More about Capt. Nathaniel Bass, early Virginia immigrant

A repost about the first Bass colonist to the Virginia Colony

 Re: Basse's Choice Plantation, 1600s, VA

By genealogy.com user March 06, 1999 at 04:39:42

• In reply to: Basse's Choice Plantation, 1600s, VA
  1/24/99
  
  
  Nathaniel Basse and Samual Basse sons of Humphrey Basse and Mary Buschier.
  
  
  Nathaniel married Mary Jordan May 21, 1613 in England, and had 13 children. Mary died during childbirth 1/17/1630.

On 4/27/1619 a ship commanded by Capt. Evans arrived at Jamestown, Va. Passengers listed: Capt. Christopher Lawne, Dir Richard Worsley, Nathaniel Basse, John Hobson, Anthony Olevan, Richard Wiseman, Robert Newland, Robert Gyner, and Willian Willis.These men settled near the mouth of the creek on the south side of the James River(still known as Lawne's Creek) and called it the Isle of Wright Plantation.Capt. Basse established a plantation in this same area on the Warrosquoyacke River (now known as the Pagan River) and named it "Basse's Choice."Patented on 11/21/1621 and originally listed 300 acres, was actually closer to 400 acres of which 250 acres was marshland.

Source: https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/bass/393/

Nathaniel Basse (bap. 1589–1654)

Contributed by Daphne Gentry and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography

Nathaniel Basse was an English colonist who represented Warrosquyoake in the House of Burgesses (1624, 1625, 1628, 1629) and served on the governor's Council. The length of his service on the Council is unknown, but he is named as a member on documents dated December 20, 1631, and February 21, 1632. He came to Virginia in March 1619 with Christopher Lawne. In 1621 he received a grant of 300 acres of land; his settlement, Basse's Choice, was among the first English settlements in Isle of Wight County. Knowledge of his personal and family life is obscured by a lack of documentation, but tradition holds that he may have been the father of John Bass, who married a member of the Nansemond tribe in 1638 and from whom the Bass family of lower Tidewater Virginia is descended. However, a deposition recorded in England on August 30, 1654, states that Basse died without issue.

Basse was the second of twelve sons and second of eighteen children of Humphrey Basse and Mary Buschier Basse. His mother was of Italian descent, and his father was a prosperous London girdler of French ancestry who invested in the Virginia Company of London. Basse was probably born in London and was christened there in the parish of Saint Gabriel Fenchurch on December 19, 1589.

Basse first arrived in Virginia, so far as is known, in March 1619 with Christopher Lawne and other colonists associated in the settlement of Warrosquyoake Plantation in what is now Isle of Wight County. During 1620 Basse returned to England and obtained from the Virginia Company a confirmation of the patent to Warrosquyoake in November of that year. The company reconfirmed this patent in January 1622. In November 1621 Basse received a separate patent in his own name for a 300-acre tract a short distance west of Warrosquyoake on the east side of the Pagan River that has been called Basse's Choice ever since. He returned to Virginia on the Furtherance about August or September 1622, after the Powhatan uprising on March 22, 1622, when, according to John Smith's Generall Historie, the Indians "had fired Lieutenant Basse his house, with all the rest there about, slaine the people, and so left that Plantation."

Basse represented Warrosquyoake in the General Assembly sessions of February and March 1624, May 1625, March 1628, and October 1629. In June 1625 he signed a petition requesting Charles I to preserve the General Assembly as a fixture of the new royal government of the colony. Soon after arriving in Virginia late in March 1630, Governor Sir John Harvey appointed Basse to the governor's Council. The length of his service is unknown, but he is named as a member on documents dated December 20, 1631, and February 21, 1632. On March 6, 1632, Harvey commissioned Basse "to trade between 34 and 31 degrees North Latitude and to go to New England, Nova Scotia, or the West Indie Islands with instructions to invite the inhabitants hither if any so inclined," and sometime the same month Basse became presiding justice of the court of Warrosquyoake.

