December 1997 Newsletter
Dear Family:
Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. Wow, did that month
go past too quickly. Quite a bit has happened this past month. And it was
another month of discovery and connecting family lines. Before I get into
our newly found relatives, I wish to take a moment to recognize the season.
I hope that I will be able to publish this newsletter prior to Christmas.
For me, this is a great time of the year. Not because of the presents, but
because of the giving, if you know what I mean. Sometimes the pressures of
the times makes us lose sight of the reason for the holiday. I just hope
that each of you will take a few moments - preferably with your family, and
give thanks to the Lord for his undying love, for the gift of life, and the
joy of deliverance and salvation. If we can remember the true meaning of
Christmas, then it will really be a wonderful time. I pray that this
newsletter finds each of you in the middle of the Lords will, and that he
is about to bless your socks off. I read a poem from the book "Chicken Soup
for the Soul" that blessed me, so I would like to share with you. I believe
that the words have been used in a song in recent times, so you may
recognize part of the lyrics.
The Touch of the Masters Hand
by Myra B. Welch
Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile.
"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar," then, two! Only two?
"Two dollars, and who'll make it three?
Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice:
Going fro three....." But no
From the room, far back, a grey-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.
"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?
Two thousand! And who'll make it three?
Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice;
And going and gone," said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We do not quite understand
What changed its worth?" Swift came the reply:
"The touch of a master's hand."
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A "mess of potage," a glass of wine;
A game -- and he travels on.
He is "going" once, and going" twice,
He's "going" and almost gone."
But the Master comes and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought
By the touch of the Master's hand.
With the involvement of our family in the history of this country,
I believe it - including each and every one of you , have truly been
touched by the Master's Hand.
For me, the blessing has begun already because we have several
newly found cousins for us to say a great big HELLO. First we have Charles
Franklin McClurg Jr. who can trace his line of descent back to Francis
Yarnall as follows:
Catherine Kate Yarnall is the daughter of Amos (6), s/o Amos (5), s/o Amos
(4), s/o Amos (3), s/o Amos (2), s/o Francis (1)
Married Catherine Kate Yarnall b. 6/4/1851 d. ?
m1. abt 1871 David H. McClurg b.3/09/1845 in Oxford, Pa.,
d.10/14/1878 in Lenni, Pa.
Children:
Franklin Yarnall McClurg b. 10/14/1872 in Philadelphia
m. Ada Giles
Harold West McClurg b. 10/08/1901
Leslie Giles McClurg b. 10/29/1904
Elizabeth Estelle McClurg b. 5/15/1905
Charles Franklin McClurg b. 11/26/1910
Charles Franklin McClurg Sr. (my father)
m. 5/2/1936 Sarah Jane Barlow
Children:
Virginia Jane McClurg b. 1/19/1937
==> Charles Franklin McClurg Jr. b. 04/03/1938 <=
m. August 4, 1962 Suzanne Voris
Children:
Mark Andrew McClurg b. 7/28/64
Margaret Ruth McClurg b. 10/15/1949
Elizabeth Ann McClurg b. 06/02/1951
Ada Roberta McClurg b.04/16/1916 also
Living as of today
Estella May McClurg b. 5/30/1874 in
Lenni, Pa.
George Leslie McClurg b. 1/1876 in Lenni, Pa
m2. Caleb Stearn
Children:
Horace Stern
Rena Stern
Theresa Stern
Our second group of cousins are Christine Ellen (Yarnall) Swanson,
Larisa Adah Swanson, Donald and Edith (Buerckle) Yarnall, Kathryn Ann
Yarnall, Charles Yarnall, and Joseph Yarnall. They trace their line back to
Philip (1), John (2), Thomas (3), William (4), Thomas (5), John Preston
Yarnall (6), and Bennett Yarnall (7) as follows:
Bennett Yarnall b. abt 1855 d. 4/5/1919
m. Katheryn Jane ?? b. abt 1857 d. 1/7/1939
Children:
Clarence Elwood Yarnall b. abt 1881 d. abt 1946
m.Eva M. Sheneman b. abt 1886 d. abt 1976
Children:
Donald Irving Yarnall b. 4/24/1916
m. Edith Buerckle b. 8/17/1919
Children:
Christine Ellen Yarnall Swanson b. 5/19/1942
m. Ralph Swanson b.
