B & W Photos of yesteryear, and some histories

  

Mary McCloud Bethune was born on July 10, 1875

The Jon S. Randal Peace Page

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She started a school for African-American girls with $1.50. The school bordered the town dump. Make-shift desks and chairs were made from discarded crates and boxes. There were five students at the time, and the students made ink for pens from elderberry juice and pencils from burned wood.

When the the local Ku Klux Klan heard about the school, they threatened to burn it down. There were reports that they waited outside the school, but she stood in the doorway, unwilling to back down or leave her school. Other stories say that she and her students started singing spirituals. The Ku Klux Klan eventually left.

Mary McLeod Bethune was born on July 10, 1875 in a log cabin on a cotton farm in South Carolina, the 15th of 17 children of former slaves. Most of her brothers and sisters were born into slavery; she was the first child born free. She started working in the fields by the age of 5.

This is a post from the Peace Page, with information compiled from historical sources online. The Peace Page encourages readers to learn more of the life of Mary McLeod Bethune online.

One day, she accompanied her mother, delivering “white people’s” wash. When she was given permission to enter the white children's nursery, she saw a book, which fascinated her. A white girl would quickly snatch the book from her hands, telling her she didn't know how to read. That's when Mary realized the only difference between white and black folk was the ability to read and write.

When she got the opportunity, McLeod attended a one-room black schoolhouse, walking five miles to and from the school. When she got home, she would teach her parents and siblings what she learned. She then got an opportunity to attend the Moody Bible Institute in 1895, becoming the first African American student to graduate from the school.

She decided then she would become a missionary, sharing what she learned. But, she would be informed that no one wanted or needed a black missionary.

Rather than give up her dreams, she decided more than ever that she would eventually teach.

Flash forward to 1904, when after moving to Florida, she started the Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls, which initially had five girls aged six to twelve. With limited resources, she was determined to make the school a success, even when the Ku Klux Klan threatened her. But, eventually she received donations and support from the community, and the school grew to 30 girls by the end of the year.

Booker T. Washington would tell her of the importance of white benefactors to fund her school, so she started traveling and fundraising, receiving donations from John D. Rockefeller and establishing contacts with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Her little school would become even more successful after it merged with a private institute for African-American boys and became known as the Bethune-Cookman School. She was president of the college from 1923 to 1942, and 1946 to 1947, becoming one of the few women in the world to serve as a college president at that time.

After she found that one of her students needing medical care was denied the care she needed and was placed on an outside porch of the local white hospital instead of a room with a bed, she used her funding sources and connections to open the first black hospital in Daytona, Florida.

According to the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial Association, McLeod became "one of the 20th century’s most powerful and celebrated advocates for civil rights and suffrage", holding "prominent roles, including president, in the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). She also served as president of the Florida Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, where she fought against school segregation and sought healthcare for black children. Under her leadership, the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) was founded as a unifying voice for African American women’s organizations."

As chapter president of the Florida chapter of the National Association of Colored Women, she would become so well known for her work registering black voters that once again she received threats from the Ku Klux Klan. And, like before, she did not back down.

With her friendship with the Roosevelts, she would become appointed as a national adviser to president Roosevelt, becoming part of what was known as his Black Cabinet and advising him on concerns of black people and would be called the “First Lady of the Struggle”.

When she passed away on May 18, 1955, she was recognized across the country. One newspaper suggested "the story of her life should be taught to every school child for generations to come" and The New York Times noted she was, "one of the most potent factors in the growth of interracial goodwill in America."

In her own words before she died, she wrote:

"I leave you love. I leave you hope. I leave you the challenge of developing confidence in one another. I leave you a thirst for education. I leave you a respect for the use of power. I leave you faith. I leave you racial dignity. I leave you a desire to live harmoniously with your fellow men. I leave you a responsibility to our young people."

“If I have a legacy to leave my people, it is my philosophy of living and serving. I think I have spent my life well. I pray now that my philosophy may be helpful to those who share my vision of a world of Peace, Progress, Brotherhood, and Love.”

[Note: This was originally published on the Jon S. Randal Peace Page in 2019. You are welcome to share, but please do so via the Facebook share button which acknowledges the original author. Thank you.]

And as I've looked into my own ancestors' pasts...I found that I've a drop or two of Scottish blood...namely from Dugald and John MacDougall

This carving is the base of the memorial depicted below, out of focus.

In my Ancestry tree, WIlliam McElhany (1766-1815) of Pennsylvania, fought in the War of 1812, on the American side.

His memorial is in the Cheektowaga Historical Cemetery site. I posted about the cemetery before HERE..

Soldiers who died in the military hospital were buried in the cemetery on Aero Dr. which was located in Amherst until the New York State Thruway was built nearly 150 years later, when the cemetery became part of the Town of Cheektowaga.

Graves are not individuality marked, there are small white wooden cross's scattered throughout the cemetery.

Established: 1814 - 1815, aka Old Military Cemetery, aka Garrison Road Cemetery, aka Creek Road Cemetery .

Denomination: Military

Address & Location: Located on the south side of Aero Rd., between Transit Rd. and Wehrle Dr., west of Youngs Rd. (North of Buffalo International Airport). 

William McElhany's wife was Elizabeth Clark McNeal McElhany (1768-1849) and her ancestors included members of the families McNeal, McKorda, McKinney, and many a Scotch-Irish family.