Extant records do not indicate whether Basse traveled to the other English colonies as directed, or whether he ever returned to England. He probably either remained in Virginia or returned to the colony following the voyages. The dearth of documentation also obscures much of Basse's personal and family life. Tradition has it that he married Mary Jordan in London on May 21, 1613, that the third son of their ten sons and three daughters married a member of the Nansemond tribe in 1638, and that the Bass family of lower Tidewater Virginia is descended from this son. However, a deposition in England on behalf of his three surviving sisters, identified as his coheirs, asserted that he had died in Virginia without issue, an assertion borne out by a suit brought by Theodorick Bland against William Drummond, attorney of Basse's coheirs, and settled in 1658. Nathaniel Basse died, probably in Virginia, sometime before this August 30, 1654, deposition was taken.

Time Line

• December 19, 1589 - Nathaniel Basse, the second of eighteen children born to Humphrey Basse and Mary Buschier Basse, is christened in the parish of Saint Gabriel Fenchurch in London.
• May 21, 1613 - Tradition holds that Nathaniel Basse and Mary Jordan were married on this day in London.
• March 1619 - Nathaniel Basse arrives in Virginia with Christopher Lawne and other colonists associated in the settlement of Warrosquyoake Plantation in what is now Isle of Wight County.
• 1620 - Nathaniel Basse travels from Virginia to England to obtain from the Virginia Company a confirmation of the patent to Warrosquyoake.
• November 1621 - Nathaniel Basse receives a patent in his name for a 300-acre tract of land a short distance west of Warrosquyoake on the east side of the Pagan River. It becomes known as Basse's Choice.
• August or September 1622 - Nathaniel Basse returns to Virginia on the Furtherance.
• February–March 1624 - Nathaniel Basse represents Warrosquyoake in the General Assembly.
• May 1625 - Nathaniel Basse represents Warrosquyoake in the General Assembly.
• June 1625 - Nathaniel Basse signs a petition requesting that Charles I preserve the General Assembly as a fixture of the new royal government of the colony.
• March 1628 - Nathaniel Basse represents Warrosquyoake in the General Assembly.
• October 1629 - Nathaniel Basse represents Warrosquyoake in the General Assembly.
• ca. 1630–1632 - Nathaniel Basse serves on the governor's Council.
• March 1632 - Nathaniel Basse becomes presiding justice of the court of Warrosquyoake.
• March 6, 1632 - Governor Sir John Harvey commissions Nathaniel Basse "to trade between 34 and 41 degrees North Latitude and to go to New England, Nova Scotia, or the West Indie Islands with instructions to invite the inhabitants hither if any so inclined."
• August 14, 1638 - John Bass, who may be the son of Nathaniel Basse and Mary Jordan Basse, marries Elizabeth, a Nansemond woman who has converted to Christianity. 
• August 30, 1654 - A deposition in England on behalf of the three surviving sisters of Nathaniel Basse, identified as his coheirs, asserts that Basse died in Virginia without issue. 

Further Reading

Gentry, Daphne. "Basse, Nathaniel." In Dictionary of Virginia Biography, Vol. 1, edited by John T. Kneebone et al., 382–383. Richmond: Library of Virginia, 1998.

Cite This Entry

APA Citation:Gentry, D., & the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Nathaniel Basse (bap. 1589–1654). (2015, October 9). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Basse_Nathaniel_bap_1589-1654.

Copied from: https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Basse_Nathaniel_bap_1589-1654#start_entry

Basse's Choice

Inscription. In Nov. 1621, Capt. Nathaniel Basse received a grant of 300 acres of land, now known as Basse’s Choice, located nearby. It was one of the first English settlements in Isle of Wight County, though humans had lived there more than 5000 years. On Mar. 1622, during the Powhatan-English War of 1622–1632, attacks coordinated by Chief Opechancanough struck various English settlements including Base’s Choice. Basse was in England when this event occurred. He resettled the region by 1624, when twenty people lived there. Basse later served in the House of Burgesses and was appointed to the governor’s council in Mar. 1630.

Erected 2000 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number K-242.)

Location. 37° 0.832′ N, 76° 38.053′ W. Marker is in Smithfield, Virginia, in Isle of Wight County. Marker is on Old Stage Highway (Virginia Route 10) north of Bounts Corner Road, on the right when traveling north. This marker sits with K-241 before Hardy Elementary School. 

and you know I wanted to know what the other marker (seen in the background) says...