Children:
Larisa Adah Swanson b. 5/20/1965
m. ?? Hubbs b. ??
Leslie Edith Swanson b. 3/4/1967
m. ?? Libby b. ??
Robert Edward Yarnall b. abt 1924 d. abt 1986
m. Dorothy McGowan b. 8/5/1924
Children:
Kathryn Ann Yarnall b. 1/12/1950
Robert Edward Yarnall Jr. b. 4/4/1952 d. abt 1979
Preston Joseph Yarnall b. abt 1885 d. 7/21/1966
m. C. Ethel Manley b. abt 1895 d. 4/2/1959
Children:
Charles B. Yarnall b. ?
m. 9/16/1936 Dorothy Mae Mc Ginn b. ?
Children:
Douglas Yarnall b. ?
Constance Yarnall b. ?
Joseph Preston Yarnall b. ?
m. 6/3/1939 Doris Elsie Quinn
Children:
Kenneth Yarnall b. ?
Steven Yarnall b. ?
Bennett Irving Yarnall b. abt 1893 d. 1/6/1965
m. Elsa Scheuerle b. ? d. ?
Children:
Bennett Irving Yarnall Jr. b. ?
Children:
Richard Alfred Yarnall b. abt 1958 d. 1976
George Raymond Yarnall b. abt 1901 d. 12/25/1971
m1. 10/1923 Eleanor I. Young b. abt 1900 d. 10/14/1955
Children:
Thelia Rae Yarnall
m2. Louisa Beebe b. ? d. ?
Children:
step son J. Richard Beebe
Willard L. Yarnall b. abt 1888 d. abt 1976
m. 2/14/1920 Alice Green ?? b. abt 1888 d. 3/5/1971
Children:
Kathryn J. Yarnall b. ? d. ?
m. ?? Abernathy b. ? d. ?
Children;
Willard L. Yarnall Jr. b. ? d. ?
m. 4/15/1949 Muriel S. Taylor b. ? d. ?
Children:
Lucy Yarnall b. abt 1950
Nancy Catherine Yarnall b. abt 1951
Gary Yarnall
Willard Yarnall
Randal C. Yarnall b. ? d. ?
m. 10/16/1948 Jean Tower
Children:
Judy Yarnall b. ? d. ?
Joan Yarnall b. ? d. ?
Jill Yarnall b. ? d. ?
Joyce Yarnall b. ? d. ?
Jane Yarnall b. ? d. ?
Randall Yarnall Jr. b. ? d. ?
Howard Reeves Yarnall b. ? d. ?
m. 10/7/1950 Jean Elizabeth Miller b. ? d. ?
Children:
Thomas Yarnall b. ? d. ?
m. ?
Children:
Kathi Yarnall b. ? d. ?
Joann Yarnall b. ? d. ?
John M. Yarnall b. 10/3/1860 d. 4/10/1883
W. Elwood Yarnall b. abt 1857 d. abt 1929
m. Elizabeth Jones b. abt 1862 d. 11/24/1941
Children:
Daughter Yarnall
George B. Yarnall b. abt 1864 d. 2/25/1952
m. Carrie M. James b. abt 1875 d. abt 1955
From the foregoing, any place in a line of descent that has a
question mark, in place of a date, has some required information that I am
hoping can be supplied by the family.
?
I have been disappointed by the number of incorrect Email address
that I picked up off of the internet, and the length of time it took to
cull the unusable ones out. Apparently an address can sometimes stay in
the system for quite some time. Some of the addresses at Universities are
for students that have long since graduated, or there are people who have
six, eight or ten addresses, and if I have them, a letter goes to each one.
I can only imagine the consternation when all those messages came roaring
into their PC. To those that are left, let me just say a few words about
continuing and adding the names of relatives to my mailing list. The
information that we supply - yes, we(!), is free for you and your loved
ones. I believe that the information for the very young is awesome for book
reports, essays, and just a feeling of self worth. I have not known one
person that could claim our heritage. Now, either I am traveling in the
wrong circles or it is truly rare.
?
With much sadness, the family of Ada May (Yarnall) Milligan said
their farewells, as Ada went home to the Lord on October 29, 1997. Ada died
at her home in Barnegat New Jersey, at the age of 80. Ada was the childhood
sweetheart and wife of John C. (Mike) Milligan, and the mother of John C.
