William Speedy 3rd great grandpa on RootsMagic tree.
William Speedy was born in 1783 in Pennsylvania. His parents aren’t known. He probably grew up in Pennsylvania then left for Ohio where he fought in the War of 1812.

War of 1812 Roster
On April 13, 1823 he married Elizabeth Glenn. He and Elizabeth had 6 sons Thomas, John, James, Clark, William and Manford. The Speedys lived in Jefferson County, Ohio near the Ohio River. William’s farm in 1850 had 100 acres of improved land, 100 acres of unimproved land, a cash value of $1000 and $200 worth of tools and machinery. Livestock on the farm included 5 horse, 2 milking cows, 2 cattle, 20 pigs valued at $450. the farm produced 500 bushels of wheat, 100 bushels bushels of Indian corn, 20 pounds of Irish potatoes, 300 lbs of butter, 8 tons of hay and 3 bushels of clover seed.
William was a widow in 1850, his wife Elizabeth and her dad Thomas Glenn died in the cholera epidemic in Ohio. By 1856 William’s younger sons Clark and Manford were in Shell Rock, Iowa living with Thomas Hall, son of Mary Glenn Hall- Elizabeth Glenn Speedy’s sister. William joined his sons in 1870 and lived with Manford and his family in Iowa. William died in 1872 he was 83 years old.
William is buried at Riverside Cemetery in Shell Rock Iowa. One of 7 Speedys in that cemetery. Annie Coates Speedy, 1st wife of Manford, their 4 children who died young Bertha, Blanche, Eda and Julet and Clark Speedy, son of William, brother to Manford.

William Speedy is somehow related to Allen Speedy born in Ireland or Scotland in about 1726. I haven’t found any records showing this connection only my DNA results which show Allen Speedy’s descendants as ‘half 4th cousins’. Allen Speedy b. 1726, a cousin or uncle of William Speedy, were both living in Pennsylvania and then in Jefferson County, Ohio. Allen Speedy had a son Andrew, 13 years younger than William, photo shows Andrew Speedy’s family. The 1820 census in Jefferson County Wisconsin shows Allen and William Speedy as neighbors.
Sources
- 1820 US census at Ancestry
- 1850 US agricultural census at Ancestry
- Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013 at FamilySearch
- Roster of Ohio soldiers in the War of 1812 at HathiTrust
- Find a Grave memorial https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83686976
- Cholera Epidemics via Ohio History Central
- Indiana State Museum, Speedy tintype donated by Gary Ridenour
- At Ohio History. org Citations: Sources for the online searchable text. Roster of Ohio Soldiers in the War of 1812. Adjutant General of Ohio. Transcription, 1916. R973.524471 A2.



Mary Ella was born June 3, 1855 in Bremer County, Iowa to William Gaines of New York and Sarah Swain of Illinois. Mary Ella grew up near Janesville, Iowa. She was the oldest of 8 brothers and sisters, three siblings died young. At age 23 Mary Ella married James Miller on November 13, 1878, in Waverly, Iowa. They had 2 boys William and James and the family farmed in Bremer and Butler counties in Iowa. The 1895 Iowa census shows Mary Ella, her husband, her 2 sons, her dad William Gaines, her niece Clara and James’s brother Jacob Miller living in the house. The 1900 US census has Mary Ella, her husband and 2 sons, James’s brother Jacob and another niece Jeanette Gaines. Both nieces were daughters of Mary Ella’s brother William and wife Virginia Gaines from Minnesota.
Mary Ella’s dad, a brother and 2 sisters moved west to Junction City, Oregon about 50 miles south of Portland. In 1905 Mary Ella and James visited Junction City and attended the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland. The Expo lasted 4 months, had more than 1 million visitors and took close to 3 years to build.
By 1642 George had left Ipswich, England and was in Massachusetts. He was a freeman on May 10 1643 in Boston. George’s first wife Phebe could have arrived with him or could have died in England, it’s unknown. George remarried in Massachusetts and he and 2nd wife had a few more children. His 2nd wife was Elizabeth the widow of John Simson. Both George and John were original English land owners in Watertown. On the map of Watertown, they’re neighbors, No. 12 right in between Strawberry Hill and the Meeting House. George has land at the top right too, No 16 above Sherman’s Pond
On 6 April 1637 the church of Concord ‘kept a day of humiliation, chose Mr Bulkeley teacher and Mr. Jones pastor’. In August 1637 John and other minsters held an Ecclesiastical Council- they worked on their new religion: beliefs, requirements, practices in the new world. In 1644 another council was held and this time Peter Bulkeley and John Jones split- they couldn’t agree so John Jones and family left Concord and went to Fairfield Connecticut where John was the 1st pastor of the Congregational Church of Fairfield. John and Peter’s kids were married by this time, Peter’s son Thomas, married to Sarah Jones, Thomas and Sarah Jones Bulkeley went with John, to Fairfield.
You must be logged in to post a comment.