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PATERNAL ANCESTRAL TIMELINE
OR
HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN - AND AMERICA
as determined thus far
Including a Privateer
A regicide
Three governors
Several sultans
Four Patriots
A prostitute
A preacher or two
Two tavern keepers
Some merchants
One cousin traitor
Many farmers
Founders of Boston, Braintree, Milford, Branford, Providence and Newark
Catholics
Lutherans
Puritans
Quakers
Dutch Reformed
Muslims
BEFORE THE CROSSING
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Ancestors, including adoptive, in bold, usually at first mention only.
1503 John de Southworth knighted. He is Lord of Samlesbury and Sheriff of Lancashire.
1517 John Pearson born in Yorkshire, England.
1518 Sir Thomas de Southworth, son of John and Ellen de Langton, granted divorce from Ann Stanley by the Pope. He quickly marries Margery Boteler.
1529 Henry VIII proclaims the Church of England, in effect declaring independence from Rome. His new church annuls his marriage with Catharine of Aragon. John Pierson or Pearson of Howden Parish, Yorkshire, is a lad of about 12. The family is of Viking (Norse) origin, according to family tradition.
1538 John Mott born in Great Canfield, Essex, England.
1541 William Pearson, son of John and Catherine, born in Howden, Yorkshire, England.
1556 Thomas Stanford marries Elizabeth Chanell in Horsham, Sussex, England.
1558 Elizabeth becomes queen of England.
1563 William Peerson, son of John, marries Juliann Collin in Howden, Yorkshire, England.
1570 John Mott, son of John, born at Saffron Walden, Essex, England.
1572 A group of brigands called the Sea Beggars oust the Spanish garrison from the city of Middelburg, Zeeland. The Beggars have the motto "Rather Turks than Papists." In a chain reaction the Spanish are forced out of an area now comprising part of France, much of Belgium and most of the Netherlands. Thus begins the Eighty Years War.
The beginning of the war really dates to 1555. Charles V/Kaiser Karel/Carlos (depending on your location) Habsburg was the ruler of the largest empire the West has known. It included what today are Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, parts of Italy, Hungary and Croatia, central and much of south America, and more. While he did not hesitate to use the sword, Charles knew that his reign depended more on soft power, playing off people and accepting a degree of local self-government in the various areas. (In fact practically all of his empire came to him by inheritance rather than conquest.) And he knew the value of allies. He was unique in voluntarily retiring from those thrones, to spend the final years of his life in a monastery without worrying about bureaucrats. He split his empire, in 1555 leaving Spain, the Netherlands and the New World to his son Philip.
Philip II was rather unlike his father. He believed that he was the most important person in the world, that he knew what God wanted, and that God had given him the duty to enforce God's will. Of course he had to declare all-out war on the Dutch terrorists - and any other non-believers in his version of the Church of Rome.
The rebels do something unheard of: They form a government by committee. No king or prince. They allow freedom of religion and (mostly) business. There are no serfs or slaves. Criminal and civil law are enforced by courts, with prosecutions handled by what amounts to a district attorney. Such ideas terrify the crowned heads of Europe, but Philip is so disliked that none join him in trying to subdue the rebels. Queen Elizabeth of England even sends a governor to the Netherlands, though his welcome is soon withdrawn.
1574 Thomas Pearson, son of William and Julia, born at Howden, Yorkshire, England.
1575 Richard Riggs (probably son of Miles Riggs) marries Elizabeth Chambers at Roydon, Essex, England.
1576 Spanish forces sack Antwerp. This is apparently more a protest against missing pay than a war tactic, but the damage is extensive. Thousands of the intelligentsia and merchant class flee north. The refugees cause Amsterdam to bloom, soon making it the richest city in Europe. Thomas Dudley, son of Roger, born in Northampton, England.
1578 Edward Stanford, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Stanford, born in Horsham, Sussex, England.
Before 1583 Jan Janszoon from Haarlem, Holland, is active as a privateer for the Netherlands in the 80 Years War. He first operates out of Dunkirk, which is part of Protestant Flanders at the beginning of the war. After Dunkirk is captured by the Habsburgs in 1583 he moves his center of operations south to the Barbary Coast. He is eventually named admiral of the Moroccan Navy and spends several years in the city of Salee. He converts to Islam, marries a second wife and has a second set of children.
1581 Sir John Southworth, son of Thomas and Margery, jailed in New Fleet Prison, Manchester, Lancashire, for being a Catholic.
1584 Thomas Southworth, son of John, is living in London. His brother Edward later is employed by the Mayflower Company.
1587 William Arnold, son of Thomas and Alice Gully Arnold, born in Bagbere, Dorset, England.
1588 Philip II of Spain attempts to conquer England. His armada is smashed in a storm. This diversion of resources and loss of so many soldiers must have seriously weakened Philip's efforts in the Netherlands.
1590 The Spanish are pushed out of southern Gelderland by the Dutch forces. The van der Hoeven family in Beesd is thereafter relieved from having war at its doorstep - until the Spanish come again in 1625.
1590 Thomas Dudley is orphaned when his father Roger Dudley is killed in battle. Thomas is raised in the household of the Duke of Northampton. Elizabeth Holmes born in Nazeing, Essex, England.
1593 Thomas Pearson marries Grace Marshall at Guiseley, Yorkshire, England.
1596 Adam Mott, son of John and Elizabeth, born in Cambridgeshire, England.
1597 With the permission of Queen Elizabeth, Thomas Dudley is commissioned a captain in the forces of Henri IV of France. Dudley fights in the siege of Amiens. Afterwards he returns to England and becomes a Puritan.
1600 John Bedell born in Terling, Essex, England.
1602 Thomas Pierson, son of William and Grace, born at Bradford, Yorkshire, England.
1603 Elizabeth of England dies. Her cousin James VI of Scotland assumes the English throne as James I. Simon Bradstreet is born in Horbling, Lincolnshire. He is son of a Simon, reportedly a minister. Thomas Dudley marries Dorothy Yorke, daughter of Edmond Yorke, yeoman of Cotton End, Northamptonshire. About that time he becomes the estate manager for the Earl of Lincoln.
1605 Georg Wilheit, son of Jerg or Georg and Anna Bickel, weds at Schwaigern, Württemberg.
1606 Johannes Lutz weds Anna Flamm, daughter of Hans Flamm, at Schwaigern.
1609 Puritans, conservative English Protestants, settle in Leiden, Holland, in search of religious freedom. Freedom for themselves, that is. Among them is Thomas Southworth, son of Thomas.
1610 Johannes (Hans) Ruefflin marries Barbara Kneer in Schwaigern, Württemberg. He is the son of a Jeorg, she the daughter of Jacob Kneer and Rosina Michael.
About 1610 Geertje Cornelis Van Fulpen is born in Beesd, Gelderland, Netherlands.
1611/1612 Anne Dudley, daughter of Thomas and Dorothy, born in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England.
1612 Cornelis Gijsbertsen Van Der Hoeven is born in Beesd, Gelderland, Netherlands. Jonathan Wade is born in Norfolk, England.