Bennett's Plantation:

Inscription. By Nov. 1621, Edward Bennett had obtained a patent from the Virginia Company to establish Bennett’s Plantation, also known as Warrascoyack and Bennett’s Welcome. By Feb. 1622, the Sea Flower arrived with the first residents and they began settling the south bank of the James River at the lower reaches of Burwell’s Bay. On 22 Mar. 1622, the Powhatan-English War of 1622–1632 began with attacks coordinated by Chief Opechancanough against many English settlements including Bennett’s Plantation. More than 50 colonists died there and the survivors were transported to Jamestown. Bennett’s Plantation was reestablished by June 1623.

Now I must mention, that we have 2 stories about Nathaniel Basse. One where he married and had 13 children, and the other where he remained single and had no heirs (according to his sisters and their attorneys.)

Since there is the prayer book belonging to John Bass, stating he married Elizabeth, daughter of the chief of the Nansemonds,  I tend to think Nathaniel had children.

Do we believe there was an Indian masacre that killed many of the Bass family? Probably.

How did John get raised by Indians before marrying Elizabeth? Nobody knows.

So evidently Nathaniel returned to England, where he is buried. And his sisters were led to believe that he had no heirs.  A very unlikely story.

Nathaniel lost many of his children early in their lives, as many children at that time died before their 3rd birthday.  I'm more amazed that Mary managed to produce 13 children and then died (so says one source) in childbirth.  And were there as many twins as the dates give them? Who knows.

But Nathaniel came to America, got land, and served in various government functions which are documented.  That much we know for sure.

Richard Bass, Seven times great grandfather

A repost of information about Richard Bass, the grandson of Nathaniel, the first Bass immigrant to the Virginia Colonies. 

Richard Bassye 1658-1722 was my seven times great grandfather. He was born and died in Norfolk, Nansemond County, VA. His birth date was 2 August 1658. He was not the same as Richard Taylor Bassye/Bass.

North America, Family Histories and Alabama, Surname Files Expanded, 1702-1981 give the same information about Richard Bassye.  Richard is in the final paragraph on the following page, but I shall be using this information about his parentage as well in the next few posts here.

This information coincides with that of Dr. Albert Bell's 1961 book, The Bass Familie of the South. This is the book that many Bass descendants scoff at, as having been written to appease some descendant who wanted a heritage including Huguenot ancestors.

The Native American descendants who dislike the Bell book state that it is misleading as well because it gives John Bass' wife the incorrect name of Keziah Tucker.  They point to the actual document in their tribe's possession, which states his wife was Elizabeth. Tucker is the name that his brother, Edward Bass' wife Mary had...named Mary Tucker Bass. They say she was not supposedly a sister/cousin of Elizabeth, though they were both full blood Nansemond Indians.  That's the way several indignant Native Americans have spelled out one mistake made by Dr. Bell.

I've written about Elizabeth's life (or Kesiah Tucker) a little in yesterdays post.

Back to Richard, father of Richard and Andrew, his sons who moved to Craven County, NC.  Richard stayed in Virginia all his life.  I just read an application for a Sons of the American Revolution, which had been suggested as documentation about this family...only to find the Richard Taylor Basye it talked about lived in the time of the Revolutionary war, 1776.  SO that got him deleted from my files.  This Richard Bass lived from 1658-1722.

The reason so much difficulty has been found around the Native American tribe of the Nansemonds is that the racial problem started early in Virginia, one of the first laws being that Englishmen could not marry Indians.  The other side of the same coin is that later on, the tribal elders would not accept lineage that was questionable when someone wanted to belong to the Nansemond Tribe.

Richard Bass was the ninth of the ten children of Elizabeth and John Bass of what is now Nansemond County, VA.  That meant he was half American Indian, and half English colonial.  In 1680 he married his first wife, Jane Bryant. They had seven children before she died in 1690.  (Interestingly the document above only names 5 of these children.)

In 1695 he marred his second wife, Mary Burwell, and they had another 7 children. My six times great grandfather, Andrew Bass Sr. was the oldest of the second family of 7.

Richard Bass died 26 Dec, 1722, in Norfolk, Nansemond, VA.