One grandmother was Mary Sarah MacDougall, 1664-1725...who's lineage included MacLaughlin, Livingstone, Gillespie and her father, Alexander MacDougall.  He was the 21st Chief of Dunollie and of Lorn, (1635-1695) of Dunollich, Argyllshire, Scotland. He would be my 9th great grandfather.

I'm not quite sure how the monument connects to him...and will try to figure that out in the next few ventures into Ancestry. I know only that she was my 8 time great grandmother, among the immigrants from Scotland to Ireland.

In the meantime I wanted to share two serious looking ladies, all squeezed up in their fine attire, ready to walk somewhere with beautiful parasols.  I don't think I'm related, and don't even know their names.

Sharing with Sepia Saturday this week!

Today's quote:

“It is not work that kills men; it is worry. Work is healthy; you can hardly put more upon a man than he can bear. Worry is the rust upon the blade. It is not the movement that destroys the machinery but the friction.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

Changes

 I love thinking how often things change...often without my knowledge or encouragement. Like my $80 increase in car insurance. And I never saw that coming. My car gets much older, and for some strange reason the insurance company thinks it's going to cost more to repair or replace. Well, the newer ones do cost much more, so I may never be able to replace it anyway. Let's see which one of us wears out first!

The change that I wanted to mention is one of my intentions to learn Gaelic...preferably the Scotts variety. I've got the book. But then someone suggested free Duolingo. So I've been working on that on line, very slowly...and I'm pretty sure it's Irish Gaelic.

I am ok with that. It's hard enough with vocabulary, but at least Duolingo does have sounded out words and sentences.

Whoopee! So every day or so I work on my vocab and the existence of male/female articles of the words that are at least clearly male or female. Like the girl, the boy, the man, and the woman. Then they get to eat, and I have to figure out how those sentences get put together. Over and over! And it's still like starting over again with each lesson.

Other than that, I've got lots of volunteer stuff on my plate so I'd best get to doing that!

Have a great day!

Memory in old age

 We all suffer from some memory loss, and often joke about it. But when I consider, at the end of the day, that I spent about an hour when broken into all the different times then pulled together, when I was trying to remember something, I want to cut back on memory difficulties.

I've heard a good technique is actively learning something. Not repeating words as crossword workers are doing, or adding numbers as Sodoku workers are doing (though I think those are definitely work!) - and certainly not playing "find the..." games. I need to push myself to learn something new.

So I had to drop out of our Spanish Conversation class, thanks to a pandemic. I don't know how, but I want to learn Gaellic.

Then I found out there are 2 major ones, and probably one of those is broken into 3, and the other broken into 2 very different dialects...and they might not be able to understand each other's Celtic brogue.

Now I started to say, Irish would be good. But maybe Scottish would be a better idea.

Flag of Scotland

And I looked on some Irish pronunciation sites with common phrases, and geese, I couldn't remember one of them, even after saying them out loud. 

Well, I admit I seldom remember any names or phrases I had just heard, even by saying them.

This is going to take a lot of effort, and time (of which I have plenty daily, though not so much yearly).

So if anyone should have some good techniques or suggestions, please let me know. I think I'm going to see if any language learning tapes on CDs are available through the library. I need to repeat and repeat after hearing the correct pronunciation. Maybe one phrase a week...or one word!

My Irish ancestor was Francis Beattie, (1715-1791) But come to find out, he was also a Scottish man, with the Ulster Scotts...though the birth of fathers and grandfathers is confusingly either Ireland or Scotland.

But I had other ancestors who were Ulster Scotts...or Scotch Irish as they are now called.

So I think Scottish Gaelic is the way to go after all!

"The Winthrop Woman"

 I just finished listening to the audio version of this book. When I tried to read it many years ago, I lost myself and lost interest. But this time I was captivated by it.

It was a very long digital audio book, but I was supposed to be sitting with my legs elevated a lot, so it fit right into my life at this time. (A foot injury is still not treated, but I have appointments coming.)

 I really enjoyed getting to know Elizabeth Winthrop, an early colonist to America, whose uncle John Winthrop was a governor of Massachusetts for some years of his life. 

I had many relatives in early Massachusetts and Connecticut, but have no knowledge of all the trials and tribulations they went through until I read The Winthrop Woman.

Elizabeth had many problems in her life, and somehow surmounted them all. She befriended a First Nation Indian woman who appeared several times through the book.  Elizabeth has romances, religious doubts, and a large family.  

Though this is a historical fiction, the actual woman, Elizabeth Winthrop, existed and was cited in many records through her life...records which still exist. I don't know how many things have been inserted to provide links to these records. But she dealt with early Puritans, and politics during King Charles I reign and the revolution of Cromwell. She dealt with the Dutch who had different laws to be followed when she lived in Greenwich CT, which was on the border and eventually became part of the English Connecticut Colony.

I remembered an ancestor of mine had a sister (Ann Brinley Coddington, 1628-1708) who married a Connecticut governor, and just looked up her mention on my blog HERE. The Brinley sister married Gov. William Coddington (1601-1678), while my ancestress was Grissell Brinley Sylvester (1635-1687) who lived on Long Island. I had many ancestors who settled in Boston MA, Andover MA, Newbury MA, Sudbury RI, Hartford CT, and Stratford CT, from both my father's and my mother's ancestry.

I wish on a certain level that I still lived in New England, and had access to all the many documents which still talk of the early colonists.  Of course there are lots of resources on line these days and I find many hints on my Ancestry trees every time I look at them!

Thanks to fellow blogger, Vicki Lane who recommended this book.

