left their home for America

Jane Metcalf b.1633

/ Kirstin Miller

Jane Metcalf 9th great grandmother on RootsMagic tree.

Jane Metcalf was baptized at Saint Edmund Church in Norfolk, England on March 29, 1633. The baptism record – almost unreadable in handwriting from 4 centuries ago- includes the year 1633, Jane’s name, her dad Michel (Michael) and mom Sara(h).

Metcalf, Jane 1633 baptism

Jane Metcalf baptism March 29, 1633, with parents at Saint Edmund Church in Norfolk, England.

Jane was the 7th child of Michael and Sarah Ellwyn Metcalf and her whole family sailed from northern England to Boston arriving in June of 1637, three days before midsummer, 17 years after the Mayflower. In 1654 at age 22 Jane married Philip Walker in Boston. The Walker family moved to south Rehoboth, Massachusetts. In 1664 Jane’s father died, she inherited 40 shillings. King Philips War hit Rehoboth hard, Jane and her family would have lived through several attacks which included burning homes and entire towns. Her husband Philip and oldest son Samuel probably fought in the war. In 1679 Jane was a widow at age 47. She married her 2nd husband John Polley, lived another 20 years and left a will with her son Samuel Walker as executor.

 

 

Annie Antje Henrichs b. 1869

/ Kirstin Miller

Annie Antje Henrichs, 2nd great grandmother in RootsMagic tree

Annie Henrichs is mentioned in the Greene Recorder February 5, 2003 in an article on
Mission in a Mile, Church Stories from Butler Center, Iowa by Herbert Freese published in 2002. (I read this book through an inter-library loan, contacted who I thought was the author, turned out to be the author’s daughter, who sent back a very nice note and a copy of the Mission in a Mile book which has added so much to my Family Tree).

screenshot

Photo: 2003 Feb 5 Greene (Iowa) Recorder Greene Public Library

Pastor Siegfried Siefkes came from Germany to Butler Center, Iowa a historical town no longer around. He worked to organize a new congregation, The Kirchenbuch der Evangelisch Lutherisch Eben-Ezer Gemeinde or Ebenezer Church. The pastor wrote a letter to the actual German Kaiser asking for help, that wasn’t successful so he started asking the local German community to contribute and successfully all but $100 which was borrowed from the bank. The pastor and congregation understood they had a year to pay back this loan but within a month the bank and contractor came for payment. The pastor begged for a week to raise the $100 and it was granted. At the Sunday service the pastor and congregation met and talked about ways to raise $100 in a week. A farmer offered to sell seed oats, but that wasn’t enough.

screenshot copyA young lady, daughter of one of the members, spoke up. She was 22, working as a hired girl and had saved most of her pay, $80 she kept with her, in her bag. She offered to loan this to congregation, the additional $20 was then easily raised. On Monday morning the church Deacons went into town and paid off their debt with Annie’s loan. The church building was saved, the congregation thrilled.

Annie Antje Henrichs saved the church and she and Enno Frerichs ‘a fine young farmer’ were married in that same church.

The photos shown and the whole story in the Greene (Iowa) Recorder via the Greene Public Library Digital Archives: 2003 Feb 5 Greene  Recorder page 5, column 6 top.

Henrich Henrichs b. 1836

/ Kirstin Miller

Henrich Henrichs 3rd great grandfather on RootsMagic tree

Map German homesHenrich Gerds Henrichs was born May 1, 1836 in Germany, probably in Aurich a town of Lower Saxony, Germany which is actually the northern eastern edge of Germany. The Google map photo shows the original homes of the Roos, Henrichs and Frerichs families within 100 miles of each other.

Henrich married Maria Rodenbeck in 1860, they lived on a farm and had 9 children, 4 boys and 5 girls. The whole family of 11 sailed to America, with 2 suitcases and landed in Baltimore on March 18, 1885 the children ranged from 3 to 23 years old. From Baltimore the family probably moved straight to Iowa and in 1900 they were in Butler County and played a big part in founding the Ebenezer Lutheran Church of Butler Center, long gone but vital in the lives of German emigrants in the area.

