed. Our common ancestors are Katherine and Thomas Newton.)

1748 Virginia

October 31, 1748- David Potts was taken under the care of the Fairfax Monthly Meeting on October 31, 1748, as shown by the following minutes of that date:
 "David Potts having been for a considerable time under the care and notice of Friends, now requests to be received as a member in unity, and nothing appearing to obstruct, his request was granted."

At the same meeting his sons Jonas and Jonathan Potts were also received into membership, and his
daughter Ann Potts appeared in the declaration of intended marriage with John Vestal. As David's other
children were afterwards recognized as members of the meeting, it is probable that his own acceptance
carried with it that of his minor children.

(David Potts is my 6th great grandfather.)

1748 Maryland

1748- Elizabeth (Hussey) Luckett, mother of Sarah Hines Luckett, dies in Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland.

(Elizabeth Hussey is my 7th great grandmother.)

Practices of the Quakers During the Colonial Period

A couple desiring to marry had to declare their intentions before a regular weekly Meeting of their local society. Appointed overseers would then conduct an investigation of the character of each. If nothing derogatory was found, the wedding was approved.

A check was kept by the local society with respect to the wedding date and the birth of the first child. A premature baby was examined by three women from three Meetings, often resulting in society records being annotated with an "F/B" meaning "relations before marriage and an illegitimate child, or "F/M" meaning the same, but that marriage had followed. Both situations must be condemned by the involved parties if they wished to remain with the society.

Persons who died were frequently returned to a former residence for burial. Some societies condemned headstones as a sign of vanity and often removed those already in place. Often burial places were left unmarked so that Indians would not know how many had died.

Meetings of the societies were held in the daytime and attendance was checked, carefully. First-day meetings were required attendance and midweek meetings were optional; but the member was judged on his spirituality by his attendance pattern.

A "certificate of clearance" was required to marry or to move into another local society. It would not be given if there were outstanding debts.

 Prior to 1753—and unofficially for some time afterward—they followed an unusual practice of numbering the months of the year. It was forbidden to refer to the usual names given for months such as January, February, etc., because those names were of pagan derivation. The numbering system began with March and so they would use, for instance, "1 mo. 25, 1703," meaning March 25, 1703.

 Their belief in non-violence, of course, precluded their serving in any military capacity and may explain why so few of the Potts Quakers served in the Revolutionary War.

Public acknowledgement was required for all sorts of misdeeds. This usually meant condemning their own actions by confession at a local Meeting. Meeting minutes were made of all known misdeeds, confessed

or not!

1749 Maryland

1749- Ignatius Newton is born to Thomas Newton and Susannah Howard in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Ignatius Newton and I are 1st cousins 6 times removed.)

1750 Maryland

1750- Population of Maryland is 130,000.

Bernard Newton is born in St. Mary's County, Maryland.

(Bernard Newton is my 4th great grand uncle. Our common ancestor is Clement Newton.)

Mary Ann Greenwell born in St. Mary's, Maryland. (she would marry Bernard Newton in 1775.)

Archibald Pike dies in St. Mary's Maryland.

(Archibald Pike is my 6th great grandfather.)

Will of Archibald Pike:

Liber 27, folio 198

31 Jan. 1750

PIKE, ARCHIBALD, St. Mary's Co., planter.

To son James Pike, Forest Ordain, the 100a where I live, he to pay his bro. Archibald Pike 4000 lb. tob., but if he d. s. p., to his bro. Archibald.
To son John Pike, negro boy George & Farney Branch, the 50a he lives on, but if he d. s. p., to my son Archibald.
To son Archibald Pike, a good bed, a young horse, a cow & calf, & negro boy Tom.
To wife, [Lucy], for life the rest of my e. & the use of the plntn. where she lives.
To dau. Mary Greenwell, negro woman Treasie.

Extrs: wife, Lucy Pike, & son James Pike.
Witn: Nicholas Mills, Sr., Eli[zabeth] Mills, George Innis.

