Day 92

Tonight I am back in Chambersburg where I was near the beginning of this trip. The weather has changed from summer to fall but the welcome at John and Muriel's is always warm.

I left Philadelphia about 8am and, thanks to Dave's good directions drove the rural route to Lancaster. I spent about four hours at the county historical society tracing down tantalizing snippets on Kennedeys and Robinsons (part of the Atkinson line). Both families moved through the area and there are numerous "cousins" of both families who lived and stayed in the area. However, no luck nailing down the two individuals for whom I was searching.

Thanks to the knowledgeable research librarian, we did find the following:

1. The ship passenger list with Evert in den Hoffen from Muhlheim and his four children (see yesterday's blog). They arrived in Pennsylvania in 1700 on the Ausland-deutsche Sippenkunde (name of the ship).

The next two items are for Brad - enjoy and Happy Birthday!

2. The Revolutionary War pension application for General Thomas Kennedy. From it we learn that he grew up in Burke County (which narrows the search from early Rowen County) North Carolina . He entered service in NC in 1775 and was appointed Captain of Dragoons and served in this capacity for two tours of three months each. After his return home he was captured by Colonels Fanning and Elrod of the British army, was paroled and exchanged the next spring. He then served six months under General McDowell, was with Major Rutherford at Ramsour's Mill where he was wounded in the leg, spent another six months under General McDowell and was in the battles of Cane Creek and King's Mountain; and finally another six months where he was in battle a Hampton, SC. He applied for his pension in 1832 at age 76 and died four years later.

3. The Revolutionary War pension application for Joseph Kennedy - Thomas' brother. He enlisted in Jan/Feb 1777 and until October served as an Indian spy and Guard under Captain Daniel Boone. He was in engagements with the Indians near Boonesborough, KY in March and April 1777 during which he was wounded three times. He then went to Charlotte Co, NC in the fall of 1777 where he served 2 months as a substitute for his uncle Joseph Kennedy. He returned to Kentucky in the spring of 1779 and served as Indian spy and guard at Logan's Fort. In May/June of that year he enlisted in Capt. Hugh McGary's Co, joined General George Rogers Clarke at Post Vincennes and served another 2 months.

In the spring of 1780, at Kennedy's station, he was appointed ensign in his brother's (Capt. John Kennedy's) Company and was engaged in defending that Station and the surrounding country. In the summer of 1780 he joined Gen. George Rogers Clarke in his expedition against the Shawnee Indians. On Dec. 26, 1780 he was captured by the Indians at Cumberland Mountain and imprisoned in Fort Augusta, GA until it was taken in the summer of 1781. He continued to occasionally fight the Indians and in 1786 commanded a company again under Gen. Clarke. He was given his pension in 1832 at the age of 72.

Day 91

That great story I told you about the DeHavens last Friday - forget it. The man (PhD or not) who wrote the book in 1912 skated around a lot of details and settled on writing a nice fable rather than researching his information.

I arrived at the Montgomery County Historical Socity at 9:15 this morning. By 9:30, I had 6" of manila folders full of DeHaven materials to read. In the first packet was a five page dissertaion on why Mr. Ross's book was inadequate and undocumented. His information didn't align with tax records, probates, census data, or land deeds. Mr. Ross was correct in that DeHavens came to Montgomery County, PA and he spelled the name correctly but the loan to the US government came from a DeHaven brother-in-law (a Hughes) not from the modest DeHaven coffers. So here is the well-documented scoop (should have known the first attempt was too easy).

Everet in der Hoffan/Hoof came to Germantown, Philadelphia in 1698 from Mulheim/Ruhr - Northrhine/Westphalia. With him came his wife Elizabeth Schlphower (Lisebiet Schibbauerr) and four sons - Gehard, Herman, Peter, and William and dauhter Annecken. They came from the same town in Westphalia as the founder of Germantown. The in den Hoffs were farmers and laborers (cordwainers, weavers, tanners) of modest means. As the family learned English, the surname was variously spelled - In ten Hoffe, inden Hoven and finally, dropping the "in" - DeHaven. In 1710, Everet purchased land about 30 miles out in Whitpain township, Montgomery County and moved to the country.

Son Peter and his first wife Sidonia Levering had - yes - 12 children. The eldest was Edward. On many of the family charts, Edward is simply listed as "born 1712" and "settled in Kentucky" (the chart I saw last Friday and several more today). However, tax records have Edward living in Whitpain Township in 1760 with his wife Margaret and six children. I have eliminated other Edwards in the third generation. Gerhard had a son Edward but he died about the same time as his father and had no children. Herman also had a son Edward but Herman died in 1752 - five years before our Kentucky Edward was born so Herman's Edward would have been significantly too old to fit the known timeframe. I can find no Edwards at all in generation 4.

What I hope to find is that Edward (b. 1712) is the father of Edward (b. 1757 in PA) and is one of the six children noted on the tax rolls. (They were not listed in any document I read during my 7 hours.) I believe it is this Edward Jr. who (hopefully) moved to Westmoreland Co.,PA (my Thursday destination), married Rebecca Johnson/Johnston and move to Kentucky. More on the saga as the week progresses.