John Basse and wife, Nansemond Indian, Kesiah Elizabeth Tucker Basse

 The stories passed down to the Bass family (repost from 2013)

John Basse 1616-1699 immigrant (8G)

John Basse 1616-1699 was my eight times great grandfather. He immigrated to the American colonies from England by 1622, age 5-6.  His siblings may have included 3 sets of twins according to various Ancestry trees (which aren't always exactly right on birthdays.)

I enjoyed sharing much of the following story with my son and his wife over dinner the other night in New Mexico. Being surrounded by many Native Americans in the southwest of our country makes me more aware of how many of them have suffered at the hands of European immigrants and the dominant culture they established. However, I don't in any way claim to be more than related in a minuscule way to the Native cultures by John Bass' marriage to Elizabeth the Nansemond Indian.

Here's the blog I posted first in 2013, and again this spring of 2019.  It has some points that are under contention, especially by the Nansemond Indian tribe.

SOURCE:

https://southernrootsandbranches.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/john-basse-a-story-of-the-new-world/

A cousin who blogged in 2013 about his connection to the Bass Family...very nicely written, so I went back to the original to get the pictures to add here as well! Thanks Billy Pittard. I have no recent posts by him, so perhaps he's moved on to other interests since his last blog in July 2018.

John Basse, a Story of the New World

Posted in Bass, Batey, Henderson on August 3, 2013| 96 Comments »

Pocahontas when visiting England

John’s grandfather, Humphrey Basse and his brothers, William and Thomas were French Huguenots who immigrated to London during the reign of Elizabeth I seeking religious freedom. Humphrey married Mary Bouchier, daughter of Dominick and Genevieve Bouchier, also French Huguenots. Humphrey was an entrepreneurial man, first as a merchant haberdasher, and then as an investor and stockholder in the Virginia Company which financed settlements in Jamestowne, Virginia. Humphrey invested in the Third Charter of the Virginia Company signing as a founder on March 12, 1612.

Arriving in Virginia

In 1619 when John was three years old, his father, thirty-year-old Nathaniel Basse made his first trip to the new colony. On April 27, 1619 Nathaniel arrived at Jamestown on Captain Christopher Lawne’s ship. They brought workmen, supplies and one hundred settlers. Their camp was at the mouth of a creek near Jamestown, still named, Lawne’s Creek, from which they built the first settlement in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.

By mid-summer 1619, there were about a thousand English living in Virginia. In early August, the first legislative assembly in America met in the church at Jamestowne. This meeting established the principle of elected self-rule in America and became a foundation of our Republic. Five months later, the Virginia Company dissolved its subsidiary company which had been formed to exclusively supply the colony. Thereafter, free trade prevailed in the colony and laid the foundation for free enterprise as the form of the American economy.

Nathaniel made frequent trips between Virginia and London over the next few years. On November 21, 1621 he made his move to establish a home in the New World and patented 400 acres on the James River at Pagan Creek in Isle of Wight County. Here he founded Basse’s Choyce Plantation and built a home for himself and his young family.

John’s maternal grandfather, Silas Samuel Jordan was also an early Virginia Adventurer. In 1620 he received a grant of land on the James River at Bailey’s Creek near the present Hopewell, Virginia. Here, at what is still called Jordan’s Point, he and established a home for his family in the New World.

Indians kept a close watch on the English settlers.

Throughout this period, relations with the Indians had been volatile. Early encounters had been hostile, and then the “Peace of Pocahontas” gave the settlers a sense that conditions would remain amenable.

Having established Basse’s Choyce Plantation, John’s father began to move his family to Virginia. In early 1622, six-year-old John Basse along with at least one of his brothers were at Basse’s Choyce when their parents made a return trip to England.

And then disaster struck. Emperor Powhatan (father of Pocahontas) had died four years earlier and had been succeeded by his brother, Opechancanough. He wanted no part of the white men and he patiently organized a surprise attack that was carried out by almost every tribe in the area. On the same day, at the same time, and anywhere there was a white man, he was to be killed.

At midday on Good Friday, March 22, 1622, there were twelve hundred forty English inhabitants in the Colony of Virginia. Of these nearly four hundred were killed by Indians. At the house of Captain John Basse, only six-year-old John Basse survived. John’s oldest brother seven-year-old Humphrey and possibly other siblings were killed in the attack.