More on Alice Harris Farnum Martin

 I don't know why I left Alice Harris Farnum's children out of my last post!

She and her first husband, Ralph Farnum I, had 7 children. His occupation that he had recorded on their passage to America said he was a barber. The first four children came with the Farnums from England, where they had been born. The next were all born in the Colonies. The last was John Farnum, (abt. 1640--17 June 1723.) His line four generations later brought a Sarah Farnum who married Jacob Granger, a line which extended from New England to Texas just before the Civil War...my grandmother's grandmother.

But another of Alice Harris Farnum's children, their oldest by the name of Mary Farnum, married Daniel Poore. And Mary and Daniel's family included a daughter, Martha Poore, who married Capt. John Granger. So it was their grandson Jacob who married Sarah Farnum.  I wonder if they knew they had some kind of cousin relationship. And I don't dare figure it out!

When Alice married a second time to Solomon, the ship's carpenter, Martin, they had 2 children. The first had probably not been Alice's son, having been born in 1645 when she was married to Ralph (I presume). The second was born in 1648, after the date of her marriage to Solomon Martin. But we don't have a date of death for Ralph Farnum, just that it was before Alice married Solomon in 1648. So both of these Martin children could have been hers. Then Solomon died in 1655. Alice herself may have died in1652 as some Ancestry trees say, or may have lived until 8 Jan. 1691. Many of her children lived past that date, so she would have had someone to care for her in her old age.

More grandparents from England

 These ancestors are actually on my dad's mother's tree, Ada Phillips Swasey Rogers. 

Her New England branch included immigrants Ralph Farnham/Farnum I, and his wife Alice Harris Farnum Martin. She had been born in 1607 in Braunstone England. She died in 1652 (or maybe in 1691) in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts Colony.

Alice Harris Fanhum and Ralph Farnum had been among the early colonists who had passage to America on the James, landing in Boston June 3, 1635. (There was more than one ship by that name, just to confuse the various stories.) They were my 9 times great grandparents.

Let's go up the Harris lineage for a moment.

Her parents were Sir Thomas Harris of Maldon (5 Dec 1562- 6 Mar 1621) and Eleanore Silverthorn Harris (1520-1565), though one tree on Ancestry calls her mother Joan Wrighte Harris, who we only know died in Oct. 1600.  I'll stay with the majority for Eleanore Silverthorn. But unfortunately there's no more known about her. So let's take a break here, with these, my 10 times great grandparents.

Oh actually, I forgot to post the dates for Alice Harris Farnhum's husband, Ralph I.

It explains how she married Martin after he died.

The following was found in Massachusetts' Find A Grave, which unfortunately posted 1692 as a death date, then quotes below that he died by 1648 when his widow remarried!

Born about 1603 (aged 32 in 1635). Barber from Rochester, Kent who came to Massachusetts Bay in 1635 on the "James" & settled in Ipswich. Died by 1648 (when his widow remarried).

Married by 1628 Alice _____. She married (2) Gloucester 18 June 1648 Solomon Martin ("Solloman Martin, ship carpenter, and Ales Varnam, widow, of Ipswich").

On 13 July 1635, "Ralph Farman," barber, aged 32, "Alice Farman," aged 28, "Mary Farman," aged 7, "Tho[mas] Farman," aged 4, and "Ralph Farman," aged 2, were enrolled at London as passengers for New England on the "James."

Source: Anderson's Great Migration Study Project

As this is a closer to original source, I'm changing my tree to reflect that date (1648) for his death, rather than the 1642 one that is not given any source.

And now we know a good reason that Alice remarried to Solomon Martin. I interpret the quote as giving Solomon the status of widow of Ales Varnam, of Ipwich. Does that make sense? 

Or perhaps it's saying widow, Alice Farnum of Ipswich?

Don't you just love the flexible spelling of early America?

More about Alice Harris Farnum Martin soon.

Adriana Alids de Weden Pratt Rogers

She married a religious and educated man. She was Belgium...whatever the correct term for citizens of Belgium may be. Adriana Alids de Weyden Pratt married Rev. John Rogers in 1537 in Antwerp Belgium.  She was 25 and he was 29, according to my records...where there also is an English marriage dated in 1527 as well. Yes, he was British, or English. They have 2 words to describe their citizenship, while Belgiums just call themselves Belgiums.

Rev. John Rogers (1507-1555) was among those educated clergymen who worked on publishing editions of the Bible in English, or German...or any other languages besides Latin which had been the only available editions prior to their work. Rogers used the name Thomas Matthew as his nom de plume for his work to translate the Latin Bible into English for the first time. However, his work was finished just at the time that Queen Mary came into power, and she used her Catholic faith to go against the new church of England that her father, Henry VIII had instituted. So Rev. John Rogers appeared at the wrong time and preached to Queen Mary and she jailed him, then had him burned at the stake, because he was not willing to recant his "Protestant" views. And yes, the Reformation was also happening then.

Back to his wife, Adriana went with Rev. John Rogers while he studied in Germany, and their family grew by many children. By the time he appeared again in England they had had 13 children. Two had died while young. So when Rev. John was burned at the stake, his wife and 11 children observed the event.

I'm interested at this point in Adriana's parentage. She had been born in 1511. We only know of one sister, Anna, who was born in 1505, and lived until 1536.

Their father was Micheydon van der Weyden (1473-1567) who lived his whole life in Antwerp Belgium,  I don't know what he did there. I've just changed my Ancestry tree to remove the English knight as his father. So I don't know who his father really was.

