Ephraim Child b. 1593

/ Kirstin Miller

Ephraim 11th great uncle on RootsMagic tree.
Ephraim was born in 1593 in Nayland, Suffolk, England. At age 13 he was a tailor apprentice. Snap shot shows A Register of the Scholars Admitted Into Merchant Taylor’s School, Volume 1 page 50, list 1605 at HathiTrust.

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On February 8, 1624 at age 31 he married Elizabeth Bond, a widow, hey didn’t have children and lived in Nayland, England until 1630 when they sailed for America with the Winthrop Fleet, on Wikipedia. “The Winthrop Fleet was a well-planned and financed expedition that formed the nucleus of the Massachusetts Bay Colony”. Letters of Ephraim and John Winthrop survive in the volumes of Winthrop Journals.
Pages 165-168 Ephraim’s letters to John Winthrop.

Ephraim and the 700 other passengers of the fleet landed in Salem. Ephraim went to Watertown where he was a freeman in 18 May 1631. He was actively involved in the new colony as a commissioner to end small causes, keeper of the town books, auditor and selectmen. He held selectmen meetings at his home. He owned lots of lands: uplands, marsh, lowland, Remote Meadow, Hither Plain, Great Dividend and more.

His will was dated 20 November 1662, proved 2 April 1663. He left lands, money and possessions to his widow and his Bond and Child nephews. To the Watertowne schoolmaster he left 40 shillings annually. His inventory was dated 12 February 1662. The inventory included all his lands, livestock, farm buildings, tools, wearing apparel, 2 silver cups, 12 silver spoons and a lot more.

Volume 1 page 50. A register of the scholars admitted into Merchant Taylor’s School, from A.D. 1562 to 1874, list 1605 Oct. Ephraim Child s. of Wolston cit. and cordwayner, decd., b. Feb 1596. Merchant Taylors School on Wikipedia- it’s like Hogworts with houses and colors- opened in 1551, and is still a private day school in a different location from when Ephraim was a student.

Volume 1 fifth series page 165. Winthrop, Adam. The Winthrop Papers Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Massachusetts Historical Society, 1871

Joseph Jenckes b. 1656

/ Kirstin Miller

Joseph Jenckes 10th great uncle on RootsMagic tree.
Joseph was born in Pawtucket. Rhode Island in 1656. His father and grandfather, both named Joseph, were well known in area. His grandpa built the first American Fire Engine, ever, and designed a first coin, the Pine Tree silver shilling. His dad was a founder of Pawtucket, RI and built the iron works and mill there.
Joseph got busy in his local government early on, held lots of town positions: a surveyor of land, state auditor, deputy governor, speaker of the deputies, assistant governor, then 19th Governor of Rhode Island from 1727 to 1732.

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Proceedings of the General assembly held for the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at Newport the first Wednesday in May 1727. The following officers were declared and elected and duly engaged. Records of the Colony of Rhode Island at Archive.org

One of his first jobs as governor was a meeting with King Charles II to discuss land boundaries of Rhode Island and Connecticut, a big issue in Colonial America. Later on Governor Jenckes wrote letters to King George II. Several respected sources state that he was 7 feet tall, a giant in his time. “Mr. Jenks [senior] was ancestor of a rather remarkable line. Joseph Jenks, Governor of Rhode Island from 1727 to 1732, and who was not only applauded for his executive ability but renowned for his personal appearance, being seven feet and two inches tall”. Volume 2 page 159. History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts by Newhall, 1865

Joseph and his first wife Mary Brown had 9 children. After Mary’s death Joseph married Alice Smith, granddaughter of John Smith the miller of Rhode Island and 10th great grandfather of Elizabeth Speedy Roose. Joseph and Alice didn’t have kids.

Governor Jenckes to George II letter. Volume 4 page 393. Rhode Island. Records of the Colony of Rhode Island, Providence : A. C. Greene and Brothers, state printers, 1856.

Governor Jenckes photo is on several websites, including Find a Grave, but with no source. Same photo is at Wikipedia, different format.

Joseph Jenckes, governor on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Jenckes_(governor)

Joseph appointed Governor. Volume 4 page 387. Rhode Island. Records of the Colony of Rhode Island, Providence : A. C. Greene and Brothers, state printers, 1856.

Thomas Speedy b. 1823

/ Kirstin Miller

Thomas Speedy 2nd great uncle on RootsMagic tree

Thomas was the oldest brother of Manford Speedy. Thomas was born in 1823 in Toronto, Ohio on the Ohio River bordering West Virginia. On May 30 1850 Thomas married Sarah Foulks and they stayed in the same area. Thomas and his brother John Speedy married Foulks sisters. Thomas married Sarah and John married Jane. Thomas and Sarah named a middle son Manford.

In 1863 Thomas was part of the Civil War draft registration. His age, 20-45, made service mandatory. Exceptions were given to: the only son of a widow, the son of infirm parents, or a widower with dependent children. This 1863 draft coincided with Gettysburg and the New York City Draft Riots (part of the Gangs of New York movie plot). Thomas was most likely a Union soldier in the Civil War, haven’t found a record yet.