Virginia Indians attack the colony, March 22, 1622

John’s parents, Nathaniel and Mary arrived back in Virginia on the ship Furtherance within the next couple of weeks only to find their oldest son (and possibly others) killed in the massacre, and six-year-old John was missing without a trace. They found the woods around the English settlements patrolled by hostile Indians.

Nathaniel and Mary had little time to mourn because Basse’s Choyce had to be immediately repaired for the birth of another child. On May 8, 1622 their sixth child, Edward, arrived. To make matters even more dire, in December an epidemic arrived with the ship Abigail, and killed twice as many people as the Indian attacks. The colony also had a poor harvest that year and experienced another “starving time” throughout the winter of 1622-23. Less than 500 survived to see the spring of 1623.

Amid the carnage that happened that fateful Good Friday, young John Basse managed to slip away from the attackers and into the forest. Fortune smiled on the boy as he was found and taken in by friendly Nansemond Indians who were fleeing from the hostilities. His rescuers managed to reach the Nansemond River with John before their enemies had organized patrols in the woods.

John’s rescuers took him into their tribe and gave him advantages and standing. He absorbed the Nansemond culture. In spite of the danger, missionaries continued to teach the Nansemonds – including young John Basse – and he matured to become literate and a Christian.

By the time he was twenty-two John had fallen in love with a Nansemond girl whom he knew as Keziah Elizabeth Tucker, daughter of Chief Robin the Elder, but to the English she was the Princess Keziah Elizabeth, daughter of the King of the Nansemond Kingdom. On August 14, 1638 John and Keziah Elizabeth, age 14, were married. She was born about 1624 at Kecoughton, an Indian village in Virginia (now part of the city of Newport News). “Keziah” is an old testament name that can mean faithful or female equality.

Writing on the cover of the “Book of John Basse”

At some point during his remarkable lifetime, John acquired an English prayer book which served as his family Bible. In this book he recorded many important facts and events. This book exists today and is in the possession of his Nansemond tribe descendants.

John Bass’ prayer book is a manuscript religious book of about 100 pages. It measures 4 5/8″ by 7 1/4″. The author’s name not known. The earliest date of a sermon entry is March 4, 1660. In ink on the cover is written “Book of John Basse Norfolk Co., Vir. A. D. 1675.”

John recorded the following passage in his prayer book:

“John Basse was born ye 7 day of September in ye year of our Lord 1616 ye son of Nathll Basse and Mary his wife… he married Elizabeth dafter of Robin the Elder, King of ye Nansimuns kingdom, a Baptized xtian, in Holy Matrimonie accdg to ye Canons of ye Church of England, ye 14th day of August in the Year of our Blessed Lord 1638.”

At some point it is believed John reconnected with his birth family because his brother Edward (born immediately after the massacre of 1622) married Keziah Elizabeth Tucker’s cousin.

John and Keziah were living in Nansemond territory when it became Upper Norfolk and then Nansemond County, Virginia. John passed away in 1699 at the age of 82 in Norfolk, Virginia. Keziah Elizabeth passed away in 1676 at the age of 52.

John and Keziah Elizabeth had eight children and today have countless descendants.
---------------------------------------
continuing the document being quoted, the voice changes to that of Billy Pittard himself...

My (Billy Pittard) Ancestry from John and Keziah Elizabeth Basse is as follows:

John Basse (1616-1699) + Keziah Elizabeth Tucker (1624-1676)
William Bass (1654-1741) + Catherine Lanier (1650-1692)
John Bass (1673-1732) + Love Harris (ca. 1677-1732)
John Bass (1715-1777) + Elizabeth Winborne
Jacob Bass (1740-1792) + Ann Fuller (1733-1791)
Theophilus Bass (1753-1826) + Rachel Vinson (1755-1824)
Etheldred Bass (1785-1875) + Nancy Brien (b. ca. 1790)
John B. Bass (b. 1813) + Susan Barbee (b. ca. 1819)
Sarah Jane Bass (1840-1876) + John Bond Henderson (1834-1898)

Sarah Jane Bass, first wife of John Bond Henderson

See my (Billy Pittard's) post on the Henderson Family of Middle Tennessee for the continuation of this part of my (Billly Pittard's) ancestry which comes forward through my mother and maternal grandmother.

