Moses Packer

Notes:

Both John A. Freestone and Donna Smith Packer give Moses Packer's mother as Ann Phipps, but Packer researcher Warren Packer says: "In a paper left by Jonathan Taylor Packer, the name of the mother of Moses Packer is given as Margaret. Descendants of Jesse Packer, a brother of Moses, say that the mother of Jesse was Mary Ann Phipps. Records show that Aaron Packer, father of Moses, married Ann Phipps; but we have not been able to find out with certainty the name of Moses' mother."

*****

There's a photograph of a man in a large top hat that is in wide circulation on the internet as an image of Moses Packer. Dozens of copies of it can be found attached to Moses Packer on ancestry.com, geni.com, etc. It also appears in at least one Packer family history volume published by a relative of TNH. Do a Google image search on "Moses Packer" and you'll find it immediately.

Those who believe that this man is Moses Packer should contemplate the fact that the first photographic portraits of human beings were made in 1839. Moses Packer died in 1830.

*****

Common ancestor of TNH and Jeff Flake, former senator from Arizona and Ambassador-to-Turkey-designate, making then fifth cousins:

Moses Packer (1764-1830) = Eve Williams (d. ~1837)
William Hamilton Packer (1815-1875) = Sarah Briggs Allen (1835-1920)
William Ezra Packer (1868-1932) = Emma Elizabeth Foutz (1869-1947)
Joseph Alma Packer (1890-1954) = Blanche Standing (1892-1954)
Wilma Packer (1915-1974) = Leon Almond Hock (1913-1973)
Nerita Hock (b. 1937) = Dean Maeser Flake (b. 1931)
Jeffry Lane Flake (b. 1962)

Moses married Eve Williams about 1791 in Fayette, Pennsylvania. Eve (daughter of Abraham Williams and Sarah) died after 9 Jul 1837. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Jonathan Taylor Packer was born on 26 Jul 1817 in Perry Township, Richland, Ohio; died on 29 Jan 1889 in Safford, Graham, Arizona; was buried in Safford Cemetery, Graham, Arizona.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1732, Uwchlan, Chester, Pennsylvania

Notes:

Revolutionary War, enlisted 13 Mar 1776, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in Captain John Reed's Company of the Fourth Battalion, commanded by Col. James Burd, Esq.

"'On the 15th of June 1752, an item in the minutes of the Uwchlan Monthly Meeting complained about Aaron Packer imitating, singing and dancing in public for which he made acknowledgement.' The Pikeland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, tax list for 1756 has Aaron Packer as a single freeman. He is also on the tax lists for 1757 and 1758. Aaron continued to attend the Friends meetings four miles south in Uwchlan Township. We find 'on 7 March 1760 in the Uwchlan Monthly Meeting Aaron was disowned by the Society of Friends.' The record did not state why he was disowned -- could he have been singing and dancing again? In 1762 and 1763 Aaron paid taxes in Uwchlan." [On Footings From the Past: The Packers in England]

Notes:

He was a miller. "When Philip approached eighty he had white hair and walked with two staves, having had his back injured in a fall in a sawmill." [On Footings From the Past]

Philip married Anne Coates in 1724 in Chester, Pennsylvania. Anne (daughter of Peter Coates) was born in 1699 in Dublin, Ireland; died in 1785 in Pikeland, Chester, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

According to various family trees on ancestry.com, the Coateses emigrated from Ireland due to religious differences. The notes we've seen say they were "Antibaptists," by which we suspect they mean Anabaptists.

From Descendants of Thomas Packer, quoting a letter from family researcher Warren Packer of Evansville, Indiana, dated 27 Feb 1958: "We do know that Philip Jr. was Hannah's son. Philip Packer Jr., was born 1686 in Pa. He married in 1724 in Chester Co., Pa. to Ann Coates, daughter. of Peter Coates. She was born in Ireland, and the family came to America as the result of the 'war' against Protestants in Ireland. The Coates family was Antibaptist."

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 1740, Burlington, Burlington, New Jersey

Notes:

Emigrated to Philadelphia on the Lion of Liverpool, 1683, as an indentured servant to Joseph Fisher of Dublin, Ireland. [On Footings From the Past: The Packers in England, citation details below.]

According to http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Packer-39, Philip Packer was "given his freedom on August 14, 1687. In 1689 he was a yeoman of Philadelphia, and was appointed as the administrator of his mother-in-law Ann Sessions, September 10, 1689." This source also says that Packer and Fisher arrived in Philadelphia on August 14, 1683.

And from http://www.maslandtech.com/familytree/images/Sharp/packer.pdf, quoting a letter from family researcher Warren Packer of Evansville, Indiana, dated 27 Feb 1958: "Philip Packer arrived in Philadelphia on the Lion of Liverpool on 14 August 1683 as an indentured servant of Joseph Fisher. He had four years to serve and was to receive 50 acres of land but no money at the end of his indenture. The Fishers were from Stillgorin, near Dublin, Ireland but we think that Philip was from England. Two years later, 10 Sept 1685, Philip married in the house of Joseph Fisher in Philadelphia to Hannah Sessions, who was born 11 June 1665 in Oxfordshire, England. Her parents, James and Ann Sessions, were members of the Friends Meeting at Witney, Oxfordshire, before coming to America. The next record of Philip Packer that we find was 10 Sept, 1689 when he was a yeoman of Philadelphia County. He was appointed administrator of the estate of his mother in law, Ann Sessions."

Philip married Hannah Sessions on 10 Nov 1685. Hannah (daughter of James Sessions and Ann) was born on 11 Jun 1665 in Witney, Oxfordshire, England; died about 1689. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 11 Jun 1665, Milton, Oxfordshire, England

Notes:

"Philip married Hannah Sessions, a member of the Society of Friends, at the [Joseph] Fisher home in Philadelphia." [On Footings From the Past: The Packers in England]

From "Certificates of Removal Received at Philadelphia Monthly Meetings of Friends, 1682-1750," in The Literary Era: A Monthly Repository of Literary and Miscellaneous Information, volume 7, 1900, pp. 52-53:

James Sessions, from Mo. Mtg. at Witney [England], dated 5 mo. 10, 1682.

Hannah Sessions, from Witney, dated 2 mo. 10, 1682.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 10 Sep 1689

Notes:

From "Certificates of Removal Received at Philadelphia Monthly Meetings of Friends, 1682-1750," in The Literary Era: A Monthly Repository of Literary and Miscellaneous Information, volume 7, 1900, pp. 52-53:

James Sessions, from Mo. Mtg. at Witney [England], dated 5 mo. 10, 1682.

Hannah Sessions, from Witney, dated 2 mo. 10, 1682.

James married Ann. Ann was born in of Witney, Oxfordshire, England; died after 1681. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]