1613 After the death of his father, Claude Rutan moves from the ancestral home of Saint-Mihiel to Metz in the Duchy of Lorraine. The move may had something to do with religious prosecution, for the Rutan family were early converts to the Reformed Church and Saint-Mihiel had been conquered by France in 1552. Claude joins his brother Blaise who had made the move in 1608. The family are merchants in lace, fabrics and furs, and probably lived earlier in Calais. Claude marries Sarah Bigene, daughter of Jean Bigene of Metz, the same year.
1614 John Richard Haines, son of Richard Haines, born in Boxgrove, West Sussex, England.
1616 John Mott marries Elizabeth Creel in Cambridgeshire, England.
1618 The Thirty Years War begins when the Austria Habsburgs object to the Protestant state of Czechy (Bohemia) electing a Protestant king. While the largest armies are fielded by France, the Austrian Habsburgs and Sweden, the fighting mainly occurs in the German lands. The middle Rhine is particularly devastated, with some areas losing 80 to 100% of their population. Schwaigern is typical. In a small town surviving records record 222 deaths in 1625, and 691 in 1635. In another measure, it was reported that of 350 Reformed churches in the Rheinpfalz in 1618, only 37 still had preachers in 1648. Or, another report says that the Rheinpfalz (or Kurpfalz) had about 500,000 people in 1618, about 43,000 in 1648.
1618 Edward Riggs, son of Richard and Elizabeth, marries Elizabeth Holmes at All Saints Church, Nazeing, Essex, England. Ann de Bize, daughter of Jean and Suzanne Bancelin de Bize, born in Metz, Lorraine. Richard Ellison, son of Lawrence and Mary Rishton Ellison, baptized at Blackburn, Lincashire, England.
1619 Elizabeth Stanford, daughter of Edward and Mary ? Stanford, born in Horsham, Sussex, England.
1620 Daniel Rutant, son of Claude and Sarah Bigen Rutant, born in Metz, Lorraine.
1622 John Bedell marries Elizabeth Ginn at Terling, Essex, England.
1624 Robert Bedell, son of John and Elizabeth, born in Essex.
1625 Henry Lyon born Glen Lyon, Perthshire, Scotland.
1626 Richard Harrison weds Sarah Yorke in Cheshire, England.
20 June 1627, corsair fleet captained by Murad Rais (Jan Janszoon) reaches Iceland. Some 400 Icelanders plus much booty were taken back to the markets of Algiers.
1629 Thomas Dudley is among those organizing the Massachusetts Bay Company. He is selected as one of five officers.
1630 Samuel Pierson, son of Thomas and Grace, marries Elizabeth Armitage in Howden Parish, Yorkshire. They settle in nearby Dewsbury.
1634 William Hawkins, glover, and Margaret Harwood, spinster, sail on the same ship from Dartmouth, Devon, England. The ship is officially noted as sailing for Saint Christopher in the Leeward Islands, but in fact was going to New England. Within a few years Hawkins and Harwood are wed. Thomas Pierson, son of Samuel and Elizabeth, born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire.
Before 1636: Jacob Gamber born, probably in Aargau.
1637 Richard Haines, son of John Richard and Elizabeth Stanford Haines, born in Northampton, England.
1639 Marcus Clemmer, son of Georg and Elizabeth Clemmer, born in Ober Niebelsbach, Schwarzwaldkreis, Wuerttemburg.
1640 Johann Georg Wilheit, son of Georg and Anna, marries Barbara Lutz, daughter of Johannes and Anna, in Schwaigern, Württemberg.
1642 The Civil War begins in England. Henry Lyon and his brothers Thomas and Richard, from Glen Lyon, Perthshire, Scotland, join the rebel forces. The countries on the continent are otherwise engaged in their own wars, so none intervenes.
1642 Daniel Rutan, son of Claude and Sarah, marries Anne de Bize in Metz. She is the daughter of Jean De Bize and Suzanne Bancelin.
1643 Louis XIV become king of France. His rules are simple: do what I say or die.
1647 At least part of the Ruefflin family survived the Thirty Years War in Schwaigern, for Martin Ruefflin, son of Hans and Barbara, marries Barbara Bartenschlag. She is the daughter of Matthias Bartenschlag.
Before 1648 André Petillon moves from Calais, which over the course of the war had changed from being a Reformed city in Flanders to a Catholic city in France, to Middelburg, Zeeland, in the Netherlands.
1648 King Charles of England, Scotland and Wales is beheaded by the rebels. Henry Lyon and his brothers are reportedly guards at the execution. The regicide horrifies the crowned heads of Europe, as it does not result in a new king. Charles's son, also a Charles, is enjoying life in the Netherlands.
1648 The Treaties of Westphalia end the Eighty and Thirty Years Wars. The Republic of the Netherlands (AKA United Provinces) receives official recognition as a member of the nations of Europe. The princes of the German lands are allowed to select a religion for their lands. In fact, the selections are Roman, Reformed and Lutheran. Religious toleration varies, with in many cases other groups such as Anabaptists and Jews simply banned. Some princes, such as the Elector Palatine, send out ambassadors looking for settlers to replace their lost population - and religious personnel for churches and the university. Switzerland and the Netherlands are major sources of settlers - some of whom were probably refugees from the Rhine. André Petillon is one who heeds the call, moving to Mannheim where on 26 Feb 1659/60 his daughter Marie is baptized.
The end of the war causes a depression in Switzerland. The war resulted in the destruction of agriculture in a swath along the Rhine, and the Swiss had exported food (mostly grains) to meet the needs. That trade collapsed after 1648. At the same time, the population was steadily growing while the supply of suitable land was not.
1650 Barbara Altergott, daughter of Michael and Barbara Kneier Altergott, born in Graehenhausen, Schwarzwaldkreis, Württemberg.
1651 Jacob Gamber marries Elsbeth Wehrli in Küttingen, Canton Berner (now Aargau), Switzerland.
1650s: The Elector of the Pfalz and the Duke of Zweibrucken issue repeated calls for those who fled the war to return, and for new settlers. This call is particularly significant to areas not damaged by the war – and where population was growing. That included the Aargau.
1653 The British rebels having failed to develop a workable government, Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector - in effect a military dictator.
About 1657 Hans Michael Klaar marries Ursula Sybilla in Gemmingen, Württemberg. Gemmingen is within walking distance of Schwaigern. Andreas, son of Jacob and Elsbeth Gamber, baptized in Küttingen.
1658 Oliver Cromwell dies and his son succeeds as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Wales. The son does not have the talent and quits the next year. Abraham Rutan, son of Daniel and Ann de Bize Rutan, born in Metz, Lorraine.
1659 Marie Petillion, daughter of André and Marria Massue Pettilion, born in probably in Mannheim, Germany. André was born in Calais, took refuge in Middleburg, Zeeland, then moved to the Reformed community in the Pfalz.
1660 The English Parliament gives up trying to develop an alternative form of government and decides to restore the monarchy. It invites Charles junior to return from the Netherlands and become king. Charles II fails to produce an heir, but fathers so many other children that he can truly be called the father of his country. (There is in fact a large "Fitz" society of those claiming descent from Charles. "Fitz" means bastard of - i.e. Fitzcharles is bastard son of Charles. I went to one of their reunions in 1972.) Richard Haines, son of John Richard and Elizabeth Stanford Haines, marries Margaret at Aynho, Northamptonshire, England.
