Maryland was the home of the Parks, Ogles, Porters, and, Howards. First and foremost, we can trace with some confidence, the Parks family back as far as 1733. David Parks was born in that year in Baltimore. He had a son named David who married Elizabeth Towson. There is a Town in Maryland named Towson, very near Baltimore. This town was named after the Towson family because they owned the first Inn in that area.
Bedford, Pennsylvania home of David Parks and Elizabeth
Towson after their marriage in Baltimore they moved to Bedford Pennsylvania.
Why you may ask… answer I don’t know.
This is where Great Great Great Grandpa Thomas Towson Parks was born.
Some facts about Bedford ,a beautiful
little town in the Allegheny’s,
Bedford is also a county and when the Parks family lived in this area the
county was one half of the state of Pennsylvania.
So though we know that Thomas T. was from Bedford we do not know if it
was the county or Town. The local
historical society could not find anything in their major files on the family.
Thomas T. was born just a few years after the whiskey rebellion.
How appropriate to think that his father, David Parks, may have been
involved in the Whiskey Rebellion.
Old Bedford's Church.
The John Ogle branch of the family came in through Delaware
in 1664. John came in as a soldier to push the Dutch out of that area so the
English could take over. He spent his life gaining land and then fighting in
court to try to protect his property. Not
a wise businessman, he had lost everything at his death. His widow Elizabeth
would continue the fight in the courts long after his death.
http://xtinahs.org/Digitaltour/JohnOgleGrave.html
John’s grandson,
Joseph Ogle, moved onto Maryland and
Frederick County. This move was probably made to leave the wild environment of
Delaware, and to move closer to the newly arrived cousin Samuel Ogle, the
appointed Royal Governor of Maryland.
Samuel Ogle's Annapolis Residence, while Governor, (Left) now houses the United States Naval Academy Alumni Association. Samuel would live here while working as Governor in Annapolis, and then move to his country home.
Samuel's son, Benjamin Ogle would buy this home for his mother on Samuel's death.
Benjamin would then become the first elected Governor for the new State of Maryland after the American Revolution.
Belair was the Ogle Family Mansion (Below) near Bowie, MD with this view from the back lawn. This was the home of both Royal Governor, Samuel Ogle, and his son, Benjamin Ogle, first Governor of the State of Maryland.
| Belair has a picture of Royal Governor Samuel Ogle above one of the fireplaces, decked out in his powdered wig and finest clothes. |
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Samuel's son, Maryland Governor Benjamin Ogle was a little more conservative in his portrait. |
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According to everything I read, our branch of the family
also massed large
amounts of land in Fredericks County. Both
the Samuel Ogle and Joseph Ogle branches owned large tobacco plantations of
about 2,000 acres. As it
would be proved numerous times, families stuck together.
Joseph Ogle had among his nine children, two of his sons, who were our ancestor, John, and his brother Joseph. Joseph was a revolutionary war hero and Indian fighter, who had a county named after him in Illinois, where Pete’s Irish ancestors first settled. John was our direct ancestor and seemed to live a quiet life in Maryland. You find snippets about the man but nothing major. With several of their brothers, John and Joseph would move to Monroe, Illinois, south of St. Louis.
One of John’s children, Mordecai Ogle, moved to Muskingum, Ohio, and had Elizabeth, who married Thomas T. Parks in Muskingum , Ohio, the first two Maryland families to marry in Ohio.
The next family is Howard. These are ancestors of Miranda Edwards, who married Bevelria M. Parks in Ohio. The Howards first came to Maryland. Matthew Howard was among the first settlers of Anne Arundel Co., now Annapolis. He came with many Puritan and Independent families from Virginia to Providence about 1650. One of the compiled genealogies on the Howard Family is in "Anne Arundel Gentry Vol 2" by Harry Wright Newman. Another source is the 1909 "Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties Maryland" by J. D. Warfield. It is suggested that you check these books for more details about the Howard family. Some information on the Howards is also in "Providence Ye Lost Towne at Severn in Mary Land" by James E. Moss.”