Hinrich Hinrichs Greene Recorder

1918 Aug 28, page 8 of 8 column 1 top Iowa recorder, Digital Archives at Greene (Iowa) Public Library

Henrich was known as Henry and from his obituary ‘was one of the old residents in this part of Butler county’. Henry came to America at age 48 and when died on August 21, 1918 he was 83 years old. His widow Maria donated a big church bell to Ebenezer Church in her husband’s memory. When Ebenezer Church dismantled in 1955 the bell was sent to Salem Church in Parkersburg, Iowa, then Salem Church ended in 1985 and the bell was moved to Bethel Lutheran Church in Parkersburg- and it’s still there! Mission in a mile page 69.

 

Heinrich Henrichs 1836 – 1918
Annie Antje Henrichs 1869 – 1956
Mary Frerichs 1892 – 1992
Stanley Roose 1915 – 2004

William Lewis b. 1594

/ Kirstin Miller

William Lewis 10th great grandfather on RootsMagic tree

William Lewis was born in Cardiff, Wales January of 1594. In 1620 he married Felix Collins also of Wales. On June 22, 1632 William, Felix and their young son William Jr. sailed from London to New England, arriving in Boston on September 16, 1632.

Lewis, Wm and family

Page 101, Planters of the Commonwealth by Banks, an Ancestry . com source

John Winthrop of New England kept a journal in 1630s and 40s, one thing he recorded was ships arriving and leaving. “He brought one hundred and twenty three passengers whereof fifty children, all in health, they had been twelve weeks aboard and eight weeks from Land’s end.”

Winthrop the Lyon

Volume 1 page 92 The Winthrop journals at HathiTrust

The Winthrop Journals are at HathiTrust  more info on John Winthrop at Wikipedia 

William settled first in Cambridge and was a freeman on Nov 6, 1632. He moved to Hartford then Farmington, Connecticut where he was a selectmen, constable and deputy. As a selectmen William would have helped put his new town together, selectmen explained at Wikipedia  “In most New England towns, the adult voting population gathered annually in a town meeting to act as the local legislature, approving budgets and laws. Day-to-day operations were originally left to individual oversight, but when towns became too large for individuals to handle such work loads, they would elect an executive board of, literally, select(ed) men to run things for them.”

William wrote and signed a will August 30, 1683, his estate was settled December 18 1683, his son William was executor. “I William Lewis, being stricken in years, do think it meet to set in order the Estate which God hath graciously given me.” Volume 1 page 331 A digest of the early Connecticut probate records at HathiTrust.

William Lewis 1594 – 1683
William Lewis 1620 – 1690
Mary Lewis  1645 – 1690
Hannah Judd  1681 – 1747
Hannah Smith  1711 – 1785
Prudence Risley  1735 – 1816
Joseph Gaines  1756 – 1841
Obed Gaines  1793 – 1877
William Newcomb Gaines  1825 – 1907
Mary Ella Gaines  1855 – 1917
William E Miller  1879 – 1949
Faber W Miller  1905 – 1957

Garbrand Roos b. 1820

/ Kirstin Miller

Garbrand Roos 3rd great grandfather.

Garbrand Roos b. 1820 in Germany, the Aurich district, also East Frisia, Osteel, names changed several times but always right on the Wadden Sea– a one of a kind habitat that changes twice a day when the tides go in and out and involves mudflats and hiking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudflat_hiking.

Garbrand was 26 when he married Catharina Renistra in Harlingen, Netherlands in 1846. The family sailed to America in 1862. From NY they went to Freeport, Illinois where Garbrand registers for the Civil War in the summer of 1863. In 1880 the Roos family was in Pleasant Valley Township, Grundy County, Iowa they owned and farmed at least 80 acres of land. On the 1885 Iowa census the family along with a housekeeper live on their farm and on this single census page the majority of residents are from Germany, a few from Denmark, and a few from America’s eastern states. Garbrand was one founder of the German Baptist Church in Aplington, Iowa, along with the Dreyer and Lubberts families whose daughters married into the Roos family. Garbrand also went by George and lived to see his children married with families and starting farms of their own. Garbrand died in September of 1888 at the age of 68 and is buried in Pleasant View Cemetery in Aplington Iowa.
Screen Shot 2018-09-28 at 6.19.03 PM