Milligan and Barbara (Milligan) Delaney and grandmother to five
grand-children. Bob Yarnall reports that Aunt Ada was born May 22, 1917,
the daughter of Ada M. (Klinger) and Frederick Hiney Yarnall Sr., and was
the last living child of Frederick H. Yarnall Sr. The span of Frederick's
life, and the death of his daughter spanned 136 years. That would be from
Frederick's birth on June 20, 1861, until Ada's death on October 29, 1997,
and this nephew has the facts to substantiate this Yarnall family history.
Yes, Fred was 57 when Ada was born and she was the apple of his eye, having
a musical talent. She had a musical talent that included a beautiful
singing voice and while she could not read a note of music, she could play
the piano from memory. This she loved to do for the enjoyment of her dad
and later in life for the family and friends.
We say goodbye for now, but with much joy, we know that one day
soon we will all have a chance to meet Ada and the rest of the Yarnall /
Yarnell clan.
?
My grand-mom always said that with the closing of one door, the
Lord always opens another. Now from the new birth department, won't you all
join in a big happy BIRTHDAY to Matthew Tenzen Yarnall. Matthew was born at
1:15 PM on October 7, 1997. Proud father and mother Thomas and Mary noted
that the middle name is derived from the personal name of H.H. The Dalai
Lama XIV of Tibet - 1989 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Tom let me know that I
could see Matthew if I would go to the Hospital's Webb page www.docnet.org.
Talk about a tremendous use for technology. I went to the Webb page and
followed Tom's instructions. I was rewarded by a photograph of their
beautiful son, along with the pertinent birth information. Now, a relative
from across the country can see the newborn almost immediately.
?
Another cousin, Randy L. Yarnall who was our Family Circle Person
of the month for January 1997 has made the final decision to become a
professional Bass fisherman. We are happy to report that in his second
tournament as a professional he took ninth place and a $4,000.00 purse. The
Tournament was the "Bassmaster Virginia Eastern Invitational, Buggs Island
Lake, South Hill Va. on Oct. 23-25, 1997. I sure hope this means that some
Saturday morning we are going to be able to see on our sports channel,
"Bass Fishin with Randy L. Yarnall". Of course you and your family have
our prayers Randy.
?
PART 3............
....HOLTON YARNALL....
No attempt has been made to account for the disposition of
the entire 345 acres inherited by Bryan Jr. except to establish that in
1747 he sold 80 acres to Andrew Justis for 150 pounds. The Justis name has
been closely associated with Brandywine Springs, and it should be noted
that it is established that a member of this old Swedish family was on the
scene at an early date, just as another one of the family had been a
pioneer settler at Newport. The later generation of Justis's, namely Jacob
(son of Neils Justis) and his three sons, Joseph, David, and Justa, were
also landowners near the springs and contemporaries of Holton Yarnall.
Yarnall made his living as the keeper of a tavern called the
Conestoga Wagon situated on the Yellow Springs property and fronting on the
turnpike. He catered to the cursing, swaggering waggoners who drove
Conestogas creaking under loads of grain from Lancaster County to the
wharves of Newport, there to be loaded aboard sailing vessels and carried
down the Christiana to the Delaware River and thence to Philadelphia. His
hard, horny, bushy-bearded customers were more disposed to alcoholic
refreshment than they were to the chalybeate spring bubbling in the gully
behind the tavern. There was a local tradition that the Indians had
frequented the spring for its medicinal virtues many years before, but the
waggoners showed little interest in reviving a heathen custom.
?
The Indian romance associated with Brandywine Springs was related
as follows in a story written by J. Barton Cheyney appearing in the
Wilmington Every-Evening, January 21, 1922:
A legend touching the curative properties of these waters is still
preserved, and runs to the effect that the daughter of an Indian Chief who
was ill with wasting sickness, and near the point of passing to the happy
hunting grounds, was brought here from the frontier which was then across
the present Pennsylvania line in Ohio, and was cured almost immediately.
It is said that her father, a chief of the tribe, had heard of this
health-giving fount from some neighboring red men who had once crossed the
Alleghenies, and after the tribal medicine man's incantations had failed he
insisted that his daughter be brought to the springs here. Consequently she
was carried on an improved litter by relays of "squaw men" of the tribe and
reached here almost at the point of death after two weeks journey through
the forests of Pennsylvania.