3 April 1750[sic], sworn to by all 3 witn. , & the widow stood to the will.

Codicil of 5 Feb. 1750 also proved 3 April 1750[sic].

PIKE, ARCHIBALD, St Mary's Co., planter. 31 Jan 1750; 3 April 1750

To son James Pike, tract whereon I now live called "Forest Ordain," 100 A., he to pay to his bro. Archibland Pike 4000 pounds of tobacco.
To son John Pike, tract whereon he now dwells known as "Ferney Branch," 50 A.; also Negro boy George.
To son Archibald Pike, furniture, Negro boy Tom.
To wife remaining part.
To dau. Mary Greenwell, Negro woman Treasie.

Wife Lucy Pike, extx.

Wit: Nicholas Mills Sr., Elizabeth Mills, George Innis. 27. 198



Archibald Pike 44.229 SM £170.15.9 Apr 19 1750 Nov 7 1750
Appraisers: John Cole, Peter Ford.
Creditors: A. Barnes, Elisabeth Medley.
Next of kin: John Pike, John Wiseman Greenwell.

Administrators/Executors: Lucy Pike, James Pike.



Archbold Pike 30.185 A SM £170.15.9 £27.7.3 May 28 1751

Sureties: Nicholas Mills, John Hammond.
Received from: Thomas Carroll.
Payments to: Capt. Robert Chesley, Maj. Abraham Barnes, Thomas Carroll, Elisabeth Medley, Matthew Allin, Benjamin Gough, William Daft, John Thomson, John Hammond, Benjamin Gristy, Catherine Leak.

Legatees: (unnamed) all of full age except Archbold Pike (son, aged 17).

Executors: Lucy Pike, James Pike.

1751 Maryland

1751- Sarah Newton is born to Thomas Newton and Susannah Howard in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Sarah Newton and I are 1st cousins 6 times removed.)

June 11, 1751- Arnold Livers dies at Prince George's, Maryland.
 Arnold Livers was born about 1669 in Flanders, Belgium, of English parentage, and was reared in the royal household of the Stuarts. At age 22, he was a "page of the backstairs".
Soon after the Catholic King James II was deposed in 1688, Arnold is said to have fled, landing in Maryland with only his uniform, buckles & buttons (which are still preserved by his family), leaving his two children by his first wife behind.
 These sons were reportedly brought to America by his first American wife who went to Flanders to get them as Arnold was afraid to go himself.
 Arnold served as an indentured servant to Colonel Henry Darnall, a tailor. He settled on the Charles River near Upper Marlborough in Prince George's County as a planter.
 He died in 1751 at Prince George's County, Maryland.

(Arnold Livers is my 5th great grandfather.)

August 28, 1751- Will of Arnold Livers


My land: one tract called Duke's Wood," lying in Prince George's Co., but now in Frederick Co., on Linganore, of 500 A.; other called "Arnold's Chance," lying on Little Pipe Creek, containing about 500 A; one lot in Nottingham; one in Marlborough, Prince George's Co., which 2 lots I give to extx, hereafter named, to be sold and money used to pay debts.

Tract called "Arnold's Delight," in Frederick Co., 1,074 A., to children: Anthony, Arnold, Mary and Rachel, to be equally divided bet. them.

To son Robert Livers, all those several tracts I formerly bought of Col. Henry Darnall and John Miller, and all that pt. formerly given me by Henry Darnall, Esquire, lately dec'd., of about: 330 A. known as the plantation where I live.

To grand-son Arnold Elder, 100 A. called "Cole's Good Will," adjoining Wm. Elder's plantation.

To grand-dau. Ann Livers, dau. of son James Livers, 50 pounds money at age 21, by my children: Anthony, Arnold, Robert, Mary and Rachel Livers, each to pay 10 pounds.

My will and intention is that my dear wife Helena Livers, have same during widowhood.

To grand-dau. Eliza. Elder, some slaves.

To dau. Jacoba Clementina Elder, furnishings.

