William Leo "Little Willie" Hayden

Notes:

William Leo Hayden (1785-1866) was the natural son of Henrietta (Cole) Hayden, by Charles Ewing.

When the Hayden family arrived in north-central Kentucky in 1785, they and the rest of their migrant party were confined for some months inside a rough-and-ready fort for their protection. It’s easy to imagine that this was hard on them all, and Henrietta (Cole) Hayden had further reason to be depressed; she had lost four children on the trek from southern Maryland. Whatever her reasons, she had an affair inside the fort with a sketchy land speculator named Charles Ewing, and became pregnant as a result. She subsequently confessed the liaison to her husband, who publicly denounced her but did not divorce her. Henrietta and Basil went on to have several more children. William Leo, son of Henrietta by Charles Ewing, was raised in Basil and Henrietta’s family, where his nickname was “Not Blood.” Basil’s will provided William Leo with half the amount he gave to each of his own surviving children.

After Basil’s death in 1804, Henrietta immediately married Charles Ewing. Shortly afterward, she declared in court that she "will not take or accept the provision made for me by Will of my late husband, Basil Hayden, dec'd., or any part thereof and I do hereby renounce all Benefit which I might claim by said Will, and I hereby claim Dower as the law directs." But in 1807 Charles Ewing left her and bigamously married one Mary (or perhaps Margaret) Flint. In 1808 Henrietta managed to divorce Charles, which required an act of the Kentucky legislature.

From Littel's Laws of Kentucky, Volume 3:

[Page 446] An act concerning the marriage of HENRIETTA EWING. approved Feb. 3, 1808 This act authorised her to sue CHARLES EWING, for a divorce, in the Nelson court, and to obtain it on a jury's finding that he had seperated from her and intermarried with MARY FLINT, and continued to live in adultery with said Mary.

From John Medley (1615-1660) by Mary Louise Donnelly (citation details below):

William Leo "Little Willie" Hayden was born 12/16/1785 in Washington Co Ky, the son of Henrietta Cole Hayden. The account of William Leo Hayden's birth is told in letters written by Rev Stephen Badin to Bishop Carroll.

"The widow Hayden who had disgraced herself in marriage, has renewed her past scandals and finished by marrying heterodoxum corum heterodoxo (a protestant by a protestant - in 2/4/1805 letter). Mr Rohan who is keeping school on my land has among his school-boys a subject that might become a clergyman were not the illegitimacy of his birth an obstacle to it. I thought proper to inform you of his virtue & talents, & also that the parents are willing & in some degree able to procure him a liberal education. He belongs to Mr Hayden's family, tho he be not his father: he is twelve or thirteen years of age."

William Hayden, mentioned in Basil Hayden, Sr's will as "Henrietta's son" [sic — the actual phrase is "my wife's son" —PNH], might be the illegitimate son of Charles Ewing whom Henrietta married seven months after Basil Hayden, Sr's death. In Washington Co Ky, on 2/5/1810 William Leo Hayden married first Anna Pike (d. 1/8/1811), the daughter of John Pike. In Washington Co on 1/4/1813 he married secondly Mary Hayden the daughter of Charles Hayden and Eleanor Elliott. The information on his birth and marriages was recorded in his family Bible.

William Leo Hayden was well educated and was the teacher of his own children. In 1835 he moved with his family to Daviess Co Ky. On 11/16/1841 William Hayden purchased 1523 acres of land on the south bank of Panther Creek from William R Griffith and Philip and Eliza H. Triplett (Deed F: 554-555). For a time Court was held in his home. In 5/1866 William and Mary Hayden deeded to Charles Leo Hayden, "...who supported said William and Mary last 10 years ...," 206 acres (Deed T: 306-307). Mary died 7/14/1866 and William Leo Hayden died 12/6/1867 in Owensboro, Ky.

From The Immigration of William "Little Willie" Leo Hayden, quoting a letter written in January 1886 by Richard R. Coomes to the Hon. B.J. Webb:

[A]s some of St Raphael's congregation appear to show some dissatisfaction of the short and, in truth, unjust reference to said congregation, I feel bound to give some items concerning it.

The facts concerning its settlement are these. In 1834 a man well known about Holy Cross [Catholic Church in Calvary, Marion County, Kentucky] as "Little Willie" Hayden, son of Basil Hayden, sold his farm near the church and immigrated to Daviess County, Kentucky to look for better situations for himself and his sons. With him came his brother, Lewis Hayden. The two selected land adjoining the St. Raphael farm, with "Little Willie" agreeing to purchase 1,500 acres adjoining the 200 acres that he had selected for the church. Lewis selected a like amount adjoining that of "Little Willie"'s if William R. Griffith, the owner, would donated 200 acres to the church. Griffith willingly gave the 200 acres and, by doing so, made a sale of the 3,000 acres to the two brothers. The sale of the land that he owned in that part of he county benefited himself, the Hayden brothers, and the Catholic Church. The above purchase was made in 1833 or 1834. At the time, there was not a Catholic living nearer than ten miles from Owensboro, in Daviess County, Kentucky.

"Little Willie"'s family came in 1835 as the first settlers in St. Alphonso's congregation, his house being the first and only station for church until the first log church was built in 1844. He was the principal head of Catholic affairs so long as he was able to get about. He died on December 6, 1867, aged 82 years. There was another William Hayden who settled near St Raphaels but moved within the bounds of St Alfonsus before 1840.

In 1841 when I moved within the bounds of the then St Raphael's, now St Martin's, there was living in the St Raphael's congregation Randall Blandford, William Sims, Reson Cravens, John Livers, Charles Clayton, John Hayden, John Mattingly, Sylvester Hayden, James M Hayden, Phillip Hayden's widow and family, Thadius Coomes, and others whose names I can't now recall. But this I can say, that after 1845, by marriages and imigration the county filled up very fast so that it was soon necessary to build the church of St Alfonso within seven miles of St Raphael's and a few years thereafter that of St Martin's both principally within the original boundry of St Raphael's all of which may be said to be a fairly prosperous farming country so that the Hayden purchase gave to the Catholics of Kentucky a chance for homes without having to go so far west, and as a general thing, to do better nearer home, not that I am opposed to going West by any means, some of my own brothers & a sister went and did better.