Bruges Belgium

Adriana's mother was Joan van Meteren (1490-1567) with Antwerp Belgium for her birth and death records. And her parents were from the Netherlands. 

Her father was Cornelius Jonkher Van Meteran (1474-1519) born and died in Deil-Tielerwaard-Betuwe, Geldermalsen, Gelderland, Netherlands. Her mother was Cornelia Sparenburg van Meteran (B. abt. 1470 - 1519) born in Deil, Geldermalsen, Gelderland, Netherlands, and died in Antwerp, Belgium. They were my great times 14 grandparents, and I know no further back on that tree branch.

Friesland landscape in the Netherlands

The new (older) ancestors in the Rogers history

Thomas Matthew Fitz Rogers (11 Jul 1565 - 20 Feb 1611) was the son of Bernard Fitz Rogers (1543-1609), who was the son of Rev. John Rogers the Martyr.

Thomas Matthew had been named after the nom de plume of Rev. John when he translated the Bible into English. 

Thomas' mother, wife of Bernard, was Agnes Carter Rogers, (1544 - 20 Feb.1583)

But also we now know the parents of Agnes. Her father was Thomas Carter (1520 - 24 June 1584) and her mother was Cicily Isobel Grove Carter (1524 - 14 Feb 1593)

I just found these ancestors, so have a whole bunch of hints to follow...some of which may change the information that I already have...none for Thomas Carter, but 14 hints for Cicily.

And most of them were that various church records told of the children of Thomas and Cicily...so I added a few brothers and sisters besides Agnes.  

Cicily Isobel Grove Carter's parents were Robert Groves II (1498-1580) and Lady Joane Baskerville (1500-1545) These 13 times great grandparents are the furthest back in her side of the family.

But now I have 11 hints for her husband, Where did they come from anyway? A few minutes ago there weren't any for his name. Perhaps these will be just the parentage of those children from the church records...let's see..

Well, the3 new Ancestry trees all combine Thomas with a William...and give records of William Thomas Carter...with the same birth and death dates. But hey folks, there are written legible church records from the time of his actual life, where he is cited as Thomas Carter, not William Thomas Carter. Therefore, bah humbug on William!

Thomas  Carter (1520 - 24 June 1584) married Cicilye Grove on 2 Feb 1572 according to at least 3 different sources. That's fine, but look at their ages in 1572. If they had been born in 1520 and 1524, Cicilye was past childbearing age. So there's still a bit of a crunch going on here. and I'm going to consider these were the parents of Agnes Carter (born in 1544) still. If Thomas was her father, someone else was her mother. Or perhaps the marriage didn't occur until Cicilye was 48 years old. Still a bit iffy.

Now if Thomas was really William...and that marriage to Cicilye was his brother Thomas...or he had these other 2 marriages earlier...see how much wiggle room ancestry has? Not good at all!

So I'm going to just accept that Cicilye Grove and Thomas Carter had Agnes as their daughter in 1544, but didn't get married until 1572.  I can't go any further, because the records all suggest the next generation of Carters are parents of the newly minted William Thomas Carter.

Thomas and Cicilye Carter are my 12 times great grandparents. I'll accept that!

11 children of Rev. John Rogers the Martyr

Next on my list is Philip Rogers (1547 (Wittenberg Ger.) - 1628 Scotland)  He apparently married Joan or Jane Stafford in 1591. We have no record of their children. So he quite probably was a real man...and shall remain on the list.

I did just notice on another tree the description (but not the actual text unfortunately) of Fox's record of John the Martyr, with a list of the children alive at the time of his death. So the two who predeceased him wouldn't be part of the 11 count, I'm guessing. Nothing like another piece of evidence that perhaps is somewhere out there.

Starting from my list, the next child born would have been Augustine Rogers, (1550 London - 1628 London. Though he does sound very plausible for a son of Rev. John he has no evidence on other trees, nor a definite date of death. One other tree states he died 21 Apr 1618 at St. Mary Aldermary, London. There was no marriage nor children. But I can update my entry on Ancestry with the new date and place of death for him.

Elizabeth Rogers (1549 Dorset Eng - 14 April 1634 London Eng) married James Procter in 1575. She is not the Elizabeth Rogers who married Thomas Eyre...as that Elizabeth was daughter of John Rogers, Esq, Our Rev. John was never described that way. If she was known as daughter of Rev. John Rogers, it's certain they would have said "the Martyr."

The above excerpt shows description of John Rogers, Esq., of Poole, and his daughter Elizabeth (not on my tree)

Rev. John's daughter, Elizabeth Rogers' husband, James Procter is listed with some variable dates of birth from 1549-1556. Their marriage did take place in 1575. He has been described as the Chancellor of Salisbury. He died between 1581 and 1642. That's quite a wide range. 

And Elizabeth Rogers Procter has other dates for her life, being born in 1553 rather than 1549, and dying on 24 Dec. 1612. It's no wonder that it's difficult to keep track. The other Elizabeth Rogers who married Thomas Eyre does appear in my tree after the Eyres came to America. Small world!

My next listed child was Richard Rogers (29 June 1551- 21 April 1618) He was born in Chelmsford, Essex, Eng, and died in Wethersfield, Essex, Eng. 