In the above ancestry, Theophilus Bass forward were residents of Wilson County, Tennessee, particularly around Watertown.

Interestingly, I (Billy Pittaard) also have a connection to John and Keziah Elizabeth Basse through my maternal grandfather, Frank Blackburn Batey as well, but in that case it is a through marriage rather than blood. My ancestor, Captain William Batey, the progenitor of the Batey family of Middle Tennessee married a second time after his first wife, my ancestor died. His second wife, Ann Bass was the great granddaughter of John and Keziah Elizabeth Bass.

It’s safe to say that a great many locals from Middle Tennessee are descended from John and Keziah Elizabeth Bass.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nansemondhttp://chowanoke.webs.com/bassegenealogy.htm
http://www.geocities.ws/eldavis.geo/jbassebi.html

A special thanks goes to my (Billy Pittard's) distant cousin Mary Frances Andrews Meek of Knoxville, Tennessee who shared this story and much more with me many years ago. Her research was thorough and diligent.

--------------------The above blog was published in 2013 -------

I read several things in this treatise, which lead me to believe that John and Elizabeth lived with the Nansemond Indian tribe...where he was educated as any Native American boy would have been, with the plus of a priest teaching him religion and reading and writing.

But the question in my mine is, when and how did he reconcile with his parents and the rest of his brothers and sisters? The early Virginia racial purity laws said colonials couldn't marry the Native Indians.

I think this account is a bit of conjecture on the part of the author(s.)

One critique (of only minor note) is that the attack on Basse's Choice was said to be at mid-day, and then a painting is given depicting natives attacking at dark.

Blogger Mixup

 I just found a post that was published on my other blog, had been posted under this one.

I've moved it back, and rescheduled it at When I Was 69.

Has anyone else had this problem?

To look further at Scottish grandparents

I left off with...

Thomas II McClellan, Crusader (1520–1597) Born in Kenmore, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland... 

Died 13 JUL 1597 in Trabzon, Trabzon, Turkey. Apparently he didn't return from the Crusades.  

But since he is listed on my family tree as father of Margaret McClelland MacDougall, I looked closely at her mother. Margaret could not have been her daughter, because she was dead by Margaret's birthday of 1603, both of these supposed parents dying in 1597 according to the records.

So it is likely that Margaret MacDougall may have been a McClelland, but she would not have been Thomas the Crusader or his wife's daughter. Oh well. Now I have to figure out what to do with that fabricated relationship on my tree. For now I think I'll leave it, There are many people listed as their children, including 3 named John. Ah, fortunately someone did write a more accurate history, at least of the royal families, as to who was given which rank and when.

In case you're interested, here is a description of how the MacLellans were actually Irish who settled in Galloway in the beginning of the thirteenth century.

 

OK, there were important people who were written about. And there were my ancestors also at least some of whom died fighting for what they believed in.

Now to the Battle of  Killekrankie Pass in 1689, a repost.

The history of the McCord family goes back to Scotland where a Clan Chieftan, James MacKorda died in the famous Battle of Killekrankie Pass in 1689, and his son John Duncan MacKorda/McCord (1660-?) who had married Mary McDougal. Their sons William, Robert, David and John came to America around 1720-38.   Some of them went to Lancaster county PA, while other McCords also immigrated to New York, South Carolina and Virginia.  (From: http://thewommacks.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/James_MacKorda_Descendants.156162820.pdf

-----------------------

From: Family Tree - this resource has many generations of James and John McCorda given, but I can't locate mine (yet)

And this document relies upon a source which is considered secondary. A  primary source is a birth or death certificate, a will, a marriage record, a journal, letters, a document of property sale, or other legal documents.

So there was a famous battle in Scotland, which I'd never heard about, so I go to trusty internet to search for information about it.  Wikipedia says this:

The Battle of Killiecrankie (Gaelic: Blàr Choille Chnagaidh) was fought between Highland Scottish clans supporting King James II and VII and troops supporting King William of Orange on 27 July 1689, during the first Jacobite uprising. Although it was a stunning victory for the Jacobites, it had little overall effect on the outcome of the war and left their leader dead. Their forces were scattered at the Battle of Dunkeld the next month.