Friend Didley Digges, trustee and overseer, and give him for sd. services, 5 pounds money.

Wit: Charles Beavers (or Beavens), Charles Beavers Blanford, Robert Soper, Frances Early. 28. 166

1751 Virginia

1751- Susanna Potts born to David Potts and Ann Roberts in Loudoun County, Virginia.

(Susanna Potts is my 5th great grand aunt. Our common ancestors are David Potts and Ann Roberts.)

St. Andrew's Church, Maryland

The Colonial Pikes in Maryland were Roman Catholics, but they attended St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Leonardtown, Maryland , because it was nearby.

St. Andrew's is considered to be among the most unusual of Maryland colonial churches by virtue of its twin west towers embellished by brick quoin, the inset portico, the two convex tapering columns, the palladian or venetian window, the fluted ionic interior columns the two-level gallery, and the reredos. For more on the history of St. Andrew's, click here.

1752 Maryland

1752- Samuel Archibald Pike is born to John Pike and Kezia Hackett in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Samuel Archibald Pike and I are 1st cousins 6 times removed. Our common ancestors are Lucy and Archibald Pike.)

Gabriel Newton is born in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Gabriel Newton is my 4th great grand uncle. Our common ancestor is Clement Newton.)

More on Peter Gideon

I found this information in the book Virginia and West Virginia Genealogical Data from Revolutionary War Pension ... By Patrick G. Wardell.

Born 3/22/1752 near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Resided in Taneytown, Maryland in 1775. In 1833, he lived in Loudoun County, Virginia, about 4 miles from Hillsboro. In 1840, he lived for a time in Ohio.
In 1842, he returned to his farm in Loudoun County, Virginia. He died 2/25/1844.

(Peter Gideon is my 4th great grandfather.)

Other sources state that Peter's father, Peter Heinrich Gideon, also served in the Revolutionary War and was killed in battle.

1752 Germany

March 22, 1752- Peter Gideon is born to Nancy and Peter Heinrich Gideon. Peter Gideon is somewhat of a mystery man. His Revolutionary War records indicate he was born in 1752 near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Various sources indicate he was in fact born at sea coming from Germany, while others claim he was born in Bavaria. None of these facts have been proven. His grave marker, in Potts Cemetery in Loudoun County, Virginia, lists his death as "Feb 5, 1844, in his 96th year of age" which would place his birth around 1748.

Certificate of Clearness

The Quakers believed that a marital union should be acceptable to the immediate families as well as to the entire Quaker congregation. When a Quaker man and woman wanted to marry, the parents were first consulted and, if they approved, the couples intentions were announced at the women's meeting and a note regarding their proposal was sent to the men's meeting. A committee was appointed to ascertain the couples "clearness" for marriage. If approval was given, a special Meeting for Worship was appointed, within which the marriage took place.

1752 Virginia

February 20, 1752- Jonas Potts applies to the Friends Monthly Meeting for a certificate of clearness, in order that he might proceed in marriage with Mary Stroud, a member of Hopewell Monthly Meeting, which was in due time granted and the marriage regularly consumated.

(Jonas Potts is my 5th great grand uncle.)

1753 Maryland

1753- Susannah Newton is born to Thomas Newton and Susannah Howard in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Susannah Newton and I are 1st cousins 6 times removed. Our common ancestors are Thomas and Katharine Newton.)

Lucy Pike is born to John Pike and Kezia Hackett in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Lucy Pike is my 4th great grand aunt.)

John Peake (Pike) appears in the St. Mary's Debt Book regarding 50 acres at Ferney Branch, Poplar Hill. James Peake is mentioned in regard to 100 acres of Forrest of Deane, Poplar Hill.

(John Pike is my 5th great grandfather. James Pike is my 4th great grand uncle.)

Mary Ann Pike is born to James Pike and Ann Bacon.

(Mary Ann Pike is my 4th great grandmother.)

John Knott, (paternal grandfather of Elizabeth Knott), dies at St. Mary's, Maryland.