There were 3 other trees for Richard Rogers, but the parents were wrong...mother being Agnes Carter, or father being Richard, or John married to Agnes Carter. That's too bad because that Richard was a Rev. and even has a portrait painting of himself, as well as 2 wives and a dozen or more children. I'm back to square one as they say.

I'm not even sure this Richard Rogers is the son of Rev. John and Adryan...nor died in Wethersfield, which is where the noteworthy Rev. Richard Rogers, son of Richard (not Rev. John) died. I'm pretty sure our Richard didn't have all those children, nor a wife named Barbara Rogers!

So I have a Richard, not the Rev. Rogers without much detail as to his life, because I'm pretty sure all the dates I do have belong to the Rev.

Did Rev. John and Adryan have a son also named Richard? I'll leave him on the tree for now, but it would have been nice to have details about his life.

Hester Rogers is the last child on my list. Born in 1555 in London, she supposedly died there also in 1659. That's a bit longer than a century. So folks, let's change some of those numbers so she is more believable! And there was an almost clearly written page of clergy listing the deaths and baptisms in 1697, where a son named Solomon was buried, son of Henry and Hester Ball. Also I found another Ancestry tree (Rogers and Bakers) which gave Hester's date of death at a more believable 24 June 1626. So that's the preferred date on my tree now.

Of all 13 children, 2 had died before their father. So that would let these 11 be alive at the time of his death in 1555. I've finished this task. Of course in a year, or a month, something new may come to light which will change everything. This may be history, but there's a sense of piecing it together like an archaeologists dig. As you've already noticed, the dates belonging to many of these children changed.

Digging into the lives of the Rogers children

Continuing to look at information on Rev. John Rogers, The Martyr's family.

Our Sixth child of Rev. John was Samuel (1541-1545) who apparently died at 4 years of age, before his father returned to England from Wittenberg, Germany

So he might not have been counted as one of the 11 children.

Next comes Ray Barnaby Rogers (1543-1564) born in Wittenberg, Germany and died in Scotland. I must say right away that Ray was not a name of those times, so whoever put it on this ancestor didn't think very well. So first I'm making my tree just say Barnaby Rogers.

Barnaby may have lived further than the record I started with, till 1627, dying in Boxted Hertfordshire, Eng. If that was his date of death, he may have married Mary Wells in 1578, 1583 or 1610. They may have had children named Thomas John, Sarah and Barnaby II. 

That's all the information that I've been able to substantiate at this point for Barnaby Rogers. But an interesting footnote which talks of Mary Wells being married to Barnaby Rogers was found in an 1996  publication..."New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins,1620-1635, Vol. 3" Look under Edward Howe...

So I'll add this daughter Anne Rogers who will marry John Stone of Sudbury.

More confusing information

I read one biography which describes Daniel Rogers, (1540-1590) as the son of Rev. John Rogers, who fled England when Queen Mary came to power. This Daniel clearly wasn't the son of the Rev. John Rogers the Martyr...burned at the stake by the same Queen.

Which one was he?

Here's the questioning biography. He lives the same life, marries the same woman, but just had a different Rev. John as his father. This is known as Chalmer's Biographical index. It is noted that he confronts another biographer as being the source of evidence that shows the mistake...namely Strype, in his Life of Whitgift had made the error (as shown in the second and third screen shots below)

\

...\

...

However, many other biographies do connect Daniel to Rev. John the Martyr.

This above, gives the same history, with the Martyr as his father, in "The Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 17."

The following is from "Families Directly Descended from All Royal Families in Europe (495-1932)

and Mayflower Descendants"

The next page continues with John and Adryan Pratt Rogers' children (as already shown previously)

And further down the page is a discussion of the Rogers coat of arms, as well as additional  descendants...

So Daniel may or may not have been son of the Martyr. Let's look at the rest of the listed children...

Now let's go to the fifth child listed, Thomas Rogers. Again, there is cross-over information with similar dates and marriages to a brother's. And he isn't even listed among the names of John and Adriana's children. So I'm taking him out of the tree for now.

Six: Bernard is definitely of interest, because my line flows from him.

In The History and Genealogy of the Mayflower Planters and First Comers to ye old Colony, Vol 1. under the Rogers we see...

It's interesting that the history of the Martyr's family is by Chester, where the oldest I've found was by Fox...just something to keep checking.

Bernard was born in 1543 in Wittenberg, Saxony, He married in 1564 to Agnes Carter. who had been born in 1544 near the English/Scottish border. They had a son, named after the grandfather's "nom de plume" used while translating the Bible into English, Thomas Matthew (Fitz) Rogers. The Fitz in the Rogers name supposedly came from Scottish connections, but we don't see any in reality. Bernard died on 20 Feb, 1609 in Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire, England. His wife Agnes died in 1644 in Northhamptonshire near the English/Scottish border. Their son Tomas Matthew Rogers had been born 11 July 1565 in Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire, Eng. and he died in the same place on 20 Feb. 1611. 

It was Thomas Matthew Rogers' son with his same name who was a member on the Mayflower. He is not in my lineage, however, but his brother, John Fitz Rogers (born 1609 or 1611) who immigrated to Virginia, and is thus my ancestor.

But let's not forget the rest of Rev. John the Martyr's children. If there's anything else I can find about them, I'm actually getting close to having only 11 on my tree.

Next post...

Oops, maybe I've got the wrong relatives here...

Rev. John Rogers, the Martyr. (1507-1555) was burned at the stake by Queen Mary, the Catholic.  He is noted as the first that she had burned. He also is known for having translated the Bible into English for the first time, under a pseudonym of Thomas Matthew. 