Peter Porter was given a land grant by Lord Baltimore. His son Peter married Sarah Howard, daughter of Samuel and Catherine Warner Howard, and granddaughter of Matthew Howard.
They
lived on the Severn River on Howards Cove. The farm was 200 acres, just up the
Severn River from the current Naval Academy.
Howard's Cove, shown here opens onto the Severn River which flows by the Naval Academy into the Bay.
Howard's Cove was named by in honor of Sarah's family.
Philip Porter, the grandson of this union of Peter and Grace, moved west from Baltimore, and ended up in Muskingham, Ohio.
Philip’s granddaughter, Miranda Edwards, married Bevelria Parks, the son of Thomas T. Parks and Elizabeth Ogle. See a pattern here? It appears that the Marylanders stuck together as they moved west.
Both the Romicks and the Bedingers were German families, who landed in Philadelphia. Philadelphia was the main port of entry for Germans in the late 1600’s and early 1700’s.
The Romick family emigrated from Germany in 1732. The Romicks spent a year or so in the Germantown section of Philadelphia.
They then moved on to the Lehigh Valley, where they built a series of Mills.
Frederick built his first mill in 1734, alongside the Zion Lutheran church, on a stretch of stream that was renamed Mill Stream. He built two mills one for lumber and another for grist.
He’s not buried next door in the Lutheran cemetery as you might expect, but in the Moravian cemetery in a nearby town. As Palatine Germans, they were not welcome in their own country, but were more than welcome in the new country, who needed their business experience as millers.
They moved as a family as the Americans were glad to pay for their way out of the country. When researching Germans remember that the tradition is to name every male and female the same first name after a saint and the second name in their legal name. Note they brought the name of the Mill Stream with them to Kansas, and picked up the more western term of “creek.”
The house beside the stream, and next to Zion Church, is of the age that it could have been the Romick home, but we don't know. The whole area had so many Romicks that it was called Romick's Settlement.
]
The Bedinger’s came to the United States from Alsace Lorraine region, probably with a great deal more money as they had three towns in Germany named after them, along with a title and family crest. They lived in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area for a few years, and then moved on to West Virginia, where George died, leaving Anna Margaretha with a pack of kids to care for. His youngest son, Christian, was our ancestor. These were the ancestors of Grandma Sally’s. Grandma Sally’s real name is Grace Marguerite, probably the Americanization of Margaretha. Her Grandmothers name was Rosalee you will find the basis later in the Bedinger history.
Shepherdstown, West Virginia was the home of the Bedinger and Jesse Lee family, the original home of the Bedinger’s during the Revolution, and where, Christian Bedinger's three older brothers Daniel, George, and Henry, went off to fight for a new republic. Daniel and Henry would both spend time as prisoners of war and George would fight along with Daniel Boone. http://www.fullbooks.com/American-Prisoners-of-the-Revolution2.html is a document that covers Daniel and Henry’s stay in prison.
The Main Street through Sherperdstown was the site of the Daniel Bedinger's Hotel.
The family home just outside of Shepherdstown still stands. The front pillars shown below are a modern addition to the front entry.
At the Elmwood Cemetery, we were able to find the tombstones of a number of members of the Beidnger family.
Henrietta Bedinger Lee was a sister to Christian, our ancestor.
Henrietta's husband, Edmund Lee was a first cousin to Robert E. Lee.
The Civil War would find members of the Bedinger Family on both sides. Christian Bedinger would move on to Ohio. Those who remained in Shepherdstown would become involved in the war as about 7,000 wounded were brought to Shepherdstown from the Battle of Antietam, just a few miles away on the Maryland side of the Potomac. Mary Bedinger Mitchell, one of the Christian's sisters wrote of the aftermath of the battle, http://civilwarwomen.blogspot.com/2006/11/mary-bedinger-mitchell.html.