I hope this will give you a better idea of the St Raphael country.

Will of William Leo Hayden, written 21 Dec 1866, probated 6 Jan 1868:

In the name of God. Amen. I WILLIAM HAYDEN, of Daviess County, Kentucky, being of extreme old age but of sound mind and disposing memory and calling to mind that all men must die and wishing to arrange my temporal concerns before I am imposed by the call to appear before my God and Judge to determine my lot through all Eternity hereby revoking and annulling all other wills which I may have made heretofore do make and establish this as my last Will and Testament to wit.

Item 1. I bequeath my soul to God who gave it me and my Body to the Earth from which it was taken to be decently interred in an ordinary and plain manner.

Item 2. I will and bequeath unto my granddaughter, HELEN MARION PIKE, one bed and furniture, the same that she now uses, it being in the possession of my daughter-in-law (Melissa Hayden) who is entitled to use of the same until my granddaughter may find it to be her interest, or necessary to leave her Aunt Melissa in that event it is to be given up to her demand.

Item 3. I will and bequeath unto my son, CHARLES L. HAYDEN an equal share with all my other heirs not named of all money or cash notes or other estate of which I die possessed first paying or settling all just dues or demands against me out of the sd. money and before distribution is made. I further bequeath to my sd son, CHARLES L, HAYDEN trundle bed stead and bedding attached thereof. Also other articles of household and kitchen furniture and farming implements as also my large Duoay bible all of which last mentioned articles I now deliver into his possession as being his own right and I further bequeath to my son CHARLES L. HAYDEN the right of a roadway one rod wide leading from his farm along the lines of a sixty acre tract which I formerly sold to James Eubank so as to enter at the south of the land dividing between Alvin Hayden's farm and the farm which I have sold to URBAN HAYDEN which road and land shall be one rod wide thru from end to end and unobstructed by any gates or fence also on other land intersecting the land by or at the southeast corner of the orchard on the sd. farm and running through the sd. farm passing by URBAN HAYDEN's farm in the direction of the Glenn Bridge as so called this lane shall be one rod wide from end to end with gates there planted, this described road and lanes are reserved in the contract and sale of the land and premises to URBAN HAYDEN unto the afsd CHARLES L. HAYDEN and his heirs forever.

Item 4. I will and bequeath unto whichever of my children I may be living with at the time of my demise my bed and all its furniture attached, my wearing apparel, my big arm chair, and small chair also any articles of furniture which I term side board, a large demijohn or glass bottle, a few other small bottles and convenient articles unnecessary to mention.

And lastly, I hereby nominate and appoint my son WILLIAM C. HAYDEN the executor of this my last will and Testament. Given under my hand this 21 st day of Dec. 1866 in my own writing.

[Signed in the presence of James Hayden, Edwin C. Hayden and James S. Hayden; the latter presumably his grandson-in-law James S. Hayden, husband of his granddaughter Mary Drucilla Hayden.]

*****

The family bible of William Leo Hayden is supposedly now at St. Joseph's, Maple Mount, Daviess, Kentucky. Its transcription, "Bible records of Basil Hayden (Basil Robert Hayden, 1774-1833)", in Kentucky Genealogical Records Book, GRC Book Series 1, volume 319, pp. 84-87, lists, among the children of Basil and Henrietta (Cole) Hayden, "Milly Hayden 12/16/1785." William Leo Hayden was born 16 Dec 1785; "Milly" is very likely a mistranscription of "Willy".

William married Anastasia "Anna" Pike on 5 Feb 1810 in Washington County, Kentucky. Anastasia (daughter of John Pike) died on 8 Jan 1811 in Washington County, Kentucky. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Jerome Hayden was born on 1 Jan 1811 in Washington County, Kentucky; died in Feb 1846.

William married Mary Hayden on 4 Jan 1813 in Washington County, Kentucky. Mary (daughter of Charles Hayden and Eleanor "Molly" Elliott) was born on 4 Jun 1794; died on 14 Jul 1866 in West Louisville, Daviess, Kentucky; was buried in St. Raphael's Cemetery, West Louisville, Daviess, Kentucky. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Delphina Hayden was born on 29 Oct 1813 in Washington County, Kentucky; died in 1866 in Daviess County, Kentucky.
2. Helen Marion Hayden was born on 5 Mar 1815 in Washington County, Kentucky.
3. Martha Ann Hayden was born on 8 Feb 1817 in Washington County, Kentucky.
4. J. Raymond Hayden was born on 13 Apr 1819 in Washington County, Kentucky; died on 1 Feb 1856; was buried in St. Raphael's Cemetery, West Louisville, Daviess, Kentucky.
5. Urban Hayden was born on 13 Apr 1819 in Washington County, Kentucky; died on 19 Aug 1888 in Daviess County, Kentucky; was buried in Mater Dolorosa Cemetery, Owensboro, Daviess, Kentucky.
6. William C. Hayden was born on 14 Mar 1821 in Washington County, Kentucky; died on 18 Dec 1876 in Daviess County, Kentucky.
7. Marcellus Hayden was born on 16 Jan 1823.
8. Louisa Ann Hayden was born on 16 Jun 1825; died on 16 Dec 1849.
9. Mary Angela "May" Hayden was born on 15 Jan 1829 in Washington County, Kentucky; died after 9 Jul 1898.
10. James Addison Hayden was born on 7 Jul 1832; died on 26 Mar 1850.
11. Charles Leo Hayden was born on 9 Oct 1834 in Nelson County, Kentucky; died on 11 Feb 1879; was buried in St. Raphael's Cemetery, West Louisville, Daviess, Kentucky.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Between 1808 and 1810

Notes:

Described by Paul Nordberg in his monograph on Joseph Clayton as "a land investor with many doings in Nelson and nearby Washington Counties", which only begins to illuminate the energetic sketchiness of this particular individual.

Alicia Towston (see excerpt later in this entry; citation details below) appears to not believe that our Charles Ewing is the same Charles Ewing who married, in Bardstown, 4 Feb 1786, Sarah Wickliffe. We think they were the same person. Several things notably line up:

* The marriage of Charles Ewing to Sarah Wickliffe comes just a year after the liaison with Henrietta (Cole) Hayden which produced PNH ancestor William Leo Hayden.