During her period of taking the waters the visitors were frequently
brought into contact with the aborigines of the neighborhood, and the story
runs that one of the braves of the tribe wooed and won the convalescent
squaw, and that she never returned to the wigwam of her father. It is
claimed also that of the descendants of the couple 'Indian Hannah' was the
last survivor.
Yarnall was well aware of the alleged curative properties of the
chalybeate water and the Indian tradition, but he had personal problems
which no mineral spring could relieve. he was heavily in debt. In 1802
James Gibbons held a mortgage of 600 pounds on Yarnall's property, and in
1807 James Robinson, a neighboring blacksmith, became holder of the
mortgage. in 1818 Robinson assigned the mortgage to Jane Wilson, "a single
woman of Wilmington."
Six years after the appearance of his first advertisement, which
brought no prospective buyers, Yarnall again offered his property for sale.
The following ad, appearing in the May 10, 1822 issue of the Delaware
Gazette, was his final effort at liquidation:
The subscriber offers at private sale his farm containing about 80
acres, twenty of which are woodland. The property is situated five miles
from Wilmington, and three miles from Newport; the turnpike from New Castle
and Newport to Lancaster passes through it. The dwelling house, adjoining
on the turnpike has been employed for some years past as a tavery
On this farm and within one hundred and fifty yards of the turnpike
is a powerful chalybeate or spa spring; the medical virtues of this water
as a tonic and deobstruent in removing debility and creating an appetite
have been pronounced by judges to be equal if not superior to any medical
spring in the United States, and if improved as a place of resort for
valetudinarians and weakly persons suffering from various kinds of
debility, might be rendered very lucrative to thepurchaser. The country
around is high and very healthy; meeting houses and
mills convenient. The descent from the spring is such that bathing and
shower baths could be established and from the tonic and bracing qualities
of the water, would be much resorted to by citizens of Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Wilmington, the lower counties, &c. who would be greatly
benefited by a few weeks of this excellent water. Any person who might be
disposed to purchase and improve this place for the purpose of
accommodating boarders would, there is no doubt, be handsomely remunerated,
and if more convenient to the purchaser, to not buy the whole farm, a part
of it would be sold, say four or five acres, including the spring and
affording a handsome front on the turnpike. For terms inquire on the
premises of the subscriber at the sign of the Conestaga Wagon, or of John
Yarnall, No. 33 Market Street, Wilmington.
By 1827 Yarnall's financial situation had still not improved. To
make matters worse, Jane Wilson, the mortgagor, had died, and Washington
Rice, executor of her estate, was pressing Yarnall for settlement on the
600 pound mortgage.
Rice took the debt to court, and a judgment of $3,200 was awarded
which Yarnall, of course, was unable to pay. Sheriff Peter Dulany of New
Castle County set the legal machinery in motion to perform his duty. The
sheriff sale was recorded July 9, 1827, and included 75 acres "more or
less", a large stone house and frame barns. The highest bidder was William
Seal, a Wilmington businessman, property holder, and President of the Bank
of Wilmington & Brandywine. The price paid was $2,805.
The development immediately following Seal's purchase of the
property arouses suspicion, and yet looking back more than 100 years later,
it is difficult to evaluate the true circumstances. Within a week--on July
14, 1827--Seal sold the property to a corporation that had been recently
chartered in Delaware, the Brandywine Chalybeate Springs Company. The
selling price was $2,805, the identical amount Seal had paid at the sheriff
sale. One poses the following questions:
Had Seal acted as the company's undercover agent in negotiating the
purchase? Had the company played a part in forcing the sale so that they
could obtain the property at a bargain price? Who was the Brandywine
Chalybeate Springs Company and why were they now so eager to acquire
property that had twice before been offered for sale?
Well, what do you think? Was one of our cousins hoodwinked out of a
valuable piece of property? It is hard to believe that Holton would have
let that happen, unless......, there were too many Indian memories and
Spirits around.
..................The End!
?
Search for out Roots:
Well, here is another mystery for our sleuths. We are looking for
John B. Yarnall, b. abt 1834/35.
Now the closest match that I have made is
Joseph b. abt 1803 d. abt 1874
m. Sarah (???) Yarnall b. abt 1797 d. abt 1839.