1668 Michael Wilheit, son of Johann Georg and Barbara, weds Anna Maria Ruefflin, daughter of Martin and Barbara, in Schwaigern, Württemberg.
1672 - 1678 Louis XIV attempts to conquer the Netherlands, in the process sending troops up and down the Rhine and devastating many towns including Schwaigern.
1677 Hans Michael Drollinger, daughter of Michael and Maria Funk Drollinger, born in Elmendingen, Baden. Andreas Gamber marries Adelheid Bircher in Küttingen.
1679 Eva Klemmer, daughter of Marcus and Barbara Altergott Clemmer, born in Ober Niebelsbach, Schwaldkreis, Württemberg.
1680 Charles Louis, Elector of the Pfalz, dies. Nicholaus Gamber, son of Andreas, baptized in Küttingen.
1682 Quaker Richard Haines, wife Margaret and five children set sail from Downs, England, for the new world. On the voyage, Richard dies and his son Joseph Haines is born
1685 Charles II of England dies and is succeeded by his brother James.
1685 Elector Karl II of the Pfalz dies. He was a member of the Reformed Church, which is the religion of the vast majority of his subjects. He is succeeded by Philip-Wilhelm, a Catholic.
About 1686 Hans Martin Klaar, son of Hans Michael, marries Anna Maria Barbara in Gemmingen, Württemberg.
1688 James II of England is a Catholic and highly unpopular. His daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange (who is Mary's first cousin and James' nephew, and the leading citizen of the Netherlands) raise an army and invade England. With limited opposition and some support from the English, they quickly take London. Three months later Parliament invites William and Mary to be co-monarchs. The event is later named the Glorious Revolution, the triumph of the people against those who claim divine right. James leaves for France. The crowned heads of Europe are not pleased by the idea that the people should pick their ruler. Louis XIV declares war on England and the Netherlands.
1688 - 1697 War of Palatine Succession, or Orleans War. Louis XIV of France continues to devastate the Rhine in an attempt to obtain the Palatinate for his sister-in-law.
1693 Forces of Louis XIV blow up the castle in Heidelberg, the Palatine capital. (Never rebuilt, the ruins are today probably the most popular image of Heidelberg.)
About 1690: Andreas Gamber and family, including son Nicholaus, move from Küttingen to Oberhochstadt, Pfalz.
1695 Forces of Louis XIV practice strategic bombardment and attacks on civilians in Brussels. All but two of the buildings around the Grand Place are destroyed. (Today you can see dates on most of the buildings around the square. Most are dated 1696 to 1699.)
1696 Joshua Johnson, son of Robert and Margaret Johnson, born in Ireland.
1700 Hans Jacob Baumgaertner, son of George Baumgaertner and Anna Veyhel, weds Anna Katharina Wilheit, daughter of Michael and Anna, at Schwaigern, Württemberg.
1701 - 1714 War of Spanish Succession. Despite the name, the Rhine is again a battleground as Louis XIV continues his policy of trying to conquer or destroy everything in reach. In 1704 Schwaigern even has the "pleasure" of playing host to English troops. People are getting rather tired of having to "entertain" troops in their homes.
1709 Posters circulate on the middle Rhine, offering wonderful opportunities in the New World. An estimated 13,000 to 15,000 people decide to take up the offer, most walking down the river to Rotterdam to take ship to London and thence America. This flood causes serious problems in London and Rotterdam, for the governments are not prepared. Eventually the Dutch authorities turn away any more trying to come into their territory. Among those in the third list off arrivals at St Catherine's dock (2 June 1709) were Jacob Gam, 24, reformed; Henry Behler, cooper or brewer, single, reformed; and John Kloetter, baker, with wife and son age 1, reformed. In the list for 11 June is John Gamben 24 catholic.
The English government returns Catholics to the continent. Thousands remain for months in refugee camps. Hundreds are stranded for months on ships that are loaded but then prevented from sailing. Perhaps 15% die. The majority eventually return to the German lands. 3,000 are diverted to Ireland with about 2,000 actually remaining there as settlers. Robert Hunter, recently appointed as governor of New York, requests a few thousand to create a plantation on the Hudson. The plan is the production of naval stores, particularly pitch. On 25 December 1709 over 4,000 depart on 10 ships for New York. On board are Johan Paulus Klotter and family, probably from Berkineau, Hesse.
About 1709 Nicholaus Gamber weds Maria Catherina in Niederhochstadt, Pfalz.
1713 Witch trials in Schwaigern.
1717 Wilbert Gamber, son of Nickolaus and Maria Catherina, is baptized 9 May 1717 in the Reformed Church in Niederhochstadt, Pfalz.
Hans Michael Klaar, wife Maria Barbara and three children depart Gemmingen, Baden, with other families including that of Philipp Joseph Weber and his wife Susanna Klaar, sister of Hans Michael. They reportedly believe they are going to Pennsylvania.
1722 Gabriel Drollinger, son of Hans Michael and Eva Klemmer Drollinger, born at Ellmendingen, Baden.
1723 Margaretha Lottholtz, daughter of Hans Jacob Martin and Anna Margaretha Fuess Lottholtz, in Ellmendingen, Baden.
1732 Peter Poland born at Kusel, Pfalz.
1741 Wilbert Gamber marries Maria Elizabeth Seger at the Oberhochstadt Reformed Church.
1755 John McGlumphy born in Armagh, Ulster, Ireland. He is Scots-Irish.
1770 - 1779 John Patterson son of John and Nancy Patterson born in Ireland.
AFTER THE CROSSING
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NEW NETHERLANDS / NEW YORK
1609 Henry Hudson explores what became known as the Hudson River, and claims the region for the Netherlands.
1614 First Dutch settlement on the Hudson, Fort Nassau near present day Albany.
1624 The Dutch West India Company creates several settlements on Delaware Bay, the Connecticut River, Manhattan, and at Fort Orange (now Albany) on the North (now Hudson) River.
Manhattan
1640
about 1644 Richard Valentine from Waterford, Massachusetts Bay Colony, is one of founders of Hempstead, Long Island. His wife is probably Deborah Mott, daughter of Adam and Sarah.
1650 Thomas Southard, son of Thomas Southworth, arrives from Leiden and settles in or near Hempstead, Long Island. He soon marries Annica Antonis Jansen, daughter of Grietje Reiners and (perhaps) her husband Anthony.
1652 New Amsterdam receives a city charter from the States General (parliament) of the Netherlands, with full freedom of religion and the other individual rights that eventually appear in the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution. The population is 1,500 – 2,000.
1655 New Netherlands peacefully conquers and absorbs New Sweden colony in what is now Delaware.
1657 Robert Bedell arrives with wife Blanche and children. They settle on Long Island.
1659 The magistrates of Fort Orange prohibit the playing of golf on town streets.
1661 Geertje Cornelis Van Fulpen (widow of Cornelis Gijsbertsen Van Der Hoeven) arrives New Netherlands with her children and settles at Beverwijck (settlement around Fort Orange).
By 1663 Richard Ellison and wife Thomasine are in Hempstead, Long Island, New York. Richard's father Lawrence Ellison is probably there also.