* Sarah Wickliffe died in 1804, just a year before Charles Ewing and Henrietta Hayden recommenced their affair and married.

* The Charles Ewing in the 1823 case "Ewing v. Handley" (citation details below), which illuminates an entire universe of complex transactions in land and slaves between Ewing and his Wickliffe in-laws, was "absent from the country in 1791" (Towston: "In May 1790 he took a flatboat to Natchez, in company with Samuel Ewing"), was back in 1792 (Towston: "In 1792 he was Justice of the Peace for Washington County"), and was sued in 1808 by James Handley but died shortly thereafter (Ewing v. Handley: "after this suit was prepared for trial, Ewing died").

From Alicia Towston (citation details below):

He is probably the same Charles Ewing who is mentioned in the Draper Manuscripts as going on a hunting expedition in Kentucky with frontiersman Henry Skaggs in 1771.

His activities during the Revolution included: 11 April 1781, carried a message to Governor Jefferson about Bedford militia movements; 1782, compensated for loss of a bay mare in public service; and 1783, obtained a Continental soldier rifle from Robert Ewing.

About 1787, this Charles moved to Kentucky. There were at least two men named Charles Ewing in Kentucky at this time, so caution in interpreting records is necessary. I think the Charles Ewing in Nelson County and adjacent Washington County is likely the correct one, because this is the same area to which Mary (Ewing) Handley had migrated, as well as a Samuel Ewing who may be their younger brother.

He served as a Nelson County Militia officer until June 1789. In May 1790 he took a flatboat to Natchez, in company with Samuel Ewing. In 1792 he was Justice of the Peace for Washington County. From 1792 through 1807 he surveyed and obtained grants for numerous land claims in Washington and Nelson Counties. There is no evidence of any marriage in his early years, but on 14 February 1805, in Washington County, he married Henrietta (Cole) Hayden (1754–1836), widow of Basil Hayden, and apparently a mother of twelve children. This was not a happy marriage, and Charles soon moved out and began living with Mary/Margaret Flint. Henrietta sued for divorce, which was granted on 3 February 1808. In the meantime Charles had married, on 3 February 1807, Mary/Margaret Flint in Nelson County. They apparently moved away, and possibly the 1810 census entry in Garrard County, Kentucky, for Charley Ewing is their household. There are no known children.

Mentions of Charles Ewing in Hayden/Rapier and Allied Families by Mary Louise Donnelly (citation details below):

Early records in the State of Virginia show speculators named William Oldham, Charles Ewing, Peter and Adam Shepherd, and others secured thousands of acres of land in the region of Pottinger's Creek, Rolling Fork Creek, Cartright's Creek, Hardin's Creek, etc., in what is now Nelson, Washington, and Marion Counties in Kentucky. The Catholic pioneers purchased their property from these speculators. [pp. 17-18]

The deed (Book 3:77) for Basil Hayden's property was recorded on [3 Dec 1785] in Nelson County, Kentucky and reads as follows: 'Know all men by these presents that we Isaac Morrison and Charles Ewing both of Nelson County and State of Virginia are held and firmly bound to BASIL HEYDON of the State of Maryland in the penal form of two hundred and fifty pounds current money of Virginia to be paid to the said BASIL HEYDON his heirs Ex. or Admin. and to the true payment whereof we bind ourselves our heirs and Executors firmly by these presents sealed with our Seales and dated this third day of Dec. one thousand seven hundred and Eighty five - The condition of the above obligation is such that if the above bounded Isaac Morrison and Charles Ewing their heirs Ex. or Adm. or either of them do and Shall will and truly convey or cause to be Conveyed unto the above mentioned BASIL HEYDEN his heirs Exs. or Adm. a certain tract of Land situate on the north side of Pottingers Creek adjoining Phillimon Lee (Phillip Lee) on the East Containing three hundred acres of land by a good and Sufficient deed a good Sure and Indefeasible estate of Inheritance in Fee Simple on or before the twenty fifth day of December one thousand Seven hundred and Eighty seven and that without further Delay then the above obligation to be void otherwise to remain in full force and virtue in same.' (The deed was signed by Isaac Morrison and Charles Ewing and the witnesses present were Philip Lee and Charles Hayden.) Then the following was recorded: "This Bond from Isaac Morrison and Charles Ewing to BASIL HEYDEN was acknowledged by the said Morrison and ordered to record" (Signed Ben Grayson Cl. C.). [p. 40]

"BASIL purchased additional land on Pottinger's Creek. By the 1799 taxes he owned 525 acres of land and 24 slaves. He purchased additional land from Charles Ewing and Nicholas Woods." [p. 42]

HENRIETTA HAYDEN, "the widow of BASIL HAYDEN," married secondly on 2/4/1805 Charles Ewing (Nelson County Marriages 1:63). Concerning this Father Badin writes to Bishop Carroll on 2/20/1805, "The widow HAYDEN who has disgraced herself in marriage, has renewed her past scandals and finished by marrying heterodoxum coram heterodoxo (a protestant by a protestant)." [p. 43]

Probably an earlier letter of Father Badin written to Bishop Carroll on 8/13/1798 refers to her previous scandal, "Mr. Rohan who is keeping school on my land has among his school-boys a subject that might become a clergyman were not the illegitimacy of his birth an obstacle to it. I thought proper to inform you of his virtue & talents, & also that the parents are willing & in some degree able to procure him a liberal education. He belongs to MR. HAYDEN's family, tho he be not his father: he is twelve or thirteen years of age." This refers to William Hayden, mentioned in BASIL HAYDEN, SR.'s will as Henrietta's son. Whether he was the son of Charles Ewing, whom Henrietta immediately married seven months after BASIL's death, can be surmised. [p. 43]

The marriage of HENRIETTA HAYDEN and Charles Ewing did not last long. In a Judgement in Nelson County for 1808 and 1809 HENRIETTA EWING vs Charles Ewing and Mary Flint. "Since Charles Ewing continued to live in a State of adultery with said Mary in shameful violation of his marriage vow & agreement with Henrietta, Henrietta asks for a divorce." [p. 43]