Children:
John Yarnall b. 1834 Tioga Co., Pa
Ashael Yarnall b. abt 1835
Sarah Yarnall b. abt 1837
Girl Yarnall b. abt 1838/39
Here is the information we have on our mystery John B. Yarnall.
1880 Soundex Pa., 39-137-27-1, Armstrong Twp., Indiana Co., Pa.
John B. Yarnell b. circa 1835, Pa
m. Sarah M. --?--, b. circa 1837, Ireland
Children:
i. James E., b. circa 1866
ii. Isaac C., b. circa 1870
iii. John B., b. circa 1871
iv. Kate, b. circa 1872
v. Mary E., b. circa 1873
vi. Frank, b. circa 1875
vii. Richard, b. circa 1877
Now there is another census record from 1860 for a John Yarnall as
follows:
1860 Census Tioga Co., Pa., Town of Deerfield, P. O. Wellsboro
John Yarnell b. circa 1835 (25 in 1860 census), Pa
Listed as farm laborer with family of Henry and Elizabeth Stevens.
I believe that all of the John's above are the same, but would like
some supporting information. If John, the son of Joseph has the initial B.
that would help, or is someone has information that would indicate that the
father of John B. Yarnell above is Joseph, that would be enough.
Another Missing John or Dear John II
Well, here is another mystery for our sleuths. We are looking for
John Yarnall, b. abt 1844.
Now the closest match that I have made is
Aaron b. abt 1815
m. Harriet (Poulson) Yarnall b. abt 1814.
Children:
Elizabeth Yarnall b. 1838
James Yarnall b. abt 1838
Ziba S. Yarnall b. abt 1841
John N. Yarnall b. abt 1843
Eli Yarnall b. abt 1846
Sarah J. Yarnall b. abt 1847
George Yarnall b. abt 1849
Rachael Yarnall b. abt 1852
Ashbury Yarnall b. abt 1854
Here is what information we have on our second mystery John Yarnall.
1880 Soundex Pa., 11-235-9-22 West St. Clair, Bedford Co.
John Yarnell b. circa 1844, Pa
m. Sarah --?--, b. circa 1849, Pa
Children:
i. Mary E., b. circa 1870
ii. Emma J., b. circa 1872
iii. Delilah, b. circa 1874
iv. Shannon A, b. circa 1876
v. Leah L.., b. circa 1878
vi. Lovina B., b. circa Dec. 1879
Again, I believe that all of the John's above are the same, but
would like some supporting information. If John, the son of Aaron married a
Sarah that would help, or if someone has information that would indicate
that the father of John Yarnall from the census is Aaron, that would be
enough.
Now comes a message from the frustrated genealogist department -
just kidding Lin.
?
October 30,1997
Dear Fred:
I felt compelled to report that several of our genealogical researchers are
resorting to unusual tactics to develop new leads, several of which have
been enumerated below.
* As per public proclamation, individuals found up-
righting grave stones. It is fortunate that this was
done far in advance of Halloween, thereby not
construing their act as grave robbing.
* Digressing from census information, which to some
extent is too confining between distinct periods, we
have found numerous leads using annual tax dockets which
reflect townships, principal property owner(s), size of
property, buildings, live stock and other datum as
applicable.
* One individual peered through basement joists in the
old homestead, finding an item placed there by his
father in much earlier times precluding injury to his then young son.
* What genealogical finds still exist in old attic trunks,
inscriptions placed on the rear of old family
photographs, yellowed newspaper clippings, birth /
death certificates, wedding invitations, burial permits,
baptismal / wedding certificates? Other family sources on Bible
fly sheets, diary, ledgers, journals and documents
regarding place(s) of interment. Heaven knows the
sources I've overlooked.
* Just a short time ago we were not able to comprehend
that we would have 12,500 Yarnall's / Yarnell's
cataloged in a database with known lineage, this to a high degree
of reliability. Obviously, our
correspondents are not aware that we have thousands of
others listed, but not yet connected. Possibly an
endearing solicitation for more personal and accurate
facts, respecting privacy, would accelerate our joint
efforts. If we fall short, the true and accurate history of this family
may never be recorded.
I would offer my home as the repository for any information that
individuals would be willing to share with us. Pledging my continued
cooperation in this matter of mutual interest.