He had 11 children, and the last one was born while he was in prison, according to an early biography by Fox (probably the first one.) Another biography lists the 11 children by name.

But on my current (soon to need a revision I think) Ancestry chart, I've got these 13 children of John and Adrian Pratt Rogers:

Susanna or Susan Rogers Short (1527-1565)

Daniel Rogers, Esq. (1538-1590)

Sir John Randolph Rogers , Baronet, "Proctor of Civil War" (1538-1639) (Warning, this is not a lifetime that people would have at that time!! But see my research below.)

Ambrose Rogers, (1540-1591)

Thomas  Rogers (1540-1561)

Samuel Rogers (1541-1547)

Ray Barnaby Rogers (1543-1564)

Bernard Fitz Rogers (1543-1609)

Marye Rogers (1544-1553)

Phillip Rogers (1547-1564)

Augustine Rogers (1550-1628)

Richard Rogers (1551-1618)

Elizabeth Rogers (1553-1634)

You may notice first that none of these children were born in 1555, at the time their father had been incarcerated by Queen Mary. But wait...he was put in prison in 1553/4. All dates are within the 2 years that are represented by the use of the new year occurring in March at that time. So it's possible that Elizabeth was born while he was in prison.

Secondly I note that Samuel and Marye died before 1553/4 and certainly before Rev. John was burned at the stake.

So my list needs to delete two people completely. And then I need to figure out how to add possibly

Augustine and Hester. This is where it becomes very difficult.

So I now will spend the rest of the day looking at what details Ancestry does have about each of these (perhaps) ancestors. If I find more strange dates, I will change my listings. 

One: Susanna/Susan Rogers Short of Belgium is listed on 3 different trees as marrying Mr. Ayers...but he was clearly married to Susan Rogers, daughter of John Rogers an attorney. Surely they wouldn't have confused her father with a martyr. She probably married a Mr. John Short. Nothing more gives me information about her. I'm not even willing to change the dates that are on my tree, to those of Susan Rogers Ayers (1539-1630).

Two: Daniel Rogers, Esq. has a lot of information listed about him, and his descendants. There's no doubt that he was as he is described. He married a German woman, Susan Yetsweirt, and they had only two children in England...the last born after he had died and even named "Posthumia." Though there is a wonderful document of his will available, I am unable to read the writing of 1580.

Three: Sir John Rogers, Baronet "Procter of Civil Law" has exact dates of birth (21 Nov 1538) and death (18 Oct 1601)...a much more believable lifetime than I had originally.  His wife, Lady Mary Leete (1541-1579) is confirmed as daughter of William Leete, and they had five children, including Thomas Rogers who was to go to America on the Mayflower. (Actually I've seen the Mayflower Thomas listed as an ancestor in another Rogers family.) But I'll give Sir. John his place in the Martyr's family...even if Thomas his son may not have been the adventurer on the Mayflower. I am also changing the date of his death to the 3 July 1601 on my tree.

Four: Ambrose Rogers (1540-1591) comes up on two other trees as being married to Mary Leete also. And his dates include complete birth (21 Nov 1538) and death (3 July 1601). Notice the same birth and death dates as Sir John? Not only the same birth and death, but the same wife! But those two trees have more children and no Thomas.  So I'm a bit hesitant about Ambrose, and think that Sir. John has more verification on his information, except for maybe Thomas of the Mayflower.

Five: I've worked through about 8-10 references on each of these 4 ancestors...and am trying to find out more about the 5th mentioned child, Thomas Rogers...but my head and eyes are going bonkers. Time out for me...I've done 3 solid hours today. So this is where I'll start again next time.

John Porter Sr.

An ancestor with a lot of records which include him...as well as some famous descendants! 

John Porter Sr.
1563–1625

BIRTH 21 FEB 1563 • Felstead, Essex, England
DEATH AUGUST 1625 • Felsted, Uttlesford District, Essex, England
my 11 times great-grandfather

John is listed as a yeoman through various Ancestry sites.  A Yeoman was a member of "a social stratum of commoners below the landed gentry, but above the husbandmen. Wikipedia.

He married Sybil Vessey (1561-1625) They apparently (according to Ancestry listings) had 10 children. 

Several of their children immigrated to the American Colonies...as various New England genealogical records show. John Porter Jr. was well known in Windsor, CT, and I've posted about him and his wife Anna HERE.

Anna (Mrs. John Jr.) White Porter was sister of three other New England emigrants: John White, Elizabeth (White) Goodwin. & Mary (White) Loomis.

Anna and John Porter Jr. had eleven known children. (The Parish records of Shalford & Messing, Essex, England) 

John Jr. was a Puritan and a prosperous cloth trader, as well as served in many capacities to help the early towns of Stratford and Windsor, CT. (where I lived in the 1960s)

Sarah Porter Judson was the third child of the 11 siblings...and was among those who came with her parents to the New England Colony in 1638. They settled in Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut. She married in 1640 or 1644 to Lt. Joseph Judson, The Judson family came first to Massachusetts colony, then settled in Stratford CT.

Anna Rosanna White Porter

Repost from 2018...

 Happy birthday to Anna Rosanna White Porter 

BIRTH 13 JULY 1600 • Shalford, Essex, England 

DEATH 11 MAY 1647 • Windsor, Hartford, Conn

She was the mother of Sarah Porter Judson and great grandmother of Anna Curtiss, wife of  Zachariah Booth, Emigrant to American Colonies.