1664 A military force sent by James, Duke of York and Albany (and later King James II of England) forces the surrender of New Amsterdam. Some 15,000 people suddenly become subjects of the British throne. As they are promised all existing rights, including land titles, few if any leave. (Thirty to forty percent are in any case from somewhere other than the Netherlands.) New Netherlands at that time included various towns and villages from what are now New Castle, Delaware to Albany, New York. Rachel Ellison, daughter of Richard and Thomasina, born Hempstead, Long Island.
About 1668 Ephraim Valentine, son of Richard and Deborah, born at Hempstead, Long Island, New York.
1679 John Bedell, son of Robert and Blanche, marries Sarah Southard, daughter of Thomas and Annica, in Hempstead, Long Island, New York.
1680 Abraham B. Rutan, son of Daniel and Anne, arrives and settles in New Paltz on the Hudson. He soon marries Marie Petillon, daughter of André from Mannheim. She may have been on the same ship with Abraham.
About 1682 Jan Cornelisz Van Der Hoeven, son of Cornelis and Geertje, marries Dorothea Jans at Albany.
About 1688 Ephraim Valentine weds Rachel Ellison in Hempstead, Long Island.
1710 In June the 10 ships of German immigrants finally reach New York. John Paulus Klotter apparently did not survive the voyage, but his wife Susanna and at least one child - Casper - did. The Germans are housed in tents on Nutting (now Governor's) Island. An estimated 1,700 die during the voyage or soon after arrival. In the fall 1,400 are ferried up the Hudson to Livingston Manor in the area of Esopus Creek. They are indentured, to produce naval stores. No preparations are made at the site so the settlers, who arrive in October with only hand tools, must figure out how to survive the winter in the wilderness. The location and lack of supplies are according to the records part of a fraud perpetuated on the government and settlers by a Robert Livingston. The widows, ill and orphans (including Casper) remain in New York and are sold as apprentices or indentured.
1712 The trees on the Hudson are not the type that produce good tar, and 600 - 700 of the settlers have died. The production of naval stores having been a failure, the governor gives the Livingston Manor settlers their freedom. Many trek northwest along roughly the route of today's NY highway 145 to the Schoharie Valley (west of Albany), where they are welcomed by the natives. They settle in seven villages. However, times are hard and Governor Hunter claims extravagant sums for land titles.
1723 Thirty-three Schoharie families load their possessions on sleds and cross the frozen mountains to the Susquehanna watershed. They build rafts and with the spring thaw travel down the Susquehanna River into the friendly lands of Pennsylvania.
NEW ENGLAND
1620 A group of Puritans (AKA the Pilgrims) from Leiden found Plymouth Plantation (later New Plymouth) in what is now Massachusetts. They create a theocracy - government based on a reading of the Bible. (In Islam today such is called sharia law.) The settlement attracts few additional immigrants. Previously the Indians of New England had prevented any European settlement, but a plague had wiped out a large part of the population. The leader of one decimated tribe agreed to allow the Pilgrims to settle in an abandoned village in the hope that they would help protect his people against another tribe. Peace between the invaders and the Massachusett was maintained until 1675.
1624 A New Netherlands outpost, Fort De Goede Hoop, is established on what was later called the Connecticut River. It is about on the site where Dutchman Adriaen Block traded with the Suckiag in 1614.
1630 Massachusetts Bay Colony founded at Salem and Boston by the Massachusetts Bay Company under the leadership of John Winthrop. The company was chartered in 1629 by King Charles I of England as a trading company. Unlike most trading companies, the charter did not stay in London but was taken to the colony – which was thereby able to run its own affairs. Among the first arrivals on the first convoy of eleven ships with about 700 people are Thomas Dudley and family, William Bateman and family, and Simon Bradstreet whose wife Ann was a daughter of Thomas Dudley. Over the next 10 years Massachusetts draws over 10,000 immigrants (some estimates are double that), most Puritans from England. However, in order to receive permission, emigrants have to certify that they adhere to the Church of England.
1632 Jonathan Wade arrives in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, from Norfolk, England. He soon marries and settles down as a merchant and tavern keeper.
1633 Edward Riggs, Puritan of Essex, England, arrives in the Massachusetts Bay Colony with his wife Elizabeth and five children. Elizabeth and three of the children die within two years. Robert Rose of Ipswich, Suffolk, arrives on the Francis and settles in Watertown.
Governor
Thomas Dudley
1634 - 1635 Thomas Dudley elected governor of Massachusetts Bay colony for first of five times. He is 58 years old. One evaluation of him: “In him, New England Puritanism took on some of its harshest and least pleasant aspects. He often won approval, but never affection. He was positive, dogmatic, austere, prejudiced, unlovable. He dominated by sheer strength of will as a leader in his community. Like many of the others, he was no friend to popular government and a strong believer in autocracy.”
1635 William Swaine and family including son Samuel Swaine arrive in the Massachusetts Bay Colony from London. Adam Mott arrives Boston with his new wife Sarah. Adam is the son of John and Elizabeth Mott. William and Christian Peak Arnold and children including Benedict arrive at Hingham, Massachusetts, from Dorset.
1636 Hartford is founded by a Puritan group from Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is built AROUND the Dutch outpost on what became known as the Connecticut River.
1636 Providence, Rhode Island, founded by Roger Williams. Williams was a clergyman banished from Massachusetts for his religious teachings. William Hawkins, Benedict Arnold and Stukeley Westcott are listed among the founders. Williams believes in absolute freedom of religion. He travels to England in 1639 to obtain a patent for the colony that includes religious freedom. Rhode Island (from the Dutch name – red island) is the first and for decades the only English colony with religious freedom. America’s first Baptist church is established at Providence in 1639. Many of the Rhode Island settlers become Quakers.
1637 Jasper Crane of Spaxton, Somerset, England, arrives with wife Alice and two children at Boston on the Hector.
1638 New Haven Colony founded by Puritans wishing to have their own government according to their own Biblical rules. They purchase a tract of land from the Indians. There is no royal charter. First settlers include Jasper Crane, Thomas Beach, and Richard Platt and his wife Mary Wood.
By 1640 William Bateman, Edward Riggs and William Swaine are in the New Haven Colony.
Benedict Arnold son of William marries Dameris in Provincetown.
1642 With the start of the English Civil War, English migration to New England virtually stops. There is no significant new immigration until after 1780.
1643 John Turner is employed at the ironworks in Lynn, Massachusetts.
1644 Branford (also called Brainford and perhaps named after Brentford, England) settlement created on land purchased from the New Haven Colony, mostly be people from Weathersfield. First settlers include Jasper Crane, Richard Harrison, Robert Rose, William Swaine, and George and Lawrence Ward.
By 1646 Richard Ellison and wife Thomasine are in Braintree, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Richard's father Lawrence Ellison is probably there also.
1647 Mersey Bradstreet, daughter of Simon and Anne Dudley, born in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1648 Nathaniel Wade, son of Jonathan, born in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Jasper Crane of Branford sues a Mr Hall, thus contributing to a great American tradition. Crane wins.
Before 1649 Samuel Swaine marries Joanna Ward at Branford.
1649 Henry Lyon admitted to the church in Milford, New Haven Colony.
Governor
Simon Bradstreet
About 1653 Thomas Beach marries Sarah Platt, daughter of Richard and Mary, at Milford.