From EARLY TIMES IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, KENTUCKY by Orval W. Baylor (p 9) "Charles Ewing came to Kentucky around 1785. He was a well-bred, well educated and cultured gentleman." Charles Ewing first owned 600 acres on the north side of Hardin's Creek which he sold to Jereboam Beauchamp. In 1787 he purchased a 500 acre tract lying on the north side of the Rolling Fork. "On a knoll overlooking a big bend in the river he erected a large two story log house; and there he lived to a ripe old age." Charles Ewing was one of the first justices of Washington County. He served two terms as a legislator from Washington County and then retired from public affairs. According to the 1799 tax lists Charles Ewing owned 8,748 acres of land in Washington, Nelson, Green and Lincoln counties in Kentucky. [pp. 43-44]

From Clan Ewing of Scotland by Elbert William R. Ewing [citation details below]:

When Charles II Ewing was in his prime the county west of the Alleghenies and (to the southwest) the Cumberlands was an unsettled wild. Game was abundant; pelts were valuable. Hunters, in parties large and small, often spent an entire hunting season, camping, far beyond the frontier line. Land was examined, incidentally; and many a Kentucky home owes its original location to the intelligent eye of one of the early Virginia hunters. Charles (II) Ewing was such a pioneer.

Charles married Henrietta Cole on 19 Feb 1805 in Springfield, Washington, Kentucky, and was divorced on 3 Feb 1808 in Kentucky. Henrietta (daughter of Robert Cole and Ann Greenwell) was born on 2 Jul 1754 in St. Mary's, St. Mary's, Maryland; died on 6 Dec 1837 in Marion County, Kentucky; was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Holy Cross, Marion, Kentucky. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

See the notes for her son William Leo Hayden for the story of William Leo's birth and of Henrietta Cole's complicated relationship with Charles Ewing.

From Abstract of Early Kentucky Wills and Inventories: Copied from Original and Recorded Wills and Inventories by Junie Estelle Stewart King (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2010):

HAYDEN, HENRIETTA. "To worshipful Court of Washington County, I, Henrietta Hayden of said county do hereby declare that I will not take or accept the provision made for me by Will of my late husband, Basil Hayden, dec'd., or any part thereof and I do hereby renounce all Benefit which I might claim by said Will, and I hereby claim Dower as the law directs. As witness my hand and seal this 9 day of February, 1805. Wit: William Hayden, Lewis Hayden." Recorded April Court, 1805.

Notes:

He is said to have been born in Coleraine, Londonderry, Northern Ireland. He was related in some way to Robert Ewing (~1718-1787), with whom he came to Virginia. Charles and Robert are recorded as having called one another "brother", which has led many to believe that they shared the same parents, but in fact what we actually know is that they were brothers-in-law, their wives (Robert's wife Mary Baker and Charles's wife Martha Baker) being sisters to one another. The earliest written account of their coming to America (set down shortly before his death by Nathaniel Ewing, 1772-1846, of Mount Clair, Knox, Indiana, and first published in the Louisville Courier-Journal on 28 Feb 1897) calls them only "two young men, cousins of my grandfather, Nathaniel Ewing"; had they been actual brothers, one would think this account would have said so.

Charles Ewing and Martha Baker were GX5-grandparents of the American aviation pioneer, movie director, billionaire, and lunatic Howard Hughes, making Hughes and PNH sixth cousins once removed:

Charles Ewing (~1715-1770) = Martha Baker
Caleb Ewing (d. ~1780)
Elizabeth Ewing (1779-1812) = Richard Montgomery Gano (1775-1815)
John Allen Gano (1805-1887) = Mary Conn (b. 1807)
Richard Montgomery Gano (1830-1913) = Martha Jane Welch (1832-1895)
William Beriah Gano (1854-1913) = Jeanette de Lafayette Grissom (1857-1905)
Allene Stone Gano (1883-1922) = Howard Robard Hughes, Sr. (1869-1924)
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. (1905-1976)

(As a side note, the elder of the two men named Richard Montgomery Gano in the above was a son of John Gano (1727-1804), a Baptist minister and Revolutionary War chaplain who is widely, and almost certainly falsely, claimed to have baptized George Washington. The younger Richard Montgomery Gano (1830-1913) was a Confederate general from Texas in the Civil War.)

From Clan Ewing of Scotland by Elbert William R. Ewing (citation details below):

By no means least of the noted and splendidly influential families of our name were those founded by two brothers, Robert and Charles Ewing. All the evidence indicates and nothing disputes that they were close cousins of the other immigrants of our family. One tradition has it that they were born in Coleraine, Ireland; while another says they were born near Stirling Castle, Scotland, within the old clan bounds. Whichever be correct, it is certain they were near relatives to those who came from at least not far from Londonderry. A tradition, given me by Rowland D. Buford, of Bedford City, an aged man (in his eighty-sixth year at the time of his letter to me) who knew and respected their descendants, insists that they fled from Scotland because of some political difficulty, being staunch Covenanters who, no doubt, warmly espoused the cause of the Protestant claimants to the English throne. However, I am satisfied that they came, whether from Scotland or Ireland, because of the general unrest which prevailed in both countries, and which I have briefly narrated.

An undisputed tradition says that on reaching America they visited their relations in Cecil County, Maryland, for a short time, and then pushed on for the new lands and broader opportunities in that section shortly to become Bedford County, Virginia, near where Samuel Ewing, James Ewing and other cousins then lived.

The sketch of the Ewings left by Nathaniel Ewing of Mount Clair, Knox County, Indiana, and published in the Courier-Journal, February 28, 1897, after what I have elsewhere quoted continues: "Some time about the year 1735 or 1740 two young men, cousins of my grandfather, Nathaniel Ewing (the only son by the first wife of William Ewing, born in Scotland), came to America. Their names were Charles and Robert Ewing. Having gotten into an affray at a fair in Ireland they were so unfortunate as to kill a man, for which they were obliged to fly the country and came to my grandfather's, where they concealed themselves for a length of time until one of my grandfather's half brothers came from Virginia on a visit to his relations in Maryland. On his return they were put over the Susquehanna in the night and went with him to Virginia. It being a place less frequented by emigrants from Ireland than Maryland, and a proclamation having arrived offering a reward for their apprehension, their longer stay became dangerous.