Lin
For those in the family with information that would be helpful to
our genealogical study of our family, please get in touch with me either by
Email, or by my snail mail address. I am convinced that even with the
12,987 names that we presently have in our database as confirmed family
members, this is only a tenth of the total family that we have to find.
Your help could be critical in unlocking some of the links that we are
still to connect. As Linford stated in his note above, we will share the
information with other genealogists in the family with discretion.
?
This humor corner has gotten more attention than any other section
of the newsletter - ever since I started doing the Lawyer jokes.....I
wonder why? It is getting so bad that people at work are stopping me to
tell me the latest lawyer joke that they heard. Since this is such a
popular subject, we will continue with the legal profession again this
month. These are all true accountings from court records, this first one is
a true accounting of an Attorney questioning a coroner on the witness
stand.
1. Q: Did you take the mans pulse before performing the autopsy? A: No I
did not!
Q: Did you take his blood pressure before performing the autopsy? A: No I
did not!
Q. Did you do a breath test before performing the autopsy? A: No, I
did not!
Q: You mean to tell me that this man was brought into your Lab, and you
took no pulse, no blood pressure and did not check for breathing before
performing the autopsy, then how did you know that he was deceased.
A:Because his brain was sitting in a jar on my desk.
Q: Well, isn't there just the slightest chance, perhaps the remotest of
possibilities, that he could have still been alive?
A: Well, I guess that there is the slightest of chances that he is alive
and practicing law somewhere!
2. Q: You say that the stairs went down to the basement?
A: Yes!
Q: And these stairs, did they go up also?
3. Q: Have you lived in this town all your life?
A: Not yet.
?
This month, I would like to introduce the family to someone who
means the world to me - my daughter Cathy Lynn (Yarnall) Flade. Cathy was
born at the Roxborough Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia Pennsylvania on
July 30, 1970. Until recently, she has lived her entire life in East
Fallsl, Philadelphia, PA. She was married this past year to Alan Flade, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Alan Flade, also of Philadelphia. Cathy was educated at
St. Timothy's Episcopal Grade School, Shawmont Grade School, Roxborough
High School, and is presently attending community New Jersey Institute of
Technology, where she is pursuing an Engineering Degree while working full
time as an Engineering Aid at a local Engineering Company.
Cathy has varied interests, including computers, but mostly those
that center around her love of animals. From the Hamsters, Guinea Pigs,
Dogs and Cats, that have graced our residence over the years, to her
favorite, Horses. She has managed to own and love various horses since she
was in her pre teens. Her interest has included show and pleasure riding.
Spending her summers in and around the Amish farms in Lancaster county, she
would ride her horse through the local countryside. Both Cathy and her
childhood girlfriend were know to ride the Amish work horses bareback.
Another hobby that has given her immediate family pleasure is her artistic
ability. She attended the Moore College of Art on scholarship and several
of her paintings adorn the homes of her brothers and parents.
Cathy's biggest hope is to complete her education toward an
Electrical Engineering Degree (and will be attending full time the
beginning of the year), and to eventually own a home with enough ground to
have horses (boy, that's a surprise - just kidding).
?
PART 5............
"THERE WERE KINSMEN OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN SCHUYLKILL COUNTY"
A Paper Prepared and Written for The Historical Society of Schuylkill
County, Pennsylvania By Edgar Downey.
There was Great-granduncle Mordecai, half-brother of
Great-grandfather John Lincoln. He remained in Pennsylvania. A deed in 1789
mentions him as a resident of Dauphin County. He lived until 1812. Another
great-granduncle, Thomas Lincoln, also a half-brother of Great-grandfather
John, was Sheriff of Berks County in 1758. While Sheriff, it is said he
hanged a woman for murder. Over a century later a woman was hanged for
being implicated in the assassination of the son of Thomas Lincoln, his
grand-nephew and namesake. We find him before Justice Conrad Weiser and his
associate justices of the Courts of Berks County, presenting a complaint
against Lieutenant Meyer to the effect that the said Lieutenant
"....hired a poor old man at the White Horse (Tavern),
with a promise of food and drink, to come to Reading
with his fiddle and help the recruiting officers by
playing. But they tried by all manner of devices to make him enlist,
did not give him victuals, he paid his own reckoning, they
took his fiddle away from him and did not give it
back...(said Weiser) I would offer Herr Meyer the friendly advice to
give orders that the old fellow's fiddle be given
back to him..."