1658 Thomas Pierson or Pearson, son of Samuel and Elizabeth, arrives in New Haven Colony. He settles in Branford. The next year he marries Maria Harrison, daughter of Richard.
1658 Both ears are cut off three young men in Boston. Crime: Being Quakers and “That it was evident they were going to act the Works of Darkness . . . “ A woman is given ten stripes with a “three-fold-corded-knotted Whip” for the same offense.
1662 New Haven Colony is incorporated into Connecticut when a royal charter is issued to John Winthrop Jr, governor of Connecticut. Winthrop obtains the charter despite the opposition of the New Haveners, who have been unable to obtain their own charter. As Connecticut is rather liberal, even allowing Quakers, the Puritans of New Haven are incensed. "Why, they even allow children to be baptized when their parents cannot prove under examination that they have been appropriately born again!" ("Born again" is a recent term, but the intent is the same.) Some propose leaving for a newer haven where "proper" religious law will rule.
1665 George Day marries Mary Riggs, daughter of Edward, at Milford.
1666 Many Branford and Milford residents sign an agreement to form a new township of New-Ark on the Pesayack River in New Jersey. They include from Branford Jasper Crane, Richard Harrison, Thomas Pierson, Samuel Rose, Samuel Swaine and four men named Ward; and from Milford George Day, Stephen Freeman, Henry Lyon, and Edward Riggs. The agreement specifies that no person shall be made a freeman of the new colony “but such Planters who are members of some or other of the Congregational churches.”
1669 Benedict Arnold son of Benedict and Dameris marries Mary Turner, daughter of John and Mary of Taunton, in Providence.
1675 – 1676 King Philip’s War – the natives in the Massachusetts area revolt against the invaders and are badly beaten.
1676 Nathaniel Wade given an Indian girl aged 10 as a bonded servant until the age of 24. She was one of 32 native children placed in bondage under the same action. Most were orphans King Philip’s War, though a few had living parents.
1678 William Hawkins II, son of William and Margaret, marries Lydia Ballou, daughter of Robert, in Providence, Rhode Island. The son William Hawkins III is born the next year.
1679 - 1686, 1689 - 1692 Simon Bradstreet is governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. His wife Anne is known as a poet.
1681 Jonathan Wade, son of Nathaniel Wade and Mercy Bradstreet, born in Medford, Middlesex co, Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1704 William Hawkins marries Elizabeth Arnold daughter of Benedict and Mary in Providence, Rhode Island.
1708/9 Nathaniel Wade, son of Jonathan and Mary, born in Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
1710/11 Ruth Hawkins, daughter of William and Elizabeth, born in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island,
1740 Ruth Wade, daughter of Nathaniel Wade and Ruth Hawkins, born in Scituate, Providence County, Rhode Island.
NEW JERSEY
1664 With the conquest of New Netherlands by the English, New Jersey comes under English rule. The first proposed name is Albania (from Albany), but that idea is soon dropped.
1666 Newark is founded by a group from Branford and Milford in the former New Haven Colony. They purchase land which the Native Americans call Passaic. Founders include Jasper Crane, George Day, Henry Lyon, Edward Riggs, Samuel Swaine, and Thomas Pierson. The land is surveyed and distributed by lot. Every male has a town duty. Edward Riggs became "Principal dispatcher of wolves."
About 1674 Samuel Lyon, son of Henry, marries Sarah Beach, daughter of Thomas and Sarah. They live in Newark.
About 1675 Jasper Crane, son of Jasper, marries Joanna Swaine, daughter of Samuel and Joanna, in Newark.
1682 widow Margaret Haines and children settle in Burlington county, New Jersey. She soon marries Henry Bircham.
About 1692 George Day, son of George and Mary, marries Phebe in Newark.
1695 The Rutan family move to Barbados, Bergen County, New Jersey, from New York.
1696 Most of the van der Hoeven family move to Bergen County, NJ, from New York.
By 1706 John Bedell, son of John and Sarah, moves to the Passaic Valley, near Turkey (later New Providence). His wife is Mary Lennington.
1713 Pieter Abraham Rutan, son of Abraham and Marie, marries Geertruij Van Der Hoeve, daughter of Jan and Dorothea, at Hackensack, Bergen County.
1715 Casper Clutter serves in the New Jersey militia.
About 1720 Casper Clutter marries Jannetje (Jane) van Etten in Hunterdon county, New Jersey. They have at least seven children before moving to Pennsylvania around 1746.
About 1725 John Bedell, son of John and Sarah, marries Susannah Valentine, probably daughter of Ephraim, at Turkey.
About 1727 Daniel Day, son of George Day and Phebe, marries Mary ?
1740 Gabriel Drollinger immigrates and settles in Salem, Salem co, New Jersey.
1742 Nathaniel Armstrong, son of John and Mary Armstrong, born in New Jersey, probably Morris county.
1743 Margaretha Lottholtz immigrates and settles in Salem, Salem co, New Jersey. She later marries Gabriel Drollinger.
1748 Elizabeth Drollinger, daughter of Gabriel and Margaretha Drollinger, born in Salem, New Jersey.
1749 Samuel Lyon, son of Samuel, marries Abigail Crane, daughter of Joseph and Abigail, in Morris County. Their daughter Rachel Lyon is born about that time.
1750 Stephen Sanders born in Morris County, New Jersey. Peter Poland lands at Philadelphia on the Patience. He settles in Hunterdon county.
About 1751 Samuel T Day, son of Daniel and Mary marries, Abigail Crane in Morris County. (This Abigail is not to be confused with the one who married Samuel Lyon. They were almost certainly cousins, however.)
By 1754 Abraham Rutan, son of Pieter and Geertruij, has moved inland to Morris County in the Passaic Valley with his wife Anna and at least one child. (Note: the Passaic River was the boundary between Morris and Essex. That part of Essex is now Union County.)
About 1755 Jacob Bedell, son of John and Mary, marries Eleanor Powers daughter of David Powers born Newark or New Providence (Turkey).
1761 Peter Poland, son of Peter and Margaret Martin Poland, born in Hunterdon county.
1764 John Clutter, son of Casper and Jane, marries Ruth Wade at Morristown.
1765 Nathaniel Armstrong, perhaps son of John Armstrong, marries Rachel Lyon, daughter of Samuel and Abigail, in Mendham, Morris County.
1772 Noadiah Clutter, son of John and Ruth, born in Morris county. In 1780 he moves with his parents to Washington county, Pennsylvania.
1776 Declaration of Independence. The colonists continue the tradition of their English and Dutch ancestors. Or at least some did. The current WAG (wild-assessed guess) is that 25% of the population supported the rebellion, 25% opposed it, and 50% wanted to be left alone. (Note similar percentages in the 2000 presidential election.) A government by committee is formed. Or rather a committee of committees, for each of the rebel colonies is ruled by a committee. George Washington had already been selected in 1775 to head the army.
1778 Samuel Rutan, son of Abraham and Anna, marries Eleanor Bedell, daughter of Jacob and Eleanor, at Turkey Church, Essex county.
1776 - 1783 The rebel forces win few battles but with unconventional tactics (some of which would today be called terrorism) wear down the British. The active entry of the French allows a great victory at Yorktown. Jacob Bedell, David Enoch, Stephen Sanders, Abraham Rutan and Samuel Rutan are recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution as Patriots.