For more details here's the link.

And I don't know much more about the battle than I did before, actually.  I'd have to learn a lot more about Scottish/English history before these politics and military forces were understandable for me.  I have enough trouble with our American Revolution!

Pass at Killkiecranky

Clan Name: McCord 

Tartan: McCord

Origin of Name: from the Scottish "MacKorda" 


McCord, originally spelled MacKorda, was a Highland clan originating on the Isle of Skye on the west coast of Scotland.

Although John is the first recorded MacKorda, his son James Duncan MacKorda was the first Clan Chief of the MacKorda Clan. James was born 1620 in Scotland, and died July 27, 1689 in Killiekrankie Pass, Perhshire, Scotland, during the last great charge by the Highlanders.

Around 1670 the spelling of the family name was changed to MacCorde. The clan then emigrated from Scotland in the late 1600's to County Tyrone, Northern Ireland (Ulster)where, in 1715, the spelling was finally changed to McCord.

The McCord's are among the people referred to as Scotch-Irish. The term Scotch-Irish denotes only that they were in Northern Ireland for a time. Very little intermarriage occurred between these Scotch and the native Irish of Ireland. The Scotch and Scotch-Irish peoples, heritage, and culture were then, and are, entirely separate and distinct from that of the Irish of Ireland. During the late 1700's and early 1800's many of the McCords went on to settle in America and Canada. Source: "This was taken from "angelfire.com"

Not exactly a primary source, but information that is interesting!

___________________________________

Today's Quote:

The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated (this land), far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.  Abraham Lincoln

 

The Scottish connection - back to 9 times great grandparents

 I'm going to look at my ancestors on my mother's family tree next...which I call the Booth Family Tree.

Isaac Booth Jr. (1795-1836) was my 4 times great grandfather.  His wife was Jane McElhany Booth (1794-1833) who had been born in Dauphin County PA.  Her father had also been born in Dauphin County, and he was William McElhany (abt 1866 -1815) 

Let's look at the male line first. His father was Capt. Thomas McElhany, who served in the American Revolution. He was born in Hanover Township, Lancaster Co. PA in 1744, and lived until 1828, dying in Dauphin County, PA.  His father was Alexander McElheney, born abt. 1725 in Scotland, d. 1761 Lancaster Co. PA. He was the furthest back of that line that I have information on, my 7 times great grandfather.

Going back to Jane McElhany Booth, her mother was Elizabeth (Betsy) McNeal McElhany, (1768-1849) having been born in Dauphin Co. PA. Unfortunately I don't know which McNeals had been her parents. 

Her husband's mother, Mary McCord McElheny (1743-1807) had been born in West Hanover, Dauphin Co. PA. She was one of my six times great grandmothers. 

Her father was John McCord, Sr. born in 1702 in Stewartstown, County Tyrone, Ireland, and died aft. 1762 in West Hanover, Dauphin Co, PA. 

Mary McCord McElheny's mother was Mary MacIntyre McCord, born in 1712 in Derry, County Cavan, Ireland, and died about 1775 in Hanover, York Co. PA. We don't know anything about the MacIntyre family.

But John McCord, Sr.'s parents were:

John Duncan MacCord (MacKorda), Clan Chief, born in 1660 in Argyle, Skye, Scotland, who died in 1715 in Stewartstown, County Tyrone, Ireland.  His wife was Mary (Sarah) MacDougall McCord, b. 1664 Argyle, Skye, Scotand, d. 1725 Stewartstown, County Tyrone, Ireland.

Mary (Sarah) MacDougall McKorda portrait  (1664-1725)

John Duncan MacCord's father was Sir James Duncan MacKorda, Clan Chief, b.1620, Argyle, Skye, Scotland, d. 27 July 1689, Battle of Killiecrankie Pass, Perthshire, Scotland. Sir James' wife was named Jean, but we don't know her surname. She was born in 1638 in Argyle, Skye, Scotland, and died in 1670 in the same place. She was my 9th great grandmother.