(John Knott is my 5th great grandfather.)

Mary Drury is born to John Drury and Susannah Hayden at St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Mary Drury is my 4th great grandmother.)

1753 Virginia

July 16, 1753- Peter Lewis, yeoman, of Fairfax County, conveyed to David Potts one hundred acres of land on Kittockton Run. (Yeoman (pronounced Yo-man) refers to a farmer who cultivates his own land.)

(David Potts is my 6th great grandfather.)


1753- Rachel Potts born to David Potts and Ann Roberts in Loudoun County, Virginia.
 
(Rachel Potts is my 5th great grand aunt. Our common ancestors are David Potts and Ann Roberts.)

You Know That You're Addicted to Genealogy When ...........

1. You get locked in a library overnight and you never even notice.

2. You hyperventilate at the sight of an old cemetery.

3. You'd rather browse in a cemetery than a shopping mall.

4. You think every home should have a microfilm reader.

5. You'd rather read census schedules than a good book.

6. You know every town clerk in your state by name.

7. Town clerks lock the doors when they see you coming.

8. You are more interested in what happened in 1695 than 1995.

9. You store your clothes under the bed and your closet is carefully stacked with notebooks and journals.

10. Savage, Torrey, and Pope are household names, but you can't remember what you call your dog.

11. You can pinpoint Harrietsham, Hawkhurst, Kent on a map of England, but can't locate Topeka, Kansas.

12. All of your correspondence begins "Dear Cousin."

13. You've traced every one of your ancestral lines back to Adam and Eve, have it fully documented, and still don't want to quit.
 
(I found this at ScotGen. Thanks!)

The Religious Society of Friends - Quaker Meetings

"A Friend's meeting, however silent, is at the very lowest a witness that worship is something other and deeper than words, and that it is to the unseen and eternal things that we desire to give the first place in our lives. And when the meeting...is awake and looking upwards, there is much more in it than this. In the united stillness of a truly 'gathered' meeting, there is a power known only by experience, and mysterious even when most familiar." Caroline Stephen, (1908).

The Religious Society of Friends relies heavily upon spiritual searching by individual members, individual congregations and meetings (regional assemblies). Most groups of Quakers meet for regular worship. In some traditions, this is called meeting for worship and in others it is known as a Friends Church service.

The Quaker Meeting in Colonial times was unprogrammed.

During an unprogrammed meeting for worship, Friends gather together in "expectant waiting" for divine leadings. The unprogrammed meeting is based in silence; it is usually held with others, and those who feel "moved to speak" can minister for as long as they feel is right. Typically, messages, testimonies, ministry, or other speech are not prepared as a "speech". Speakers are expected to discern the source of their inspiration — whether divine or self. There is usually space to reflect between spoken contributions, there should be no spirit of debate.

The meetings normally last for one hour. There is no leader in such a service, worship is generally deemed to start as soon as the first participant is seated, the others entering the room in silence.  Quakers who worship in this tradition believe that each person is equal before God and is capable of knowing "the light" directly. The Meeting for Worship ends when one person (usually predetermined) shakes the hand of another person present. All the members of the assembly then shake hands with their neighbors, after which one member usually rises and extends greetings and makes announcements.
 
A local congregation in the unprogrammed tradition is called a meeting, or a monthly meeting (e.g., Smalltown Meeting or Smalltown Monthly Meeting). The reference to "monthly" is because the meeting meets monthly to conduct the business of the meeting. Most "monthly meetings" meet for worship at least once a week; some meetings have several worship meetings during the week.


Friends treat all functions of the church as a form of worship, including business, marriage, and memorial services, in addition to regular meeting for worship.

1753 Pennsylvania

August 25, 1753- Rachel Potts, as wife of Joseph Burson, transfers from Buckingham Meeting of Friends in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to the Fairfax Meeting. Rachel and Joseph had been married in 1719 at Potts Grove, Pennsylvania. She was a Quaker.
Clarence V. Roberts' book "History of the Potts Family" States that Jonas Potts, father of Rachel, founded the town of Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

(Mary Rachel Potts is my 6th great grand aunt. Our common ancestors are Jonas Potts and Mary Mercy Thomaston.)