US Civil War Draft Registrations Records 18631865(4)

On the 1860, 1870 and 1880 US censuses Thomas is a farmer. On the 1870 census and on his death record he’s also a wagon maker.

Ohio county death records 1840-2001. Thomas Speedy is 4th on the list
At FamilySearch.org Ohio County Marriages 1789-2013, Thomas Speedy and Sarah Foulks 1850 marriage
U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865

George Bair b. 1816

/ Kirstin Miller

George Bair 4th great grandfather on RootsMagic tree

George Bair was born on October 19, 1816 in Stark, Ohio, 1st son in a large family. All four of his grandparents were pioneer settlers in Ohio. George stayed in his hometown area. On March 24 1836 he and Margaret Malone were married by the Justice of the Peace. George farmed and with Margaret had 4 daughters and one son.

Bair Malone marriage

An 1875 Atlas of Stark Ohio shows George’s land in Plain township, 84 acres.

Also in the 1870s, George and Margaret’s granddaughter Fiana Druckenbrod lived with them. On the census Fiana is a servant. Maybe she helped her grandma in the garden, and with laundry, cooking. And maybe on the weekend they would take a horse and  buggy into the town of Stark to pick up goods at the General Store.

On George’s will administration page a Wm L. Miller signed. George Bair had 2 Wiiliam L Millers in his life. Young William L was his granddaughter Fiana’s husband. Senior William was George’s brother’s wife’s sister’s husband, so kind of like brother in law. Senior William L was also Young William L’s uncle, the brother of Peter Miller, Young William’s dad. Senior William and his brother Samuel and George’s brther Jacob  married into another Miller family. Confusing. Young William was about 42, Senior William about 64 at George’s death. Either one of these Williams makes sense as a witness to the will.

George died in 1892. Margaret died 2 years after George, they share a headstone at Saint Jacobs Lutheran Cemetery, Lake Township, Stark County, Ohio. This cemetery has 47 Bair family memorials and 98 Miller family memorials, about half of those Millers somehow related to my Miller family.

Page 71 image 79 of 136 George Bair square 3 84 acres near Middle Branch PO, Plain township. Combination atlas map of Stark county, Ohio at Archive.org.

Ohio, Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998

Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013

Find a Grave

John Smith b. 1598

/ Kirstin Miller

John Smith 11th great grandfather on RootsMagic Tree

John Smith was born in England, around 1598. In England he married Alice her last name unknown. John was in Dorchester, Massachusetts by 1634 and by 1635 he was ordered to leave because ‘dyvers dangerous opinions’. At about the same time in Salem, Massachusetts Roger Williams had the same contrary views that didn’t align with the people in power. Roger had to return to England and maybe have a trial or meeting with superiors.

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The story is Roger escaped in the night in a canoe and with 4 others they made their way to a spot, connected peacefully with the native people and founded Providence, Rhode Island. The seal of Providence shows this event. In 1636 John and the others had built their homes and begun organizing. John was a miller and given a land to build a mill. He operated the mill agreeing that every 2nd and 5th day of the week the mill was reserved to grind corn for the town. John was a town clerk in 1641 so his name is on deeds and wills and laws passed. He probably died in 1648 and his will (not yet found) leaves the mill to his son and widow. The town council OKed this as long as Alice and John Jr provided good service, as John Sr. had, they did.

The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence volume 1 page 144

Seal of the city of Providence Rhode Island at Wikipedia 

Records of the Governor and company of the Massachusetts Bay Volume 1 page 159 John Smith banished 2 Sep 1635

Adam Miller b. 1863

/ Kirstin Miller

Adam Miller 3rd great uncle on RootsMagic tree

Adam was born in Indiana in 1863. In 1870 he was living on a farm in Bremer County, Iowa with his parents Peter and Esther, 5 brothers and a sister. Adam and his brother William were named after their uncles.

In 1887 Adam was in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri where on December 22 1887 he married Bridget McKeown. From 1889-1909 Kansas City phone books show Adam was a tailor, Bridget on a census form is also a tailor. Adam and Bridget had 2 daughters both born in Kansas City.

Miller, Adam 1909 tailor

They moved to California and on the 11920 census this Miller family is in Los Angeles. Adam is a proprietor of a tailor shop. their neighbors are local and international born in Japan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Syria, Mexico, California, New York, Germany. Adam’s youngest daughter Jaquetta is 17 and at home, older daughter Mary is probably married. Adam lived until at least age 70, Bridget is a widow on the 1940 census living in Santa Monica with her daughter and granddaughter both named Jacquetta.

Missouri, Jackson County Marriage Records, 1840-1985
U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
1920 US Census

Sarah Cloyes b. 1666

/ Kirstin Miller

Sarah Cloyes 8th great grandmother on RootsMagic tree

Sarah was born to Peter Cloyes and Hannah Littlefield probably in 1666, probably in Wells, Maine. In 1688 Sarah married John Connable in Salem, Massachusetts. Sarah and John Connable were in Boston shortly after their marriage, their children were born in Boston: 6 daughters and a son, Samuel. Sarah died young at about 36. Her burial place is unknown.