Garbrand Roos and New German Baptist Church. Volume 1 page 353, Chapter 26 Monroe Township and Town of Aplington.
https://is.gd/q3Mb9P

At Ancestry . com Illinois 3rd Vol 5 of 7 image 285 of 632. Freeport Garbrand is 46, a farmer assigned. U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865

Catharina Renistra b. 1820

/ Kirstin Miller

Catharina Renistra 3rd great grandmother on RootsMagic tree
Catharina was born the 20th of September 1820 in Harlingen, Friesland, Netherlands.

In 1846 Garbrand Roos crossed the Wadden Sea and married Catharina in Harlingen where their oldest son Jan was born in 1847. The family sailed to New York arriving on August 18, 1862 then went on to Freeport, Illinois where youngest son Johann was born: Johann, father of George Roose, father of Stanley Roose. By 1870 the family was in Iowa, first Grundy then Butler County. They owned land and farmed. Catharina was a widow in 1888 and on the 1900 census she is 78, head of household, living in Butler County. Her occupation was a capitalist: Persons living on income from land, stocks, etc., were to be reported as “Capitalist.” Her income was from farm land.  Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS).

Renistra, Catherina headstone snapshot

This summer, I searched for Catharina’s headstone at the Pleasant View Cemetery in Aplington, Iowa. Catharina’s husband, sons, a daughter, grandchildren all were buried in the cemetery but there was no record or photo of Catharina’s headstone. It turned out Catharina shared a headstone with her husband, her hame, birth and death dates on the alternate side, just not photographed or documented.

Sources

  • Netherlands marriages 1565-1892 database at Family Search

  • New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 at Ancestry

  • Iowa deaths and burials 1850-1990 database at Family Search

  • 1900 United States Federal Census at Ancestry

Thomas Clemence b. 1634

/ Kirstin Miller

Thomas Clemence 10th great grandfather on RootsMagic tree

Thomas Clemence may have sailed to America in 1642. He was definitely married and living in Rhode Island by 1655 when he took the Freeman’s Oath and purchased land. In the early days of America he supported -Salus populi- very generally “The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law”.

In Providence he was a town treasurer, deputy and stayed to defend the colony during King Philips War. Thomas in his will dated May 16, 1668, leaves land to his son Richard “60 acres of upland, meadow, etc not upon sudden motion but upon deliberate consideration”.Clemence house

And Richard built a house, that is still standing. The Historic New England Clemence Irons website is here. 

Photos, floor plans and more at the Library of Congress here.

Thomas Bliss b. 1588

/ Kirstin Miller

Thomas Bliss b. 1588, 10th great grandfather on RootsMagic Tree

Thomas Bliss came to America with other Bliss family members and is frequently mixed up with other Thomas Blisses, probably relatives. One sure thing is this Thomas Bliss’s will names Nicholas Ide, Thomas’s son-in-law, husband of Martha Bliss. A will provides great proof when children or married daughters are mentioned. Thomas also names his (best) oxen: Spark and Swad, Quick and Benbo; and cows: Traveler and Damson.

This Thomas Bliss arrived in America around 1640. In 1642 May 18, he is in the list of Freeman of Massachusetts Bay Colony. 1644 June 31 his name is in a list of land lots, No. 29. In 1644 July 3 Thomas signed the Rehoboth, now Seekonk, Compact. Similar to other colony or plantation Compacts of the time male residents made a pact to live in and protect the community to the best of their ability, etc. Thomas married Dorothy, probably in England, they had 9 children. Thomas was a farmer, blacksmith and surveyor.