Quakers and the American Family: British Settlement in the Delaware Valley
"This brilliant study shows the pivotal role the Quakers played in the origins and development of America's family ideology. Levy argues that the Quakers brought a new vision of family and social life to America--one that contrasted sharply with the harsh, formal world of the New England Puritans. The Quakers stressed affection, friendship and hospitality, the importance of women in the home, and the value of self-disciplined, non-coercive childrearing. This book explains how and why the Quakers have had such a profound cultural impact on America and what the Quakers' experience with their own radical family system tells us about American families."

Colonial Life- Childhood

In Colonial times, American childhood, as we know it today, did not exist. Children were important to their families, but were valued for their economic worth to their family and community. They were expected to take on adult responsibilities as soon as possible. At six years of age, boys were "breeched": their dresses and stays were removed and they put on adult clothes. Depending on their social status, they might have gotten their heads shaven and been fitted with powdered periwigs. Either way, from that point on, they were young adults and were expected to behave as such.

Childrearing varied somewhat from colony to colony. More women and children migrated to the New England colonies, and they were more able to maintain a strict family structure and patriarchal authority. They had large families and life expectancy was high.

In Maryland, a high percentage of immigrants were men who came over as indentured servants. They married later, and due to the malarial environment, life spans were short and the death rate was high. This often resulted in smaller families, sometimes of only two or three children. These children were greatly treasured, and there were less work responsibilies and less religious instruction. However, due to the reality of early parental death, many boys entered apprenticeship quite young or were left as heirs to manage properties and estates.

In Pennsylvania, the Quakers believed that children were born innocent. They had small families with strong emotional ties. They saw children as equals, and they were treated gently as they were guided to independence. This model greatly influenced childhood as we see it today.

As small children, both girls and boys wore dresses. This was partially related to toilet-training, as children did not wear underwear.  Around 16 months old, they began wearing "stays" (think of corsets) to help force correct posture, and girls would remain in them for the rest of their lives.

 

Between infancy and age eleven, chores included chopping wood, tending to livestock, gathering vegetables, picking worms off tobacco plants and dung out of fleece, hunting and butchering, prepping flax and thread for spinning, washing clothes in the iron kettle and working in the kitchen.

Boys learned early how to use guns for hunting and defense. They even served in military conflicts as "powder monkeys," carrying powder from magazines to guns on ships or in forts.

Since every member of a family or community was expected to contribute to the general welfare, formal education - for those fortunate enough to get it - focused on preparing children for life's practical needs. At the closest public school, boys were taught basic math and reading. They learned their ABCs through the use of a horn book, a thin piece of wood affixed to a sheet of paper on which was printed the alphabet; a transparent sheet of animal horn covered the paper. Some schools also taught penmanship, principles of religion, laws and good manners.

Girls were instructed at home. As early as age six, they began learning embroidery, which also served to teach letters and numbers. One would create a "sampler" piece, on which were stitched the alphabet, simple numbers, phrases and designs. After that, she practiced reading skills using whatever printed material was in the house but especially the Bible.

Upper class children had private tutors who taught them Latin, Greek, rhetoric, logic, geometry and dancing. Musical instruction usually included learning to play an instrument such as violin or harpsichord.

Even with all those responsibilities, children did make time for play. Some forms of recreation back then would be recognizable today in both name and content, such as ice skating, kite flying, jump rope, marbles and bobbing for apples. But some familiar activities had different names, and other games have since been transformed or totally died off. These include:

• Quoits - Wooden or rope circlets were thrown over a post, similar to horse shoes.

• Draughts - Another name for checkers.

• Hoop and Stick - Boys would run, driving a wooden hoop (two and a half feet across) with a nine-inch stick. Two girls would use their sticks to pass the hoop between them.