Daughter of Robert & Bridget (Allgar) White. Sister of three other New England emigrants: John White, Elizabeth (White) Goodwin. & Mary (White) Loomis.

She and John Porter had eleven known children. The Parish records of Shalford & Messing, Essex, England list Anne Whighte baptised July 13, 1600 in Shalford, daughter of Robert Weight. SOURCE: American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI) vol 138, Pg. 460.

And she's one of the few of my ancestors that has a birth date (actually her baptism date) for a great times 10 grandmother!

And I must mention the fact that I lived in Windsor Connecticut in the 1960s, where the Porter family had lived and Anna and her husband died.  I admit I didn't walk the same paths that she did, but I probably drove the same roads that were part of her life.  Just 320 years later!  I must mention that my husband had grown up in the Hartford, Connecticut area in the 1950s and attended a "prep school" named Loomis.  I'm sure it was founded by the same family.

It's fun to look back at any of the New England ancestors, especially those who were in leadership positions, because there are so many records about them, and if they came from a family in England (which most of them did!) who had church records about birth/baptism, marriage and death, then there are lots of records to check.  However, when all the records say a man was married at 4 years of age, and another record at least lets him get to be 27 before marrying, which one am I to believe?  So at this juncture, I've been looking at John Porter's father, and finding some of the dates of his death are based upon a written text (thank heavens I could find and read it) where it says, "John Porter a boy."  So I doubt that this is our ancestor.  I can only do this research for about a half hour at a time, because it really gives me a headache.  

And in honor of Anna (Rosanna) White Porter, the records that I have give her birth, her marriage, and a whole list of children's names.

Burke's American Families with British Ancestry (pg. 2869) says her husband,

John Porter of Windsor Conn, born 1590; emigrated to America from Felsted, Essex, England ca. 1637, to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, later moving to Windsor in 1639; married Anna (who d. 1647) dau. of Robert White, and d, 1648, leaving issue, 1. Samuel, 2. Nathaniel, 3. Eleazar Porter, 4, William Porter (physician.)

Her father, Robert White, left a will, which gives a lot of information about the family in England.  I won't go into his life here, because I might want to feature him in a separate blog sometime.

Anna Rosanna married John Porter of Windsor Connecticut,  and she was the 6th of 8 children of Robert and his wife Brydgette Algar. Source: Descendants of Joseph Loomis in America, and his antecedents in the Old World, pg 104 in Loomis Genealogy.

Anna and John Porter had their first 9 children born in England.  They are listed in records of their baptisms from 1621 to 1637.  One son, Samuel, died at 2 months of age.  This is interesting because the Burke's publication quoted above has him continuing to live, and being the head of a family.  Yes, having lost the first Samuel in 1632, the Porters named another son Samuel who was born in 1635. Source: English Origins of New England Families, Second Series Vol. III, pg. 736.

In the same source, page 732, Anna White Porter and her sister, Mary White Loomis, are described living in homes next to each other in Windsor, CT.

And on page 731, same source, Anna White of Messing (England) is married to John Porter of Felsted on 18 Oct 1620.  That same page talks of Anna's death (as John Porter's wife, in 1647) and her husband's will, when he died in 1648.

Much of the same information is repeated in "Families of Ancient Windsor," under John Porter, Sr.

Though there was a date of death in Windsor CT for Mrs. Porter (her given name wasn't mentioned), her burial is unknown.  Her third child was Sara Porter, who married Joseph Judson, and they were my 9 times great grandparents.  But their story will be for another day.

This post belongs to the Barbara Booth Rogers Family Tree. Photo shows Mataley Mozelle Rogers, and her mother Mozelle Booth Miller, and my sister Mary Beth Rogers.

In honor of Spencer Clack's death, July 9, 1832

 Repost from 2018

Ada & George Rogers Sr. and granddaughters Mary Elizabeth and Barbara Booth Rogers 1948 Houston TX. I'm adding this photo to posts in the George Rogers Family Tree.

I recently saw a post on one of my more famous (there aren't that many!) ancestors, Spencer Clack of Sevierville, TN.  The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) chapter is named after him there.  So Lieutenant Clack must have been pretty important in that area.  Anyway, the new post had a document about a "Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files Page 10 - Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant."

 Original marker standing (broken) and Revolutionary soldier honorary marker for Spencer Clack

Carved likeness of Spencer Clack on his grave marker. before it was broken.

Recently added document

But it was completely illegible.  I copied the photo, cropped it, enlarged it, enhanced the contrast and brightness, but it was all gibberish. So I was glad that the original source, Page 10, was cited, and when I went back there, I could read about John Alvey's pension request by his widow, Francis, or maybe her survivors as to whether she could have received pensions for the last days of her life, written in 1857.  Who is he? Who is she?

The Ancestry tree I have doesn't have any John Alvey, or even Francis Alvey on it, especially related to Spencer Clack.  I wonder who they were? And how they are related to Lt. Spencer Clack.  When I asked, the person who's tree it was added to said he/she hadn't been working on that part of her/his tree lately, and didn't know who it referred to either.

Here's the best I was able to do with my limited photo skills.  More will be coming I'm sure.

I located a pretty good summary of Spencer Clack's life, HERE. 
I'm copying it below, in case you want to know more about him.

Spencer Clack (1746-1832) 

by Miss Tommie Clack, Abilene, Texas; and J. A. Sharp, Sevierville, Tenn.