Sources
Thomas’s will. Volume 8 page 85 Society of Mayflower Descendents (Mass.). The Mayflower Descendant. Boston: 1899-1940 at HathiTrust

Freeman. No pages image 15 Andrews, H. Franklin. List of Freemen, Massachusetts Bay Colony From 1630 to 1691,  Exira, Iowa: Exira Print. Co, 1906 at Archive.org

Land lots page 27, Rehoboth compact page 28. Bliss, Leonard. The History of Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, Boston: Otis, Broaders, & Co, 1836 at HathiTrust

Thomas Bliss 1588-1647
Martha Bliss 1622-1676
Martha Ide 1654-1700
Timothy Walker 1687-1745
Eunice Walker 1728 – 1772
Cynthia Hill 1763 – 1830
Dexter Angell 1794 – 1854
Delia Viola Angell 1839 – 1916
Matilda Flood 1858 – 1940
Philippa Flood Mockford 1891 – 1979
Elizabeth Speedy 1917 – 2005 m. Stanley Roose 1915 – 2004

Mercy Sprague Tubbs b. 1623

/ Kirstin Miller

Mercy Sprague 7th great grandmother of Faber Miller who married Gladys Cable.

Mercy was 6 in 1623 when she sailed on the Ann to Plymouth colony. Her dad Francis and ‘Anna’ are mentioned in the arrival records. Anna is probably Mercy’s sister, some believe Anna is Mercy’s mom, not enough info to decide absolutely so lots of theories.
May 22, 1627 Francis, Anna and Mercy 10 years old, were part of the 6th Lot in dividing up the cows and goats that also recently sailed to America. By 1637 at age 20, Mercy was married to William Tubbs, they had at least 3 children and a rocky marriage in Colonial America. Mercy and William eventually divorced.
48873869_1406062740By 1668 at age 50 or so, Mercy was gone from Plymouth. She may have been in love with Joseph Rogers of the Mayflower who was banished from Plymouth and sent to Rhode Island. Mercy probably died in Rhode Island near Joseph Rogers, her burial is unknown.
At Mercy’s Find A Grave Memorial there’s a photo of the Mercy Sprague Doll made by Mary Michaud for the Plimoth Plantation, Mercy’s doll is no longer offered, other characters are. Photo added to FindAGrave by Family Seeker.

Francis Brown b. 1610

/ Kirstin Miller

Francis Brown b. 1610 9th great grandfather on RootsMagic tree

Francis Brown was born in England and sailed to America by 1636 when he married Mary Edwards. Francis connected with a Boston group led by Theophilus Eaton (would become gov’r) and John Davenport (religious leader).

In August 1637 Francis was part of an expedition searching for a new settlement, they found Quinnipiac (today East Haven, CT, also the name of a Native American nation long gone). Francis was one of seven to stay behind and begin building a settlement for all the group to join spring of 1638. “We may imagine they spent their time hewing, cleaving and sawing, hunting, trapping and collecting by bartering with the natives beaver and other furs.” The land was probably purchased with “twelve coats of English cloth, twelve alchemy spoons, twelve hatchets, twelve hoes, two dozen knives, twelve porringers, and four cases of French knives & scissors.” New Haven Connecticut was officially founded April 14, 1638, the first planned city in America, a “Nine Square Plan”.

In 1639 Francis became a freeman. In 1645 Francis asked the colonial court for a bit of land in exchange for being an on call ferryman. Francis stayed in New Haven until his death, noted in Connecticut Town Death Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) at Ancestry. “Brown, Francis the first of that family d. 1668.”

Francis Brown 1610-1668
Eleazer Brown 1642-1714
Rebecca Brown 1684-1768
Mary English 1715-1791
Elizabeth Connable 1757-1821
William Newcomb Gaines 1825-1907
Mary Ella Gaines 1855-1917
William Earl Miller 1879-1949
Faber Miller 1905-1957 m. Gladys Cable 1913-1991

Sources:
Land in exchange for ferry. Page 165 New-Haven Colony. Records of the Colony And Plantation of New Haven. Hartford: Case, Tiffany and company, 1857.

7 who stayed behind. Page 63 Atwater, Edward E. History of the Colony of New Haven, New Haven: Printed for the author, 1881

At Wikipedia, sources are provided
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophilus_Eaton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Davenport_(clergyman)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Haven,_Connecticut