There are still a few more mothers to discover...

Parents of Mary (Sarah) MacDougall McKorda (1664-1725) were:

James Bernard Edward MacDougall, b. 1623 Inverness, Scotland, d. in battle 27 July 1689, Battle of Killiecrankie Pass, Perthshire, Scotland.  His wife was Blanche Casey MacDougall, b. 1623 in either Ulster Ireland or Argyle, Scotland, and d. in Argyle, Skye, Scotland after 1623.

The parents of James Benard Edward MacDougall were James MacDougall b. 1590 Argyle, Scotland and d. after 1629 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canadian Colony...and Margaret McClellen MacDougall, b.1603 in Scotland, d. 1647 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canadian Colony. James and Margaret MacDougall were my nine times great grandparents!

And the way Ancestry has hints, giving more information for different individuals, I just found out supposed parents of Margaret McClellen MacDougall. They were Crusader Thomas II MacLellen, (1520-1597) and wife Lady Grissel Maxwell MacLellan (1550-1597). The addition of their names to my tree includes a 17 page document describing their Castle, Dunollie Castle, of which there are remains today, on Maiden Island, Scotland.

However, as I looked at the various dates of the MacLellens, I notice a bit of difficulty for mistress Margaret in having been born in 1603. It seems both the McLellen parents died in 1597. I haven't removed them from the tree yet, because I'm a sucker for documents. After I read about their castle, I'll probably have to let them go.

I've gone through several generations, and don't think I'm finished quite yet! Next I'll go as far as each line is listed as of now, from Ancestry. Of course I keep having some stops due to hints about the more famous ancestors!

I did notice that about 3 direct ancestors died on 27 July 1689, at the Battle of Killiecrankie Pass, Perthshire, Scotland.

That's an interesting story...for another post.

More matriarchs

repost from 3.13.15 

We've been looking at my grandmother's line Ada Swasey Rogers, with a lot of her ancestors from New England. Are there any more that go back 12 or 13 generations?

Remember 10)Ammi Ayers and her husband 10) Samuel Swasey?  Their son, 9) Joseph Swasey married 9) Mary Bowers.  Let's go up to the top the branches of her family tree today. 

At the top there's 13) Iwerner Minster, (b. 1570 in First (Manby), Lincolnshire, England, d. 1659 in Manby Lincoln, Yorkshire, England.)  Iwerner is my eldest matriarch for today.

She married 13) Thomas Bowers in 1590 in First, Lincoln, England.  The name of a town may have been First, or that could have come through the Ancestry records somehow.  Since both Thomas and Iwerner have First before the towns, in different counties in England, I'm thinking it's how someone noted that these are our first ancestors. I'm sorry, I can't figure everything out today. If you live in First...please let me know!

So I could look for Manby, Lincolnshire.  And then Manby Lincoln, Yorkshire.  These are not the same county again, and I can't persue it unfortunately.  I'm glad someone left records of their births and marriage and deaths.

13) Iwerner and Thomas Bowers had a son, 12) George Bowers, in 1590 in Manly, Lincolnshire, Eng.  And Iwerner died in 1659 in Manby Lincoln, Yorkshire, England as well. She is the first of my matriarchs that I've shared in this series who didn't even come to America.

12) George Bowers first married 12) Barbarie (Barbara) Smyth  (b.1596 in Braithwell, Yorkshire, England, d. 25 Mar 1644 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts)  They married in Braithwell, Eng. in 1614. 

The  Bowers had one or two children in England, then their next children were born in Connecticut or Massachusetts.  Their son 11) Benanuell Bowers was born in 1627 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, and died on 28 May 1698 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

11) Benanuell Bowers married 11) Elizabeth Marie Dunster (1632-1692) a relative of that first president of Harvard University.

Their son 10) Jonathan Bowers (1673- 1750) was born in the American colonies, and he and his wife 10) Ann Sylvester (1669-1745) had a daughter, (9) Mary Bowers (1719-) who married 9) Joseph Swasey, (1714-1801) as mentioned above.

This post is part of my father's mother, 

Ada Swasey Rogers Family Tree. 

The photo shows her mother, 

my great grandmother,

Zulieka Granger Swasey as a young woman.