Connable, John and Sarah Cloyes 1688 marriage

John and Sarah are No. 23 at bottom of list. Massachusetts town clerk vital and town records 1626 – 2001 database at FamilySearch.org

A Google search for Sarah Cloyes will bring up Sarah’s 2nd mom (Peter Cloyes’s 2nd wife) Sarah Towne Cloyes, she and Peter married in about 1683 both widows with children. Sarah’s 2nd mom, Sarah Towne, was the youngest of the three Towne sisters accused of witchcraft in Salem. Sarah Towne’s 2 older sisters, Mary Towne Eastey 58 and Rebecca Towne Nurse 71, were hung. Sarah escaped jail, maybe with the help of husband Peter Cloyes.

Ann Putnam was 13 in 1692 when she accused 62 women in Salem. 20 of those women were hanged, several others died while in prison. In 1706 Ann was 27 and made a public apology for her part in the trials, and especially for the grief and loss she caused the Towne families. The Towne families accepted the apology. If you read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown or watch Arthur Miller’s The Crucible you’ll recognize the characters Goody Cloyse and Rebecca Nurse.

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Ancestry tree snapshot: Peter his wife Hannah, their child Sarah Cloyes her husband John and Peter’s 2nd wife Sarah Towne.

Massachusetts town clerk vital and town records 1626 – 2001 database at FamilySearch.org. John Caniball and Sarah Cloise, 13 Mar 1688; citing Marriage, Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States, town clerk offices, Massachusetts. Reference ID 44 FHL 877468 Digital Folder 007009706 Image 00425 (425 of 610

A Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston 1630-1699. Volume 9 Page 184 Samuel of John and Sarah Coniball born Jan 16 [1689].

Sarah Towne’s story at Framingham History Center

Joanna Arnold b. 1615

/ Kirstin Miller

Arnold, Joanna 10th great grandmother on RootsMagic tree.

Joanna was born February 27 1615 in Ilchester, Somerset England. At age 18 she and her family sailed to America. With the Arnolds were Frances and Thomas Hopkins, cousins of Joanna, kids of her aunt and namesake Joane Arnold who stayed in England. The Arnolds and Hopkins cousins were in Hingham Massachusetts near Plymouth for awhile then left for Providence, Rhode Island.

“A family census of Moshassuck and Pawtuxet, for September 1, 1636, would contain the following names: William Arnold, age 49. Christian Arnold, wife of W. A.. Benedict Arnold, son of W. A., 21. Joanna Arnold, daughter of W. A., 18. Stephen Arnold, son of W. A., 14. Thomas Hopkins, nephew of W. A. Frances Hopkins, niece of W. A.”

Map Providence original home lots

Original home lots (annotated)  in The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations by Bicknell.

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Joanna’s mark or seal on husband’s will.

In Providence on June 29,1647 Joanna married Zachariah Rhodes. Zachariah drowned in 1665 and Joanna married Samuel Reape and they stayed in Providence. Joanna and Zachariah had at least 7 children. 4 sons and three daughters who were living when Joanne made her will on January 28 1667. She gifts each of her children 20 pounds.

Joanna is most likely descended from Charlemagne, the King and conqueror. There is a book and a society “Some colonial dames of royal descent” with a pedigree line for Joanne. The book is considered a legitimate source.

Volume 1 page 29. The early records of the town of Providence

Volume 1 page 158 Providence It’s Beginnings. The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Map page 172b

Page 15 Pedigree 2. Some colonial dames of royal descent. Joanna is 3 on this list, the beginning of the pedigree starts on page 11 with: Charlemagne Emperor of the West, King of the Franks and his third wife Lady Hildegarde and so on …

English Origins of New England Families, Second Series, Vol. I [online database] Early Records of the Arnold Family p 2.
Written by William Arnold about his family, Joanna’s brother Benedict was Governor of Rhode Island.

Roger Williams 1638 land deed

/ Kirstin Miller
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Rhode Island Roots volume 5 page 1 a snapshot of the referenced deed

In 1636 Boston courts decided  Roger Williams had to return to England. He was creating problems in the colony, accused of having diverse thoughts. Roger encouraged freedom of religion, ‘soul liberty’, a separation of church and state. He would ask the courts and churches to explain how stealing lands from the native Americans fit in with the beliefs of the new colony. As the colony prepared to export him, Roger Williams fled in the night. He headed down river to present day Providence, Rhode Island. With help from the Narragansett tribe he founded a colony based on his beliefs. March 24, 1638 the first land deeds were signed by the native people selling the lands and witnessed by Roger Williams and Benedict Arnold (Gov’r not American Revolution soldier).

Years later Roger’s son Daniel said, “Can you find such another now alive or in this age? He gave away his lands.” It is pretty amazing for those times and anytime: Roger owned all that land, legally and he thought, ethically purchased, but he didn’t keep the lands he shared them. He wanted the new Providence Plantation to succeed so he started deeding land to his friends and followers and they all started working on building a place built on Roger’s ideas.

Rhode Island Roots. Warwick, RI: Rhode Island Genealogical Society, 1975–. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2018.)