1780 Samuel Armstrong, son of Nathaniel and Rachel Lyon Armstrong, born in Morristown, Morris county.
1782 Daniel Day, son of Samuel and Abigail, marries Sarah Carnes, daughter of John Carnes and Penelope Colman, in Morris County.
1783 Treaty of Paris recognizes independence of United States. General Washington does something practically unheard of: the head of a victorious revolutionary army resigns and goes home to the farm. The US will never have a military head of state. (A few American generals, including Washington, have become president, but only after leaving the military and working up through the political process.) This has unfortunately not a tradition in many other countries, as military takeover of government (e.g. Sami Abacha recently in Nigeria) remains very common.
1804 Charles A Armstrong, son of Samuel and Sarah DeCamp Armstrong, born.
VIRGINIA
1607 Jamestown, the first English colony in North America to survive, founded. Growth is slow. Until after 1700, there are no settlements above tidewater.
1713 Lieutenant Governor Spotswood hopes to make money by planting a settlement on the far frontier to extract iron deposits. The settlers have contracts to work for Spotswood for several years. The settlement on the Rappidan River is called Germanna. It is the furtherest west European settlement in Virginia.
1717/early 1718 A second group of German immigrants arrive at Germanna. Among them are Hans Michael Klaar (Michael Clore), Philipp Joseph Weber (Weaver), and their families. Apparently the captain of their ship stopped in Virginia rather than continuing to Pennsylvania, and sold the passengers to Lieutenant Governor Spotswood for money supposedly owed for passage.
1732 Johann Friedrich Baumgaertner, son Hans Jacob and Anna Katharina, with wife Catherine Catron and children, arrives in the Germanna area.
1738 Adam Bumgarner, son of Johan Friedrich and Catherine Baumgaertner, born in Culpeper county.
1746 Elizabeth, daughter of George and Anna Barbara Clore, born.
1763 At the time of his death, Michael Clore owned seven slaves.
1766 Adam Bumgarner weds Elizabeth Clore.
1769 Jesse Bumgarner, son of Adam and Elizabeth Bumgarner, born.
1784 Cavalier Carbien Poland, son of Peter and Emeline Hannah Chess Poland, born in Berkeley county.
MARYLAND
1632 Charles I grants Cecil Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, the land which became Maryland. The first settlers land at St Mary's in 1634.
1727/8 Lydia Johnson, daughter of Joshua and Sarah Miller Johnson, born in Cecil co, Maryland.
1744 Marks Bigler obtains two tracts in Prince George's County. (The area later becomes part of Frederick County and is today in Montgomery County.)
1755 As part of a failed military campaign to capture Fort Duquesne General Edward Braddock blazes a military trail from Cumberland along an Indian path towards the future Pittsburgh. The route is soon used by migrants and becomes known as Braddock's Road. US 40 today generally follows the route.
By 1758 Jacob Garber is in Frederick County.
1760 Jacob Spindler takes title to a tract called Alsace in northern Baltimore County. Up to that time settlement had been practically entirely on the Chesapeake Bay and lower Potomac River.
1768 William Warren Jacobs, son of Warren J and Elizabeth Drollinger, born.
About 1775 Israel Bigler, son of Marks, marries Catherine Garber, daughter of Jacob.
1791 Susannah Jacobs, daughter of William Warren and Sarah Chess Ball Jacobs, born in Allegany county.
1805 William Chess Poland, son of Cavalier and Susannah Jacobs Poland, born in Allegany county.
NEW SWEDEN / PENNSYLVANIA
1638 Sweden establishes a colony on the Delware, first at Fort Christian (now Wilmington) in 1638. In 1644 a settlement at Kinsessing (the Indian name for the place) is established in what is now Philadelphia.
1655 New Sweden is peacefully taken over by New Netherlands.
1663-4 Enochson brothers Garrett and Harmon, young Dutch farmers, are in Kinsessing.
1669 Garrett Enochson marries Gertrude. They have two children, Enoch and Johann, before Garrett dies.
1677 Harmon Enochson brother of Garrett marries his widow Gertrude. They have a son Henry.
1681 Charles II gives William Penn a charter for land that will become Pennsylvania. He is soon also given Delaware. Penn is very unusual among the men who received royal charters for land in the new world. He believes in freedom of religion, and in attracting as many settlers as quickly as possible. He expects to make money off the trade the settlers generate. (Other proprietors typically look to make money by the sale of land, and/or exports of goods from their plantations.) Penn soon starts advertising for settlers, offering them effectively free land. (Hence he can be considered the godfather of the Homestead Act.)
By 1709 Henry Enoch, son of Harmon Enochson, is in Bucks County.
1723 The Germans from Schoharie Valley New York drift down the Susquehanna River to Swatara Creek. They turn up the creek and settle in the Tulpehocken area.
1725 William Haines, son of Joseph and Elizabeth Johnson Haines, born in Chester co, Pennsylvania.
1733 Marx (or Marcus) Bigler from Alsace arrives in Philadelphia. He settles in Conewago, York County.
About 1741 Christopher Bohler or Beeler leaves the Ephrata Colony in Lancaster County with his children Joseph, Catherine and Frederick.
1741 Great Conestoga Road completed from Philadelphia to Lancaster. This greatly eases migration to the Lancaster area.
1749 Johannes and Wilbert Gamber arrive Philadelphia. Wilbert travels with wife Maria, son Rudolff age 7, and three other children. By 1754 Wilbert has property in Pinegrove township, Berks (now Schuylkill) county, near Tulpehocken. (YDNA tests indicate that Wilbert, or a very close relative, is our Gamber immigrant ancestor.) Wilbert and family attend Host Church. Difficulties with the Native Americans during the French and Indian War (known in Europe as Seven Years War) cause Wilbert and family to take refuge in Lancaster from about 1759 - 1765. Wilbert and most of his family then return to Pinegrove.
About 1750 Samuel T Day and his wife Abigail Crane are reportedly in what would be Washington County, PA - even though it was technically not legal to enter the Indian territory at that time. In any case they are there by the 1790 census.
1753 Jacob Garber of Basel, Switzerland, arrives in Philadelphia.
1758 Brigadier General John Forbes leads a British force west, blazing a new road across the mountains from Carlisle to Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburg). His capture of Fort Duquesne was a major turning point in the French and Indian War. After the war ends in 1763 the track is used by those moving west from the Lancaster region. Today I 76 Carlisle to Bedford and then US 30 generally follow the route.
1762 William Haines, son of William and Lydia John Haines, born in Pennsylvania or Maryland
1763 End of French and Indian War eliminates France as a barrier to migration of the colonists under British rule west of the Allegheny Mountains. However, the Indian allies of the French continued fighting in what became known as Pontiac's War until 1764.
By 1764 Henry Enoch is in what will be Washington County, with his wife Eleanor Ross, daughter of William Ross and Arminella. At least some of their children, including David Enoch, accompany them.
1768 Rudolph Gamber weds Elizabeth Martin in Lancaster. She is the daughter of Nicholas and Ursula Martin.
1769 Southwest Pennsylvania officially opened to settlement, following a treaty with various Indian groups at Fort Stanwix. John Gamber, son of Rudolph and Elizabeth Martin Gamber, born in Lancaster County.