"Some time after their arrival in Prince Edward County a new settlement was founded further back, in what is now called Bedford County, near the Peaks of Otter. They joined the adventurers and finally settled there and married sisters, daughters of Mr. Baker, a Presbyterian minister, and lived there until death. They both left large families, who are now settled in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, some of whom I have seen, viz.: Baker Ewing, Young Ewing, Samuel Ewing and Finis Ewing. The last is a Presbyterian clergyman and resides in Missouri. I mention the family on account of their having become so numerous in the western country and to show the connection between them and my family."

Exhaustive investigation leads me to the most decided opinion that the "affray at a fair" and its result is an error. Mr. Buford, who never heard of this fair story, was quite confident that the "trouble," whatever it may have been, was nothing other than a mere "political matter" which resulted in no physical encounter. He lived in the county where both Robert and Charles spent the most of their distinguished lives; and so had a better opportunity to know their pre-American history than had Nathaniel Ewing whose article was published in the Courier Journal. All the facts, aside from Nathaniel's statement, indicate that at that day Robert and Charles could have been as readily located where they settled in Virginia as had they re mained in Cecil County.

That they had committed no grave crime in early life, even in the heat of an unpremeditated encounter, the prominence of their later lives attests. [...]

Charles Ewing, whose will is dated May 31, 1770, and which was probated in Bedford County, Virginia, July 24, 1770, was the same splendid type of citizen as his brother, Robert. This is not mere theory. Nor is it simply family tradition. The positions these two brothers filled as well as those held by their children after them and the testimony of such men as R. D. Buford, who knew their neighbors and who spent years studying the family records of his county, furnish us undisputed proof.

This Charles, the immigrant, and his son, Charles, were the only Ewings of that Christian name in all that part of Virginia in their day, so far as I can learn. So it is the more easy to identify them.

Charles married Martha Baker about 1744. Martha (daughter of Caleb Baker and Martha Brooks) died after 24 Jul 1770. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

According to Alicia Towster (citation details below), they were probably married in Amelia County, Virginia.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Bef 1719, St. Mary's County, Maryland

Notes:

Abstract of the will of Robert Cole, from Linda Reno's stmarysfamilies.com:

Robert Cole, SMC 11/26/1771-12/2/1771. Wife: Sarah, alias Elizabeth. Children: Eleanor, Elizabeth, Mary. If any of these 3 die before marriage or not arrive at age, estate may go to survivors of these 4: Eleanor, Elizabeth, Mary, Henrietta Hayden. Son-in-law: Robert Mattingly. Granddaughter: Elizabeth Mattingly. Heirs of daughters: Jane Mattingly and Margaret Melton, both deceased. Execs: Sons-in-law, Robert Mattingly, Richard Melton, Basil Hayden. Wit: James Roach, Clement Hayden, William Hayden.

From Mary Louise Donnelly, John Medley (1615-1660):

"An inventory of Robert Cole's estate was made on 8/14/1772 with a value of nearly 445 pounds of sterling. He owned seven slaves and the usual items found on a plantation of that period, and some special items such as a desk, a seal skin trunk and a pair of spectacles and case. When the final account of Robert Cole's estate was made on 11/22/1773 his heirs received nearly 513 pounds of sterling (Acc't 69:205)."

Robert married Ann Greenwell before 1743. Ann (daughter of Thomas Greenwell and Mary Medley) was born about 1730 in St. Mary's County, Maryland; died before 1771. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Like his father, he may have been born in England or northern Ireland. He appears to have worked with his father as a gunsmith in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania from about 1719 to 1741.

In 1719 he is listed in a Conestoga, Pennsylvania tax assessment list as of age; so is his younger brother Samuel. If Samuel was therefore born no later than 1698, 1696 seems a good guess for Caleb.

That he was a son of Robert Baker, gunsmith of Lancaster county, is proved by multiple surviving documents. A good collection of them is here.

"He is referred to as 'Rev. Caleb Baker,' but the writer has found no evidence that he was a minister of the Gospel. Captain Abner Baker, in his 'Life Book,' refers to him as 'a farmer.'" [Joseph D. Eggleston, citation details below.]

"By 1743 there were several Scotch-Irish settlers in the Prince Edward area. The suit of Samuel Wallace vs. Caleb Baker brought a number of neighbors from the Buffaloe Settlement as witnesses for the litigants." [Herbert C. Bradshaw, citation details below.]

Caleb married Martha BrooksLancaster County, Pennsylvania. Martha died between 20 Apr 1759 and 8 May 1759 in Prince Edward County, Virginia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Said to have been a daughter of Rev. John Brooks and Margaret Osbourne.

"Martha (Brooks) Baker's will was made April 20, 1759, and proved May 8 of that year. The inventory of her estate shows 2 Bibles; one Testament; one Papist and Protestant; one Thomson's Explication of the Shorter Catechism; one Thomson's Orphan's Legacy; one Young Man's Companion." [Eggleston, citation details below.]

The Thomson referred to is John Thomson (1690-1753), Presbyterian minister of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Discussing the question of whether Thomson was the author of Orphan's Legacy, his biographer John Goodwin Herndon cites the above inventory of Martha Baker, and notes that "a careful recheck of that inventory shows that the word 'Thomson's' does not appear in the record before Orphans."

Herbert C. Bradshaw's "The Settlement of Prince Edward County" (Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 62:448, 1954) also refers to this inventory, and calls Martha Baker a "daughter" of John Thomson. This is presumably an error. Thomson had a daughter Mary who married a Robert Baker, Jr. (d. 1759) in Lancaster County (possibly a son of PNH ancestor Robert Baker who died in Lancaster County in 1728), and another daughter Elizabeth who married a Samuel Baker (d. 1759); the Rev. Thomson is said to have died in the house of the latter Baker. But there appears to be no proof that Martha Baker, wife of Caleb Baker, whether or not she is the woman whose inventory contained one or more works by the Rev. Thomson, was one of his daughters.