Gettysburg the place that Captain George Rust Bedinger died at Culps Hill. He was with the Confederacy and the son of Henry Bedinger lll, first ambassador to Denmark in the Pierce administration. This was an ancestor of Grandma Sally’s.
George Michael Bedinger would go on to serve in congress representing Kentucky and fighting slavery with every tool at his command. His son would later become an advisor to Abraham Lincoln. The West Virginia branch of the family would become Confederates, and a sister of the three brothers would marry Robert E. Lee’s first cousin Jesse. Our ancestor, Christian, youngest of the Large Bedinger family and baby during the revolution, would move to Ohio, where many of the George Bedinger Family resided.
Christian’s daughter, Elizabeth, would marry James Shrader and the rest as they say is history. Rosalee Shrader would marry a Grice, and there daughter, Olive would marry, Stephen Arthur Collins.
John Collins landed in Massachusetts coming from Stepney Parish in London England. He came to the new world as a starch maker. He married Abigail Johnson, who was born in Lynn Essex, Massachusetts, where they lived. He died in 1679, drowning at sea along with his oldest son, John. Upon his death, Abigail changed baby William’s name to John born in 1679. He would marry Susanna Daggett from Saco Maine. As adults, John Collins, Jr. and his brother, Benjamin, would change from Puritans to Quakers. Because of their new choice of religion, they moved to Rhode Island to escape religious persecution in Massachusetts. The following link describes the Quaker Religion, and the conflict with the Puritans, http://thorn.pair.com/earlyq.htm
To confuse the issue more there is a John Collins who was probably a cousin, but I have not ever been able to prove this. The only thing I can prove is that each generation of our family had a Samuel and a John.
“John Collins
(1717 [1] - March 4, 1795), third governor of the
U.S. state
of
Rhode Island, was born in
Newport, the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Collins. He stood forth as a staunch
advocate of the independence of the
Thirteen Colonies.
An admirer of
George
Washington, he was selected
by the governor of Rhode Island in 1776 to carry a letter to Washington
informing him of the condition of the colony and soliciting counsel upon the
best method to adopt for its defense. Later (1782) he was made bearer to the
President of
Congress of a statement of
Rhode Island's reasons for rejecting the Impost Act. During the
American Revolution,
Rhode Island was for the most part an agricultural area and as such opposed the
restrictions of a national government. Within the state the agricultural
interests vigorously advocated a paper currency. Collins espoused their cause
and in 1786 was elected governor. During his term in office the issuance of
paper money, which had been ceased at intervals since 1750, was resumed. It was
provided by law that should any creditor refuse to accept the bills of the state
the debtor might secure a discharge by depositing the amount of his debt with
one of the judges of the state superior court or the court of common pleas. This
law led to the suit of
Trevett vs. Weeden, which resulted
in a decision looking toward the right of courts to declare legislative
enactments unconstitutional. [2] In 1778, Collins represented Rhode Island in
the
Second
Continental Congress, where
he served until May 1781, when he was superseded by
William Ellery.
He was, however, re-elected in 1782 and held the position until 1783. Rhode
Island, up to 1790, vigorously fought against the calling of a convention to
decide upon entering the Federal Union, but in that year (January 17) gave its
sanction to such a call by a majority of one vote in the Senate. This vote was
cast by Collins, who had come to realize the importance of a Federal connection.
The vote cost him his popularity and the governorship. Later, however, he was
elected to the
1st Congress
but did not take his seat. He was married to Mary, daughter of John Avery of
Boston, and his daughter Abigail married
John Warren.
Collins died at Newport was buried on his farm near that city,
Brenton Neck.”
Our Ancestor, yet another John, son of John Jr., , would move from Rhode Island to Connecticut he would marry Mahitable Bowen in Voluntown Connecticut, He would have a son John in Voluntown{ wife unknown} and on to die in Stonington, Connecticut. John Collins who was born in Voluntown would have a son, Stephen, who was born in 1776, and marry Theoda Crocker. Their son, David Crocker Collins, would move to South Carolina, where he married, Elizabeth Fridig. They would move to Talladega, Alabama, and finally to Red Cloud, Nebraska on the Kansas border, where he died. Their son was our great grandfather Stephen Arthur Collins, who moved across the border from Red Cloud to a farm west of Cora, Kansas.