About 1770 Elizabeth Clore, daughter of George, widow of Adam Bumgarner, son of Johann Friedrich Baumgaertner and now wife of John Baker, moves to the Ten Mile Creek area of what later becomes Washington county with her son Jesse Bumgarner.
1778 Joseph Beeler senior and Joseph Beeler junior are mentioned in the court records of Yohogania County, Virginia - most of which became part of Pennsylvania and Washington County after Mason and Dixon surveyed their line. Joseph senior is likely the son of Christopher Beeler.
1780 Benedict Arnold, great grandson of Benedict and Mary Turner Arnold, defects to the British. The story is complex. He had been one of Washington’s best generals – and apparently turned traitor because of political infighting among generals. Or because he felt that the British were willing to concede the original 1775 demands of the colonies that they be made an autonomous part of the Empire.
1781 Creation of Washington County and county seat of Bassett Town (now city of Washington).
By 1782 Stephen Sanders, a farmer, settles in Morris Township, Washington County, with his wife Phebe.
1783 John McGlumphy arrives in Philadelphia with wife and sons John B and Edward McGlumphy, and heads west to what became Washington County, PA. Margaret Haines daughter of William and Elizabeth Sidwell Haines born in Chester co, Pennsylvania.
About 1785 David Enoch, son of Henry and Eleanor, marries Elizabeth in Washington County.
1786 Reuben Sanders, son of Stephen and Phebe Sanders, born in Morris township, Washington County.
1787 After many complaints about the ineffectual confederal government by committee, a constitutional convention meets. The resulting document creates a government with powers divided among three branches: a chief executive, a legislature and a judiciary. This is unique in history.
1788 Samuel and Eleanor Rutan settle in Morris township, Washington County. A daughter Finella (Fanny) Rutan is born later that year.
1788 John Clutter and Ruth move to Washington County.
About 1789 Jessie Bumgarner marries Elizabeth Dalby, daughter of Richard Dalby and Susannah Harris).
1789 George Washington is sworn in as first president of the United States.
Before 1790 Daniel Day and Sarah relocate to Washington County.
Before 1793 John Simpson from Ireland settles in what later becomes Greene County with wife Rebecca Gregory and daughter Jane Simpson. Rebecca is recorded as from Fermanagh, Ulster, so John likely is also. I.e., Scots-Irish.
1794 Whiskey Rebellion: citizens in western Pennsylvania oppose alcohol tax adopted by Congress in 1791. President Washington calls up troops and the "rebels" decide to give up the fight. So ends the first "no tax" movement in the new nation. Samuel Rutan is among those forced to sign a promise to be good in the future.
1796 President Washington declares that he will not accept a third term. Early the next year he returns to his farm. Thus he creates a tradition: chief executives should serve limited terms. No presidents for life. This has now been adopted through much of the world, even by the Chinese Communist Party.
About 1798 Noadiah Clutter, son of John and Ruth, marries Phebe in Washington County.
About 1800 Thomas Patterson from Ireland settles in Washington County with his wife Nancy.
1801 Barbary pirates declare war on the US. The US eventually sends a Marine expeditionary force to Alexandria, Egypt. The Marines collect a local army and conquer Tripoli later in the year. An agreement calls for the end of Barbary attacks on American shipping, but in fact such attacks continue at a low level for many years. So ends the first US military adventure in the eastern hemisphere.
1803 In a letter to the Choctaw Nation, President Jefferson makes his first public pronouncement of a policy to remove all Native Americans from areas east of the mountains.
About 1804 Israel Bigler settles in West Bethlehem township, Washington County, with wife Catherine Garber and several children including daughter Susannah.
1804 William Haines, son of William and Lydia, marries Elizabeth Sidwell, daughter of Henry Sidwell.
1806 Congress authorizes the first federal highway, the National Pike from Baltimore to the Ohio River. It passes through Washington, PA. Today US 40 follows much of the route.
About 1806 Reuben Sanders marries Finella (Fanny) Rutan in Morris Township, Washington County. Their daughter Martha (Patty) Sanders is born in 1807.
1809 Edward McGlumphy from Armagh, Ulster, Ireland, and son of John McGlumphy, married Margaret Haines, daughter of William and Elizabeth Sidwell Haines, in Greene county. Daughter Elizabeth McGlumphy is born.
By 1810 Jacob Spindler, son of Jacob, is in East Bethlehem township, Washington County.
1812 US declares war on Britain and attempts to conquer Canada. The US forces are generally not very successful (the British burn Washington DC) but the British eventually tire of the effort. Joseph Joel Bumgarner is drummer in Capt. Adam Wise’s company.
1813 Joseph Joel Bumgarner, son of Jessie and Elizabeth, weds Lydia Spindler, daughter of Jacob, in Washington County.
1813 David Enoch, son of David and Elizabeth, marries Susannah Bigler, daughter of Israel and Catherine, in Washington County.
1814 Treaty of Gent officially ends War of 1812, but fighting continues for months.
1815 Battle of New Orleans, the only great US victory of the war, is actually fought after the peace treaty is signed. While it has no impact on the war, the battle makes Andrew Jackson a national hero.
1817 John B Bumgarner is born to Joseph Joel and Lydia in East Bethlehem township, Washington County.
1818 John Gamber is born, probably in Washington County. Circumstantial evidence suggests he is the son of John Gamber born 1769 in Lancaster County.
Before 1819 John Patterson, son of Thomas and Nancy, marries Jane Simpson, daughter of John and Rebecca.
1819 David Enoch files for divorce from his wife Susannah on the grounds of adultery. He loses at a hearing, immediately files again, and loses again. David and Susannah state their cases in newspaper ads.
1822 Mary Jane Enoch born, the daughter of Susannah Bigler Enoch and ? (We do not know who the father was, but our tree is built on the assumption that it was David Enoch, in a moment of reconciliation, who fathered the child.)
1824 Susannah files for divorce from David Enoch, on the grounds that he deserted her and that they have not lived as husband and wife since 1819. David Enoch files counter suit, claiming adultery and desertion.
1825 The court accepts David Enoch's version of things, awarding him divorce. Susannah soon remarries, to Philip Beeler. He is quite likely the son of Joseph Beeler junior.
Before 1828 Charles A Armstrong, a farmer, moves to Greene County where he buys land. He soon marries Martha (Patty) Sanders, granddaughter of Reuben and Fanny.
1830 Indian Removal Act signed by President Andrew Jackson. All Native Americans are to be moved west of the Mississippi River. In Greene County, William Chess Polland, son of Cavalier Carbien and Susan Jacobs Poland, marries Elizabeth McGlumphy, daughter of Edward and Margaret Haines McGlumphy.
1833 William Miller announces the Second Coming of Christ will be on 21 Mar 1843 (and when that failed 21 Mar 1844). The word spreads rapidly, as this is the time of the Great Awakening. George Gamber of Mannheim Township, Lancaster County, allows those spreading the Millerite message to use land on his farm for revivals. George becomes a convert and donates all his worldly goods to the church in preparation for eternal salvation.
1836 Noadiah Ahlback Clutter, son of Noadiah and Phebe, marries Elizabeth Yoders, daughter of George Yoders and Sarah Coulter, in Washington County.