Robert married Elizabeth Tant before 1704 in St. Mary's County, Maryland. Elizabeth (daughter of John Tant and Margaret Bloomfield) was born before 1689 in St. Mary's County, Maryland; died after 1724 in St. Mary's County, Maryland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Abstract of the will of Thomas Greenwell, 11 Mar 1750:

To son Philip.
To dau. Winefret, Negro man Robin.
To dau.-in-law, Anne Riley.
To dau.-in-law, Elizabeth Riley.
To son-in-law, Bennet Riley.
To my three said children in law, each a two-year yearling.
To son George Greenwell, 1s.
To dau. Anne Cole, 1s.
Rest of estate to my children: Philip Greenwell, Anastasia Greenwell, Monica Greenwell, Mary Greenwell and Raphael Greenwell.
Wife Mary Greenwell and Robert Cole, exs.
Wit: Henry Jernegan, Ignatius Greenwell.

Thomas married Mary Medley before 1724 in St. Mary's County, Maryland. Mary (daughter of John Medley and (Unknown first wife of John Medley)) was born about 1700 in St. Mary's County, Maryland; died after 20 Aug 1743 in St. Mary's County, Maryland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

From England (or perhaps northern Ireland), he settled in Lancaster County by about 1719. He was a gunsmith at the confluence of Pequa Creek and the Susquehanna River. Died in 1728, date said to have been 19 September.

Said to have been married to a Susanna Packer. This is almost certainly a mistaken reference to the Susanna Packer who married a Robert Baker of Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1709, herself often said to be a daughter of TNH 7XG-grandparents Philip Packer and Hannah Sessions. The Robert Baker who married this Susanna Packer appears to have lived from 1686 to 1760.

From Arms Makers of Colonial America, citation details below:

Robert Baker acquired 250 acres on Pequa Creek, Mayhill Township, Lancaster County. Robert died intestate. On 17 February 1738, John Cunningham was appointed by the Lancaster County Orphan's Court to administer Robert's estate. On 23 October 1739, he granted the land to Caleb Baker.

From Herbert C. Bradshaw, "The Settlement of Prince Edward County." Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 62:448, 1954:

The second major stream of migration consisted of Scotch-Irish settlers from Pennsylvania. These people, who were Scotch in nationality, had the Irish hyphenated as a result of a sojourn of approximately a century in Northern Ireland. They had been settled there by James I to repopulate a land desolated by the armies of Queen Elizabeth I. There they had prospered until economic discrimination by the English government cut off the market for their goods, and severe depression followed. Many migrated to Pennsylvania, where they settled on the frontier. Indian troubles made life precarious there, so many took again to the weary road and sought a haven in the "back parts" of Virginia.

About 1735 two Scotch-Irish settlements, both under the leadership of John Caldwell, were made in Southside Virginia, one on Cub Creek in Brunswick (now Charlotte) County, the other on Buffalo River in Amelia (now Prince Edward) County. The Scotch-Irish for the most part moved in companies and made their homes in a settlement, for the threefold purpose of mutual protection against the rigors of the wilderness, of maintaining social contacts, and of convenience for religious worship.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 20 Dec 1717, St. Clement's Hundred, St. Mary's County, Maryland
• Alternate death: Bef 3 Mar 1718

Notes:

Planter and householder. Literate. Called "Mr." After the death of his parents when he was five or six, he was raised by his father's friend Luke Gardiner.

His second wife Elizabeth Slye was a daughter of Robert Slye and Susanna Gerard. Susanna Gerard was a daughter of early Maryland immigrant (and Edward I descendant) Dr. Thomas Gerard and his wife Susanna Snow. But more interestingly in connection with American history, Susanna Gerard's second husband, following the death of Robert Slye, was John Coode, one of the three leaders of Maryland's Protestant revolution of 1689 (and also a shadowy and malign figure in John Barth's 1960 novel The Sot-Weed Factor). Susanna's sister Elizabeth Gerard was the wife of Nehemiah Blackiston, another of the leaders of the 1689 uprising, who was a son of regicide judge John Blackiston. Her sister Mary Gerard was the wife of Kenelm Cheseldine, the third of the revolution's leaders. And finally, her sister Frances Gerard was, in the fourth of her five marriages, the third wife of Col. John Washington (1633-1677), great-grandfather of George Washington.

Edward married Honora on 27 Apr 1683 in St. Clement's Hundred, St. Mary's County, Maryland. Honora was born about 1667 in "Strand," St. Mary's County, Maryland; died after 1694. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Between 1696 and 1698, St. Mary's County, Maryland

Notes:

That her last name was Ford is unproven.

Notes:

First recorded in 1673, an immigrant servant; free later that same year. A "taylor" in 1675, a planter by 1676, with one slave, later four slaves and one servant. Dr. Lois Green Carr's records (citation details below) call his wife only "Margaret", but she notes his their household also contained "Patrick Blomfield, son of John Blomfield."

His will of 17 Oct 1702 bequeaths to his son James and heirs, personalty, and also confirms to James and heirs the estate "Dry Dockett". To son Mark at 18, all of his other lands, except if Mark dies without issue, lands to pass to daughters … and "to Japhaele and Maryeena Blumfield and Ellinor Dickins, personalty". Thus another Bloomfield connection to the Tant family.

John married Margaret Bloomfield before 1665 in St. Mary's County, Maryland. Margaret was born between 1651 and 1654; died in 1726 in St. Mary's County, Maryland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Will of James Greenwell, 28 Nov 1709:

To wife Grace, extx., during widowhood, of 200 A., "Pileswood Lane", it being the dwelling place; she to have charge of younger child. until they are 18 yrs. of age. To son John and hrs., residue of land afsd.; he to have charge of child. should wife marry or die. In event of his death without issue, his estate to pass in succession to sons Justinian and Ignatius and hrs., to son Stephen and hrs., son Charles and hrs., and then to 3 sons Henry, Thos. and William and hrs. To sons afsd., personalty.

To son James, 1 shilling in full of his share of estate.

To 3 daus., Mary Heard, Grace Clarke and Jane (Greenwell), at 18 yrs., personalty.

Test: Jo. Mason, Henry Taylor, James Gough, Peter Gahart.

James married Grace Taylor before 1677. Grace (daughter of Henry Taylor and Mary) died between 30 Nov 1737 and 5 Mar 1739. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Will of Grace Taylor Greenwell Galley:



Galley, Grace, widow, St. Mary's Co., 31st Nov., 1737; 5th Mar., 1739.