• Skittles - Also called ninepins. One ball was used to bowl over nine pins with the goal of bowling exactly 31 pins.

• Witch in a Bottle - Similar to Freeze Tag.

Fun and Games in Colonial America (Colonial America)



Usually beginning at fourteen, though often as young as seven, boys could be apprenticed to a master craftsman who would, over the next two to four years, teach him a trade. That could have been anything from shoemaking, metal working or weaving to paper working, glassblowing or surveying.

For girls, adulthood meant marriage and children of their own.

1754 Pennsylvania

1754- Jonas Potts dies in Philadelphia.

(Jonas Potts is my 7th great grandfather.)

1754 Maryland - Taneytown Founded

1754- Taneytown, Maryland was founded in 1754 when one of the area’s first land grants took place. Nearly 7,900 acres were granted to Edward Diggs and Raphael Taney under a patent designated as the Resurvey of Brothers Agreement. Lots were laid out and the first deeds registered in 1762. Raphael Taney, whose home was in St. Mary’s County, probably never lived here. He did, however, help design the town’s layout and gave it his name. One popular misconception is that the town was named for Roger Brooke Taney, a U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice. Judge Taney, who shared a common ancestor with Raphael Taney, was not born until 1777.

The earliest known inhabitants in the Taneytown area were native Americans. The Tuscarora Indians hunted deer, otter, wolves, and wildcats in the area’s abundant woodlands. The early European settlers were Germans from Pennsylvania and Germany. Before the arrival of white settlers, however, most native Americans had already migrated west over South Mountain in the Cumberland Valley. The Treaty of Six Nations, which was signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1745, offered white settlers protection from Indian attacks in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia and made the ownership of land by white men legal.

Of the town George Washington once wrote "Tan-nee town is but a small place with only the Street through which the road passes, built on. The buildings are principally of wood."

1754 Maryland

1754- John Worland II has died in Charles County, Maryland.

(John II Worland Jr. is my 5th great grandfather.)

April 1, 1754- Possible birth date of Eleanor Worland, daughter of John Worland III and his first wife. It has been my supposition that this first wife, whose name is lost to us, possibly died during this birth. However, Eleanor may have been born as early as 1752, as the Maryland census of 1776 lists her age as 24.

(Eleanor Worland is my 3rd great grand aunt, her father John Worland III is my 4th great grandfather.)

From the following document, we do know that John had wed his second wife, Rebecca, by November, 1754.

Nov 13, 1754-  from John Warland of Charles County, planter, to the Reverend Samuel Clagett of Charles County. John Warland, late of Charles County, deceased, and father to John Warland, party to these presents, was seized of a tract of land in William & Mary Parish in Charles County called New Alford, containing about 86 acres, by patent, which said tract the said John Warland the younger has sufficient reason to believe was sold by his father to George Thomas, sometime since of Charles County, now dead, and for which said George Thomas paid a valuable consideration whereby he possessed said tract many years, and by his will, devised the tract to his grandson, Benjamin Compton of Charles County, who has since sold conveyed the premises to the aforementioned Claget, and for which he has received 10,000 lbs of tobacco. Now as the deed from John Warland the Elder to George Thomas aforementioned, though neglect or misconduct, cannot readily be found upon record. Said John Warland the younger being satisfied of the justness of this matter, and for 1000 lbs of tobacco to him paid by said Clagett, Warland sells Clagett the tract of land called New Alford.
Signed - John Warland.
Witnesses- Robert Yates, Charles Blanford,
 Rebecca, wife of said John Warland, relinquished her right of dower to the lands within mentioned, Recorded Nov 13, 1754.
 
Charles County Land Record Book A#2, 1752-1756; Page (242).
 
1754- Samuel Archibald Pike is born to John Pike and Kezia Hackett in St. Mary's, Maryland.
 
(Samuel Archibald Pike is my 4th great grand uncle.)