About 1840 John B Bumgarner, son of Joseph and Lydia, marries Sarah Ann Patterson, daughter of John and Jane, in Washington County.
1841 Divorce of Philip Beeler and Susannah. They have had three children.
About 1843 John Gamber, apparently son of Samuel, marries Mary Jane Enoch, daughter of Susannah. By 1850 they are in Waynesburg, Greene County. John works as a cooper. Later he and his wife have a grocery store.
1843 William Miller announces that he made an error in his calculations. After a few more years and recalculations the movement gives up on a specific date and becomes the Seventh Day Adventists.
1845 US annexes Texas Republic. Mexico mobilizes to defend its borders.
1846 President Polk orders General Zachary Taylor to invade Mexico. Congress declares war five months later. There is no real contest. In less than two years US forces occupy much of Mexico including the capital.
1848 By the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Mexico cedes nearly half its territory to the US.
1854 George Gamber dies in poverty without being able to say that "mine eyes have seen the glory of the Coming of the Lord."
1860 Cephas Day, son of Daniel and Sarah, marries Rachel Thompson in Greene County. Cephas is a farmer, and a quite prosperous one: in 1870 his farm is reportedly worth $26,000. The couple are active in Nineveh Cumberland Presbyterian Church, where Cephas was an elder.
1861 Oliver Armstrong, son of Charles and Patty, marries Susannah Poland, daughter of William Chess and Elizabeth. Oliver is a farmer, though apparently never owned his own land.
18 August 1862 Oliver Armstrong volunteers for 150th Pennsylvania Infantry. His wife is pregnant. He serves through the rest of the war, mustering out on 27 June 1865. He applies for and is granted a pension for the loss of a toe during war service. In 1884 his file is reviewed and the pension revoked. Witnesses say he had lost the toe before the war.
1862 Jacob Gamber, son of John and Mary Jane, born in Waynesburg.
28 January 1864 John Gamber enlists in 157st PA Regiment. He later transfers to the 191st PA Regiment. He was apparently wounded before being mustered out on 28 June 1865.
1886 Samuel Clawson Clutter, son of Noadiah and Elizabeth, marries Lizzie J. Armstrong, daughter of Charles and Patty, in Waynesburg, Greene County. Clyde Gamber, son of Jacob and Rosa Belle, born at Waynesburg.
1887 Stephen Lee? Day, son of Cephas and Rachel, has an affair with Maggie Armstrong, daughter of Oliver and Susannah. Their daughter Ocie Day becomes the ward of Maggie's sister Lizzie when Maggie dies in 1891. (Note: There are other Stephen Days who could have been the father of Ocie. However, Stephen Lee is the one closest in age and physical location to Maggie.) Stephen Lee is a farmer. In 1890 he marries Mary Emma Huffman.
1891 Maggie Armstrong reportedly dies in Bellaire, Belmont County, Ohio. However, she is not mentioned in the official county records.
1898 President McKinley asks for declaration of war against Spain. Multiple US forces invade various Spanish territories. The Spanish forces offer little resistance and the US is soon in possession of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, Hawaii and the Philippines. The war is officially over in seven months. However, a native insurgency starts practically immediately in the Philippines. It lasts for many years. Susannah Poland Armstrong dies.
1902 Jacob Gamber, son of John, moves with his wife Rosa Belle (Rose) Bumgarner, daughter of John B, and sons including Clyde, to Washington city, Washington county. Jacob and his sons work in the glass industry – in a tube mill. That was a method of making plate glass by blowing very large tubes and then cutting them to lie flat.
1904 Ocie Pearl Day petitions for guardianship, requesting Lizzie Armstrong Clutter, her aunt and wife of Samuel Clawsen Clutter. The grounds: her father had never provided any support, and she had lived with Lizzie and her husband for the last seven years. Lizzie awarded guardianship, and then authorizes marriage of Ocie (a minor) to Clyde Gamber. Through the years Clyde has a variety of jobs, including milk man and auto repair.
1909 Robert Gamber son of Ocie and born in Washington.
1915 Oliver Armstrong dies at the National Military Home in Dayton, Ohio.
12 December 1918 Private Roland W Gamber of Reinerton, PA, participated in the St Mihiel offensive. He was wounded.
FLORIDA
1814 Although the US is not at war with Spain, Andrew Jackson briefly occupies Pensacola before turning west for the Battle of New Orleans.
1818 As part of the First Seminole War in Georgia, Andrew Jackson decides to conquer Florida. It is then handed back to Spain, with conditions.
1821 After other US military incursions, Spain decides there is no point in trying to keep Florida. It is given to the US. Andrew Jackson is briefly governor of the new territory. Settlement for the rest of the century is limited to the northern half of the state.
1835 - 1842 The Second Seminole War. A concerted effort to remove the Native Americans from Florida meets with resistance. In 1842 after the loss of some 1,500 troops the US gives up. There is no peace treaty, but this is clearly a war the US did not win.
1855 - 1858 The Third Seminole War does not end in victory per se, but all but about 200 Seminoles have been killed or shipped to Oklahoma.
1896 The Florida East Coast Railway reaches Miami. The city is incorporated, with less than 1,000 residents.
1913 Carl Fischer acquires mangrove swamps on the barrier islands off Miami. His plan: a new city to be called Miami Beach.
1915 - 1934 US occupies Haiti for the first time. Subsequent events prove that there was no effective nation building.
1917 - 1918. First major involvement by US forces in Europe. In the first campaigns, forces under General Pershing capture the Saint-Mihiel salient. One Rutan descendant was with the US forces, but his descendants doubt he was aware of the relationship of Rutan to Saint-Mihiel.
1919 Clyde Gamber, son of Jacob and Rosa Bell, his wife Ocie Pearl Day, daughter of Stephen Day and Maggie Armstrong) and their young son Robert move to Miami Beach. Clyde works on developing the new city. For some reason, the family moves back to Washington, PA, in 1920, to return to Miami for good in 1922. Clyde makes his living as a landscaper, working inter alia on the golf course where the Jackson Hospital and Civic Center now stand. The lot around Clyde and Ocie's house on NW 7th Street becomes a botanical garden. (Today the lot is occupied by a nondescript low rise office building and asphalt.) They attend Central Presbyterian Church.
1926 Sarah Jane Gamber is born to Clyde and Ocie. Miami is devastated by a hurricane. Family legend is that the lower story is blown out of the Gamber house, making it one story.
6 June 1944: The US 175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, lands at Omaha Beach under intense fire. Private First Class Louis M Gamber is among them. He dies in Normandy on 18 June and is buried in the Normandy American Cemetery, St. Laurent-sur-Mer, France.
NOTES:
1. The family tree is based on numerous primary sources, some secondary sources, and the work of some other researchers considered to be careful. Specific sources for individuals and events can be found in the database. Areas of doubt or presumption are noted. It should always be remembered that paternity is never proven without DNA comparison.
2. Recognizing that genes are not everything - or even most everything - the tree includes adoptive fathers Clutter and Beeler.
3. Historical events are from many sources, including the recently published The Island at the Center of the World, with a bit of personal opinion.
4. Any corrections will be welcomed.
Dan Gamber
last update 5 July2015
Copyright Dan Gamber, 2004 -
2015
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