To sons Charles, Henry, Justiman, Thomas and John Greenwell, dau.-in-law Mary, wife of Charles, dau. Grace, wife of Michael Rayley, Jr., grand-daus., child. of sons Stephen, Henry, Charles and Thomas Greenwell, to daus. of Jane Norris, wife of Thomas, and to dau. Mary, wife of John Heard, personalty.

Testatrix desires to be buried with her husbands and child. on her plantation.

Ex.: Son Stephen.

Test: William Stone, Jr., John Greenwell, Thomas Gordan.

Notes:

Will of John Medley:

In the name of God Amen, I JOHN MEDLEY, SR. of St. Mary's County in the province Maryland being in health of body and of sound and perfect mind and memory praise therefore give unto almighty God for the same, do make and ordain this my Last Will and Testament in manner and form following that is to say -- first, and principally I commend my Soul into the hands of almighty hoping through the merits of [illegible] and passion of my Saviour Jesus Christ to have full and [illegible] and forgiveness of all my sins and to inherit Everlasting Life and my body I commit to the Earth to be decently buried at the discretion of my Executors, hereafter named and as touching the disposition of all my [illegible] Temporal Estate as it hath pleased almighty God to bestow upon me I give and dispose thereof as follows 1st First I will that my Just debts and funeral charges shall be paid and discharged -- Item I give and bequeath unto Thomas Greenwell my son in Law, all that parcel of Land whereon he now Lives, during his natural Life, and after his decease, I give and bequeath, the said Land with all its appurtenances unto my grandson, GEORGE GREENWELL, and the male heirs of his body Lawfully begotten from him and for want of such heirs, then to JAMES MEDLEY, Son of JAMES MEDLEY, and his heirs forever Item I give and bequeath unto my son JOHN MEDLEY one shilling sterling in full of his part of my Estate, Item I give and bequeath unto my son GEORGE MEDLEY heirs and the rest of his children, one shilling sterling in full of their part of my Estate -- Item I give and bequeath unto my son WILLIAM MEDLEY one shilling sterling in full of his part of my Estate Item I give and bequeath unto my son THOMAS MEDLEY one Shilling Sterling it being in full of his part of my Estates Item I give and bequeath unto my Son JAMES MEDLEY one shilling sterling it being in full of his part of my Estate. Item I give and bequeath unto the heirs of my daughter MARY one Shilling Sterling it being in full of their part of my Estate, Item I give and bequeath unto my Daughter ANN COLE, one feather bed and that being in full of her part of my Estate Item I give and bequeath unto my Loving wife, Sarah Medley, one third part of all my personal Estate, and all the Rest and Residue of my personal Estate goods Chattles, whatsoever I so give and bequeath unto my three children CLEMENT JANE and HENRIETTA MEDLEY and their heirs forever -- and I do hereby appoint, my Loving wife Sarah Medley and Loving Son CLEMENT MEDLEY my whole and sole Executor and Executrix of this my Last Will and Testament and I do hereby Revoke disallow and declare void all former wills and Testaments by me heretofore made -- In witness whereof I the said JOHN MEDLEY to this my Last Will have hereunto set my hand seal, this second Day of December, one thousand seven hundred and forty three.

[Signed in the presence of Thomas Waughop, Enoch Combs, and Cornelius Manning.]

John married (Unknown first wife of John Medley). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Said, without proof, to have been Ann Ford.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 1663
• Alternate death: Bef Sep 1663

Notes:

He emigrated from (probably) Heston, Middlesex to Maryland 1652 with his wife, four children, and two servants. He died in London during a business trip back there. He was literate, and Roman Catholic. He held minor offices such as manor court juror and from 1658 on he was sometimes referred to as "Mr."

His Maryland plantation is the subject of a book-length study, Robert Cole's World: Agriculture & Society in Early Maryland by Lois Green Carr, Russell R. Menard, and Lorena S. Walsh (Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 1991).

He called his fellow Maryland immigrant Benjamin Gill "kinsman" and was an executor of Gill's estate. Gill's wife Mary (Ann Maria) was a daughter of the recusant Oliver Mainwaring (d. 1631) and his royally-descended wife Margaret Torbock. Joan or Jane Mainwaring, a sister of Mary's, may have been the Joan/Jane who married a Thomas Cole in Heston, Middlesex; this has led to a hypothesis (here, here, and here) that the settler was a son of that Joan and Thomas, but there appears to be no proof that this was the case. And yet we note that Robert Cole's grandson Edward Cole (d. 1762) married Ann Neale, a great-granddaughter of Benjamin Gill and Mary Mainwaring -- and also that the second wife of Edward Cole (1657-1717), son of this Robert and father of the aforementioned Edward, was Elizabeth Slye, a granddaughter of the royally-descended Maryland immigrant Thomas Gerard. All of which fuels a certain suspicion that, even if Robert and his son Edward called themselves "yeomen", the family had non-trivial connections to fellow Roman Catholics of higher social rank.

Carr, Menard, and Walsh (citation details below) believe that his parents were William and Joan/Jane Cole of Heston. A Robert Cole is recorded as baptised 15 Nov 1629 at St. Margaret, Westminster, son of William Cole. Another Robert Cole, also the son of a William, is recorded baptised in London, at St. Giles without Cripplegate, on 28 Aug 1629. Mary Ellen Donnelly (citation details below) believes his parents were Thomas Cole of Lampton, Middlesex, baptized 15 Dec 1594, and Jane Hanckes of Middlesex. The fact that Robert Cole's will mentions his "couzen" Henry Hanks lends some credence to this latter theory.

There is a 1662 burial in the records of the parish of St. Leonard's in Heston (now part of the London borough of Hounslow) which may well refer to the burial of our Robert Cole. Incorrectly recorded in several places as dated 16 August 1662, it is actually dated 17 August of that year. It reads "Augusti 17 sepultus Robertus Cole filius", followed on the same line by a long blank spot and then some very hard-to-read further letters. The first chunk probably says "Cole" and the rest, while very hard to make out on its own, matches closely in overall shape with other inscriptions on the same ledger that say "di Hounslow". So it looks like what the inscription says is "On August 17, Robert Cole, son of _____ Cole of Hounslow, was buried."