William and Mary Brewster landed on Plymouth Rock in 1620. As elder of the Puritans, William was their religious leader. they landed in Plymouth, a couple of months after landing at Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod, but the sand dunes around Provincetown didn't lend themselves to growing crops. This is a view of Provincetown Harbor from atop the memorial to the Pilgrims first landing spot.
As you visit Plymouth, across the Bay from Provincetown, you will find a commemoration on the Post Office as the site of William and Mary' Brewster's first home.
A plaque identifies this as the site of William and Mary Brewster's house.
Behind the Post Office is Brewster Gardens, the local city park where William and Mary's Garden had been.
Brewster Gardens is now a beautiful City Park with the creek, which was a main source of water running through it.
Up the hill from the site of the Brewster home is Burial Hill,
There is a commemorative stone to William as you walk up the road to the entrance.
The sign for Burial Hill explains that Governor Bradford, and William and Mary Brewster were buried on Burial Hill. The Pilgrims used wooden grave markers that deteriorated with the commemorative stones placed later.
Plimouth Plantation has recreated the original Puritan Settlement. The old methods of gathering crops and hay were backbreaking. The Meeting Hall with Fort on top is shown in the background. This is where William would have preached.
The view from the Meeting Hall, down the main street shows what the original settlement looked like.
William and Mary's home was a humble one with one room and a loft, with gardens outside.
The interior is complete with a bible beside the bed.
William and Mary brought their two sons, Love and Wrestling with them on the Mayflower. Diana had an interesting conversation with Stephen Hopkins, one of the soldiers who escorted the Pilgrims from England. Stephen had brought his family with him to the new land, and his wife gave birth to a son, Oceanus, on the Mayflower crossing. Stephen gave directions fo the visitors to Plimouth Plantation. He directed us to the Brewster Home. Although, he indicated that he had just seen young Jonathon, our ancestor, we weren't able to find him. Stephen and Diana had a good conversation about the naming conventions for children that would result in Love and Wrestling Brewster.
Plimouth Plantation Videos...
Down Main Street from the Fort/Meeting Hall, looking for William & Mary's House
Stephen Hopkins - Soldier, Guide, and Storyteller
Stephen Hopkins - On the practice of swimming
Stephen Hopkins - Directing us to William Brewster's House
Stephen Hopkins - On naming practices for the next generation
William and Mary's House and Yard...a room, a loft, and a garden.
It would be a year later before grown son, Jonathon Brewster, our ancestor, would join his parents and younger brothers in Plymouth. The current Unitarian Church commemorates its founding as the first Parish in Plymouth, presided over by William Brewster.
The original Meeting Hall has been replaced by the current church, just up the hill from William and Mary's home, much like reproduced in Plimouth Colony.
Jonathon Brewster and wife, Lucretia Oldham, would become upstanding members of the Puritan community. Jonathon would see to it that the debt that the Pilgrims incurred from their voyage was repaid. Later, Jonathon and Lucretia would move to Norwich, Connecticut, Quaker Country. As the Puritans turned to prosecution that would culminate in the Salem witch trials, we surmise that Jonathon distanced himself in moving to Norwich. Jonathan and Lucretia are both buried in Brewster Cemetery, Brewster’s Neck, Preston, Connecticut, where a monument has been erected to their memory by their descendants. See Pushpin 5 in Parks Family History Map. Brewster's Neck is an inlet off of the Thames River, upstream from New London.
See the following link for more information on William and Jonathon's Family.
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~legends/brewster.html
The Crockers
Deacon William Crocker came over in 1636 to join the Puritan Colony starting a large and prolific branch of the family. This branch of the family would settle in Barnstable, Massachusetts on Cape Cod, just North of Hyannis, where they would stay for the next forty years.