1754- Mary Newton is born to Elizabeth and Clement Newton in St. Mary's, Maryland.

(Mary Newton is my 4th great grand aunt. Our common ancestors are Clement Newton and Elizabeth.)

The French & Indian War (1755-1763)

Twenty years before the American Revolution, France and Britain's struggle for North America sparked the first world war. Called the French and Indian War, it would change the face of America, especially for the American Indians and the colonists.

France's influence in North America was tied to the fur trade -- they set up trading posts in Canada and around the Great Lakes, and maintained relationships with the native Indians. Meanwhile, British colonists settled along the Atlantic coast -- pushing the American Indians further inward. In the 1750's, France and Britain were both building empires, and came to blows over the land between their American settlements -- the Ohio River Valley. However, the Indians also called this land home, and they would play a valuable role in the war by tipping the balance of power in favor of one of the European empires.

British policies that came out of French and Indian War like taxation and land treaties would spark the American Revolution. Meanwhile, the war would also provide a training ground for one of the United States' greatest leaders -- George Washington.

1755 An Address of Some of the Quakers to the Pennsylvania Assembly

To the Representatives of the Freemen of the Province of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met. The Address of some of the People called Quakers, in the said Province, on Behalf of Themselves and Others.

The Consideration of the Measures which have lately been pursued and are now Proposed having been weightily Impressed on Our Minds, We apprehend that we should fall short of Our Duty to you, to Ourselves, and to Our Brethren in Religious fellowship, If We did not in this Manner Inform you, That altho' We shall at all Times Heartily, and Freely Contribute according to Our Circumstances, either by the Payments of Taxes or in such other Manner as may be Judged necessary towards the Exigencies of Government, and sincerely Desire that due Care may be taken and proper Funds provided for Raising Money to cultivate Our Friendship with Our Indian Neighbors and to support Such of Our Fellow subjects Who are or may be 'in Distress, And for such other like Benevolent purposes, Yet as the raising sums of Money & putting them into the Hands of Committees who may Apply them to Purposes inconsistent with the Peaceable Testimony, We profess and have born to the World, appears to Us in its Consequences to bo Destructive of Our Religious Liberties.

We apprehend many among Us will be under the necessity of suffering rather than Consenting Thereto by the payment of a Tax for such Purposes, And thus the Fundamental Part of Our Constitution may be Essentially affected, and that Free enjoyment of Liberty of Conscience, For the sake of which our Forefathers left there Native Country and Settled this, Then a Wilderness by Degrees be violated.

We sincerely Assure you We have no Temporal Motives for Thus Addressing you, and could We have preserved Peace in Our own Minds and with Each other We should have Deelined it, being unwilling to give You any unnecessary Trouble and Deeply Sensible of yonr Difficulty in Discharging the Trust committed to you irreproachably in these Perilous times which hath Engaged our Fervent Desires that the immediate Instruction of Supreame Wisdom may Influence your Minds, and that being preserved in a steady attention thereto, you may be Enabled to secure Peace and Tranquility to yourselves and those you Represent by pursuing Measures Consistent with Our Peaceable Principles, and then We Trust We may Continue humbly to confide in the Protection of that -Almighty power whose Providence has heretofore been as Walls and Bulwarks round about us.
Anthony Morris, jr., Thomas Brown,
William Moode, Thos. Lightfoot,
Israel Pemberton, John Pemberton,

1755 Virginia

1755- Loudoun County is formed from the northern part of Fairfax County, and David Potts' land is included in the new County.

The land of David Potts was located in a valley known as Between-the-Hills. Between-the-Hills lies on the western slopes of Short Hill mountain and the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge mountain.

Quaker meetings were held at the house of David Potts for several years, it being commonly known as Potts' Meeting. The Fairfax Monthly Meeting of August 30, 1755, has this entry:

"The Friends living above Short Hill Ridge have a meeting kept at David Potts' House, this meeting thinks it reasonable, and allows them to hold meeting on every first and third First-Day in every month till further orders."