Ultimately, though, this adds little to our knowledge of the indentity of the father of the emigrant Robert Cole, except that he may well have been from Hounslow. Heston, associated in several ways with our Robert Cole, is part of Hounslow. The William and Jane Cole asserted by Carr, Menard, and Walsh as his parents were of Heston, and certainly our Robert referred in his will to "my Loving mother Mrs Jone Cole of heston in the County of Middlesex." Two Jone Coles, both identified as widows, are assessed for three or four hearths in the Heston hearth tax records of 1664. Additionally, the Thomas Cole claimed by others as Robert's father was probably from Lampton, which has been part of Hounslow at least some of the time over the centuries. And "Jana wife of Thomas Cole of Heston yeoman" appears on the same recusant roll (#20--E377/31, 1622-23) as "Benjamin Gill of St. Andrew Holborn, Middlesex, chandler" and "Mary his wife."

Robert married Rebecca between 1649 and 1652. Rebecca died about Mar 1662. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 1663

Notes:

She was the widow of a man named Knott, possibly named John or Francis.

She appears to have been related to Richard Sheppey. Archives of Maryland 41:242: "Capt Nicholas Gwyther Sayth upon oath, that the last yeare coming to New Towne, att the request of Capt cornewaleys understanding that Richard Sheppey lyued att ROBT COLES (his kinsman by marriage) Hee told the sd ROBT COLE, that rich: Sheppey was indebted to Capt Crnewaleys in the summe of 1000 lbs Tob. & if soe bee hee would come to Capt Cornewaleys & take some course with him about it, & pay it, hee would forbeare his till next yeare; not speaking to Rich: Sheppey att all, & ROBT COLE promised this Depont to goe downe to the sd Capt Cornewaleys about it."

Notes:

He was not a passenger on the Ark or the Dove, despite many online claims to the contrary. He first appears in the archives of Maryland on 1 Feb 1642, when Edward Hall sued John Langford, Esq., for a flockbed and a rug, purportedly used by John Greenwell near Piney Neck. He appears to have been in his teens and indentured as a manservant to Edward Hall, an indenture that was over by 1650. The frequent claim that he returned to England to marry his first wife Mary on 22 Jun 1650 cannot be entirely true, since on 19 June of that year he gave testimony in a case involving a cattle brand, incidentally stating his age to be 25. (Archives of Maryland, volume 10, page 29.)

His page on Wikitree claims that he was born 30 Mar 1625 in Durham, England, a son of William Greenwell and Elizabeth Powell, but we aware of no proof for this, or any evidence whatsoever for Durham origins.

Below is his will, dated 27 Mar 1658. After his death, Walter Hall testified that John Greenwell wrote his will "2 or 3 dayes before hee dyed."

Will of John Greenwell, from volume 41 of the Maryland archives, page 43:

In the name of God Amen. I John Greenewell of New-Towne in the Prouince of Maryland, being very sick of Body, but in perfect memory (thanks bee gyuen to Allmighty God) doe make & ordaine this my last will & Testamt as followeth. Impe I bequeath my Soule to Allmty god my Creatoe & Redeemer; And my Body to the earth, to be decently buryed.

It. I giue unto my louing Sonne James Greenewell (whom I make my Exequutoe after my debts & funerall charges are payd) all my whole Estate, Except these following Legacyes.

I giue unto my louing Wife Bridgett Greenewell all her wearing cloathes her bed & furniture; halfe the stock of hoggs; halfe the Steeres & fewer Cowes. And the managing of the whole Estate untill my Sonne comes of Age. If my Ouerseers shall soe thinke fitt.

It. I giue unto my God-daughter Anna Warren a Cow calfe.

It. I giue unto Mr fritz herbert a hogshead of Tob. in testimony That I dye a Roman Catholique.

It. I make & ordaine my two loving freinds Capt Willm Euans & Mr James Langworth to bee Ourseers to my Child, And in case my Child dye before he comes to age.

I give unto the Ouerseers One third part of his Estate betwixt them, And the rest to be disposed of to pious uses: as for the releife of poore Catholique Children & the like.

In wittnes tht this is my last will & testamt I haue hereunto sett my hand.

March the 27th 1658.

John Greenewell
In the presence of his marke
Walter Hall
John Shirtcliffe
his marke.
Thomas Bankes.

John married Mary before 1651. Mary died after 20 Mar 1652. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Abt 1652

Notes:

Said to have been Mary Knowland, but this is evidently unproven.

Her last appearance in surviving Maryland records is on 20 Mar 1651/2, when she testified in the case of James Langworth and Robert Clarke, who were charged with the murder of Philip Anther. She testified that the pistol that killed Anther had misfired earlier that same day, when she jostled it while going about her daily chores. Both defendants were eventually acquitted.

Notes:

He was transported from Virginia to Maryland in 1667 along with his wife Mary and his daughter Grace. We are unaware of any evidence for his purported origins in Warrington, Lancashire.

From http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mrmarsha&id=I039964:

Henry Taylor Sr (will dated 3/27/1698, will probated 3/8/1700 St Mary's County) & his 1st wife, Mary.

A tailor, Henry, Mary & dau, Grace, immigrated into service 1667 St Mary's County. Others mentioned in Henry Taylor Will were "sons Henry, John, William, Thomas & James Taylor (plantation), dau Grace Greenwell & wife (unnamed)."

Henry Taylor's 2nd wife was Faith Campbell, daughter of John Campbell of Poplar Hill.

*****

Henry Taylor of St Mary's service 1667 ABH11 f108, patents.
"Henry Taylor proves right to 150 acres & warrant. Came forth Henry Taylor of St Mary's Co., tailor, and proved right as well to fifty acres of land for his time of service performed and also 100 cares more for the transport of Mary his wife, & Grace his child."

Henry married Mary. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 1 May 1695, St. Mary's County, Maryland

Notes:

Regarding his year of birth, Donnelly in John Medley (1615-1660) notes "Age 26 in 1679 ARCHIVES OF MARYLAND 51:269-271, which also states he was a son of JOHN MEDLEY dec'd."

William married Ann Reynolds. Ann (daughter of George Reynolds and Dorothy) died before 1702. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]