Thomas Lincoln must have been a public-spirited citizen in his day.
Among "the Literary citizens who assembled at the Widow Drury's Tavern in
February, 1767, to found the first Reading (Berks County, Pennsylvania)
library" was Thomas Lincoln, and there was also with them Joseph Millard,
his brother-in-law and husband of his half-sister, Hannah. Great-granduncle
Thomas died in 1775.
Then there was Abraham Lincoln, another half-brother of
Great-granduncle John Lincoln and a posthumous son of
Great-great-grandfather Mordecai Lincoln. He married Anne, the daughter of
James and Mary (Foulks) Boone, on July 10, 1760. She was a cousin of Daniel
Boone, and she and her family were Quakers. her marriage was "out of
meeting" for which "disorderly conduct" she was disciplined and
acknowledged her error during the year following her marriage. James Boone,
her father, was the owner of land where Schuylkill Haven is now located,
known in his day as Boone's Uppers.
Here is a bit of information concerning this Abraham Lincoln of
Berks County, which is said to be among the papers of the Lycoming County
Historical Society. In 1773, Samuel Wallis, whom a historian recently
called a "peripatetic litigant," was the plaintiff in a suit in ejectment
in the Courts of Berks County against the Penns, the Proprietaries of
Pennsylvania. Joshua Reed represented Wallis and Edward Biddle the Penns.
In order to assist his counsel in challenging the jury panel, Wallis
prepared a descriptive list of all jurymen drawn for service at the term of
Court in which his case was to be tried. This list is said to be still in
existence and contains the following:
"No.3. Abraham Lincoln. A country born Englishman. An
illiterate man and apt to be influenced by the
pleadings of lawyers; apt to be intoxicated with
Drink. A Quaker; is thought to be influenced by James Starr, or
Samuel Hughs, A Farmer."
Just a word about Samuel Wallis. In 1770 we find him to be one of the
petitioners for the Great Road, or the King's Highway, which was to pass
through what is now Schuylkill County and to run from the sawmill of Ellis
Hughes, near Connors Crossing, to Fort Augusta, now Sunbury. Wallis was one
of the largest landowners in the province and resided in Philadelphia, but
later at Muncy, then in Northumberland County. But, since the secret
history of the American Revolution has been told and written, it has been
revealed that his was an unknown and unsuspected collaborator and
confederate of Benedict Arnold in his treachery. After the Revolution,
Wallis lived in Philadelphia, and there he died.
This Abraham Lincoln, whom he would challenge as a juror, was not such
a man as Wallis would have us suppose. Before the Revolution he was a
county commissioner. He was a sub-lieutenant of Berks County in 1777, and
also a member of the Assembly for six years. he must have been a man of
prominence in Berks County, for he was chosen as the delegate of the County
(representing also what is now largely Schuylkill County) in the
Pennsylvania convention to ratify or reject the proposed Constitution of
the United States of America. But he voted against the Constitution, which
his illustrious namesake later undertook to preserve, protect and defend so
nobly and successfully did so. Abraham Lincoln of Berks County died in
1806, and his wife, Anne, followed him in death in 1807. Both are buried in
Exeter, Berks County.
The purchase of 1749 opened the lands north of the Schuylkill Gap
in the Blue Mountains to settlers. As early as 1750-51, John Fincher, James
Boone, Francis Yarnall, Thomas Reed and others had taken up tracts in the
vicinity of what is now Schuylkill Haven. James Boone was the father-in-law
of Abraham Lincoln of Berks County. Francis Yarnall was the husband of Mary
Lincoln, half-sister of Abraham Lincoln of Berks County, and a full sister
of Great-grandfather John Lincoln.
..................TO BE CONTINUED
?
This is usually the place in the newsletter that I close with an
article from the book "The Rebirth of America" by the Arthur S. DeMoss
Foundation, but this month because of space, I am ending the newsletter
with a quote from Mother Teresa, who went home to the Lord this past year.
Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own
house. Give love to your children, to your wife or
husband, to a next door neighbor...Let no one ever
come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living
expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in
your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm
greeting.
Much love,
Fred
John 15:9-12 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue
ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even
as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These
things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that
your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another,
as I have loved you.