Spencer Clack, Revolutionary soldier, settled in Sevier County, Tennessee, in 1788 or 1789. Little is known of his military service except that he was a lieutenant of a Virginia (Henry County) militia company in 1782-83; Captain Tully Choice was company commander. He was born, March 28,1746. His obituary gave his birthplace as Loudoun County, Virginia, but this could not be accurate for Loudoun County was not partitioned from Fairfax County until 1757, and no Clack records, as early as Spencer's birth, were found in either of these counties. 

Spencer Clack did, however, live in Loudoun County, and witnessed there, in 1770, the will of Thomas Beavers; also, Loudoun County was probably where he married Mary Beavers about 1766. He sold his lands in Loudoun County in 1777 and moved southward to Henry County, Virginia about 1778, when he purchased land in the latter county. In 1786, when Franklin County, Virginia, was formed from parts of Henry and Bedford Counties, he became one of the first justices of the new county, and in 1787 he sold his Franklin County lands, just before his westward trek to Sevier County, Tennessee. 

No conclusive proof of the parentage of Spencer Clack has been offered, although various attempts to do so have been made by descendents and genealogists. It does seem certain, however, that he descended from Rev. James Clack, English-born rector of Ware Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, from 1679 to 1723. 

The Spencer Clack home in Sevier County was located on the right bank of Little Pigeon River, immediately below the junction of the East Fork and West Fork of that river. Here, in 1808, Spencer obtained an occupant grant from Tennessee for 442 acres; most of this land was on the north bank of East Fork directly opposite to the town of Sevierville, or the Forks-of-Little Pigeon, as this frontier settlement was known. The Chandlers and Walkers, Clack descendents, later owned the same place and the old Clack home was located on the same site as the later Chandler-Walker home. Near his home Spencer operated one of Sevierville's first mills, also a cotton gin and wool-carding machine. 

Spencer Clack was prominent in the affairs of the Forks-of-Little Pigeon (Sevierville) Baptist Church from the time of its formation in 1789 until his death. For many years he served as church clerk. In addition to his church activities he was interested in education and politics. He was an early trustee of Nancy Academy, Sevier County's first school and gave money for its support. He was one of the five Sevier County delegates to the Knoxville convention of 1796, which drafted and adopted Tennessee's first constitution and he was a signer of that document. He also represented Sevier County in the lower house of the first three Tennessee legislatures, 1796-1802, and in 1801 he served on the legislative committee "to prepare a device and motto" for the Great Seal of Tennessee. 

Neither the Spence Clack Bible record nor the Spence Clack will have been found; therefore, the writers will list only those who were unquestionably children of Spencer and Mary Beavers Clack. Perhaps, in this way, the confusion and error of other Clack descendents and genealogists may be avoided. Good proof exists for the following Clack children: Martha, Rawleigh (Rolly) (b. 1772), Rhoda (b. 1776), Catherine (b. 1778), Frances (b. c1783), Mary (b. 1785) and Malvina. 

Martha Clack's marriage to Josiah Rogers occurred in Franklin County, Virginia, in 1786; they apparently came to Sevier County with the Clacks. Rawleigh Clack was married (1) to Mary Randles in 1791, and after her death he was married (2) to Martha Kerr in 1816; this marriage took place in Sevier County. Sixteen children resulted and about 1820 Rawleigh and family moved down the Tennessee River to Rhea County, Tennessee, where he died in 1842. Rhoda Clack married James Randles in 1791; they raised a family of twelve on Boyd's Creek in Sevier County. Randles died in 1816, while on a trip to Virginia for salt, and was buried somewhere in Washington County, Virginia. Catherine Clack was married, in 1794, to Rev. Elijah Rogers, early and well known Baptist minister in East Tennessee; they raised five sons and five daughters at their Sevier County home near the mouth of the Little Pigeon, on the French Broad River. Mary Clack married William Miller; they left Sevier County at an early date and settled in Meigs County, Tennessee, where she died in 1860. Frances Clack was married (1) to Mordecai Gist; after his death she married (2) John Mynatt of Knox County, Tennessee. Malvina Clack married Major Beavers; they left Sevier County for Talladega County, Alabama, soon after the War of 1812. 

There were doubtless other Clack children, but the writers do not believe that Spencer Clack, Jr. John Clack and Nancy Clack were children of Spencer and Mary Beavers Clack, as some published accounts claim. However, there is a well established tradition that there was a son, Micajah Clack, who was "killed by lighting." And there may have been a daughter named Rebecca Clack, but again we must rely only upon tradition for proof. Also, in 1789, one Sarah Clack (b. c1773) married William Henderson in the "Forks of Little Pigeon," as shown by bounty land papers in the National Archives; they migrated to St. Louis County, Missouri, about 1840. We believe that this Sarah Clack, heretofore unknown to present generations of Clack descendents, was another daughter of Spencer and Mary. 

Spencer Clack's death occurred, July 9, 1832 and he was buried in the old Baptist Cemetery at Sevierville; the original flat limestone rock with the unique carving of Spencer's face and the initials, "S.C.", still marks his grave. Mary Beavers Clack died, August 14, 1840, and was buried by the side of her husband. At the time of his death a contemporary described Spencer Clack as a "pious… worthy Christian, kind and affectionate. . .an excellent neighbor, remarkably even and unruffled in temper."

I highlighted Catherine Clack and Rev. Elijah Rogers, my great times 4 grandparents.

If you know who the Alvey's were, please leave a comment below! Thanks.