A cousin, Cornelius Crocker ,owned the Crocker Tavern, which became a meeting place for revolutionaries:
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The Village of Barnstable at the main intersection.
Barnstable Harbor is North of town, opening onto Cape Cod Bay.
Lothrop Hill Cemetery outside Barnstable is the burial site for a number of Crockers.
Diana and Jeff searched through the Cemetery...
Finally finding the Crocker plot with 5 stones. These were badly deteriorated so that they were almost impossible to read. We could read Cornelius Crocker, the proprietor of Crocker Tavern. Our direct ancestor, Job Crocker ,is in this cemetery.
While Cornelius Crocker was making history in Barnstable, our branch of the family had moved on to Connecticut, where we would start to see the Collins, Brewsters, Palmers, and Minors all converge various branches together in one small part of Southeast, Connecticut.
David Crocker moved to Stonington, Connecticut and died there in 1778.
Latter Day Saints web site has Jonathan Collins born in New London, Connecticut in 1738. Since Stonington is in the county of New London, my belief is that Jonathan was born in Stonington. He would later travel a short distance to Voluntown, CT. But he was back in New London for the birth of Stephen in 1776 in Lyme, New London, Connecticut.
.Walter Palmer, and his son-in-law, Thomas Minor, were two of the four founders of the beautiful seaside town of Stonington, Connecticut.
The Stonington Historical Society has historical footnotes, and Walter Palmer has his own Society, which has written the Biography of Walter Palmer.
The Wequetequock Burial Ground is on Palmer's Neck Road. This is where members of the families of the 4 founders of Stonington are buried and commemorated on the 4 sides of the larger marker. This burial ground was on Walter Palmer's 300 acres of land on Palmer's Neck, upriver from Stonington Harbor.
Walter Palmer was our direct ancestor, founder of Stonington, and owner of the land on Palmer's Neck.
We found Walter Palmer's "wolfstone." A means that was used to keep animals from digging up graves. We also found Rick Riggs, a distant cousin, and his wife Sue looking for old Walter's stone. Rick and Sue had come from Cincinnati, looking for their roots, and were looking for both Walter Palmer, and Thomas Minor. Talk about a coincidence.
Stonington was the point of convergence for the Palmers, Minors, Collins, Crockers, and the Brewsters just a bit north in Preston. Stonington Harbor is an active harbor opening to Long Island Sound.
More Stonington Harbor...
The Old Stonington Lighthouse...
Thomas Minor arrived from Chew Magna, England and would marry Walter Palmer's daughter, Grace. Thomas was also a co-founder of Stonington, and is buried in the Wequetequock Burial Ground. We were able to find more info on Thomas Minor, and his children with Grace.
I found an interesting article on the Crocker, Minor and Palmer family that stated that all three families left the Puritan faith and became Quakers , my suspicion is that Jonathan Brewster by moving to Connecticut was also trying to distance himself from the Puritan church as well.
Grace Turner, great granddaughter of Jonathon Brewster, married Joseph Minor, grandson of Thomas Minor. Their granddaughter, Jane Minor, married Jonathon Crocker, who had Theoda Crocker, who married Stephen Collins. Their son David Crocker Collins would travel south to Columbia, South Carolina, marrying Elizabeth Fridig. They then moved further into the South where Elizabeth would give birth to Stephen Arthur Collins our great Grandfather, in Talladega, Alabama.
The family histories of the Geigers, Arthurs, Grices, and, Fridigs are very interesting stories, but those must wait for another day
Let me state for the record I lifted large sections of this from people who worked very hard on their documents. Mine is not so much a thesis as it is a way to show and understand my vacation pictures. I claim no rights to any of this writing to learn more http://www.walterpalmer.com/Walter_Palmer_Bio.htm http://alum.wpi.edu/~p_miner/Miner1.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Collins_(delegate)
Sorry could not relocate original source on Matthew Howard.