The photo is of the commemorative gravestone for Peter DeHaven (7 g grandfather - we hope). His grave and that of his 2nd wife are in the Broehm's Reformed Church Cemetery in Blue Bell, PA. The old gravestones are virtually impossible to read.

Day 90 - again

I don't know why I can't keep the days numbered correctly but here we are at #90 again.

More work on grants this morning and then we went to lunch with Louise's mother. She is delightful and her retirement center has a wonderful brunch with breakfast and hot supper items plus killer desserts. David spent significant time trying to tempt me with the chocolate chocolate cake/mousse confection, the apple pie with caramel and the individual chocolates. I had one chocolate and felt virtuous but another 5 minutes and I would have fought him with my fork for the apple pie. Besides food we had good conversation and much discussion about Pen State's new hockey team. I can see I need to invest more time in the sports realm. I am behind.

The afternoon, for me, was spent doing genealogical research. I think both the Sterretts and Kennedy's came from Scotland/Ireland to Pennsylvania before moving south west to the Shenandoah valley of Virginia. I hope to find more data this week. Since I am moving west, I will spend Tuesday and Wednesday nights with Muriel and David. John is off to Lexington, KY (as are mom and Liz) for the World Equestrian Games. I gave them a bye this year. :-)

Tomorrow - Montgomery and Buck counties.

Day 90

It truly was a spectacular fall day. The leaves are turning colors already and the temperature was in the 70s. David went off to opera rehearsals so Louise and I motored north to a wild flower sale and preserve to look at plants for their yard. She and David are so knowledgeable. They recognize the various strains and know just what is needed to attract butterflies, bees, and birds at various times of the year. I looked on and held plants while Louise made choices and discussed her plans with various naturalists. We then took a long walk through a woods of tall oaks, hickories, beeches and other trees I couldn't identify. Just perfect - now if I just didn't huff and puff going up hill!

A quick alfresco lunch and we were off to the Moravian Tile Works. This factory was founded 100+ years ago in Bucks County. Of course the rolling green countryside studded with horse farms and woodlands made the trip a delight. The tile factory was very interesting. Set in a poured concrete building in a Spanish cloister style, the factory retains the old methods of stamping and forming clay tiles. They have a wonderful "mosaic" style which actually resembles stain glass work except in clay to make medallions and pictures. Very nice and a bit pricey but they would add color to the outside of a home or against a plain wall. Home again and then the three of us headed for dinner at an Indian restaurant. Yummy food of which I ate too much.

This evening I finalized my plans for the next couple of days in Pennsylvania and then my route through Virginia over the next couple of weeks. I have a lot of territory to cover and a lot of people to find in the 1730-1800 time period. I will try to finish grants tomorrow so I can hit the ground running on Monday.

Day 89

I began my morning with an hour of grant writing and ended the afternoon on a conference call with a client standing in the middle of the sidewalk in downtown Philadelphia. In between I conquered the train system and spent six hours at the Pennsylvania Historical Society. Did you know it was constitution day? The society has one of six drafts of the US Constitution and it was on display. An unexpected bonus.

During the first hour I found the information I was looking for on Edward DeHaven (a 5 g grandfather on the Bowmer side). Jacob DeHaven came to the US between 1750 and 1755 with his 3 brothers - Edward, Samuel and Peter. (Gregor - this is for you) They came from the France-Germany border (probably Hugenots) and were wealthy vintners. According to one source, the DeHavens always had specie (paper money) in bags around the house. They owned large pieces of property as well as sailing vessels that operated between the American colonies and the West Indies. They established tanneries at various locations for making leather goods, bringing expert tanners from France to work for them.

Jacob, during the Revolutionary War, heeded the plea by General Washington for funds to provision the Continental Army. He lent the government $450,000 - about $4 million in current dollars. His brother Peter became a manufacturer of gun powder and provisioned the army as well as donating supplies and equipment. Both these brothers stayed in the Montgomery County area of Pennsylvania. Jacob had sons, one of which died in infancy and one who died in the Battle of Germantown. Peter was prolific and had 8 or more children.

Samuel moved to Virginia to raise his family. Edward moved to Kentucky but not before having the Edward DeHaven - the last name we had on our family chart. I still have to verify all the connections most of which I can't do until I get to Kentucky. I will head to Montgomery County Monday to see if they have any tidbits.

Day 88

The day was spent at the computer. One grant is 95% complete. The other about 65%. Making progress but budgets are always onerous.

This evening was spent sifting through genealogy trying to figure out the best way to tackle the obscure Pennsylvania information I have. As much as I would like to head to the countryside, I think my best bet is at the PA Historical Society. With Louise's help, I am armed with maps and schedules so I can tackle the train in the morning. By tomorrow night, hopefully I will be the veteran of another big city transit system and full of details on De Havens and Stephens relatives.

Meanwhile, today I had a lovely walk in the woods before breakfast and lunch in the sun on the back porch. Tomorrow - concrete and traffic - joy!.

Day 87

A quick update tonight. I left Red Bank this morning making my way to Philadelphia. Found a nice open parking lot at 11am so I could participate in a conference call for work. As I made my way south of Trenton, the land changed from rolling hills to flat tidal plains. Up and over a large bridge (at least it had high sides) and into Philadelphia about 1pm.

I actually found my way downtown to check out the Genealogical Society. The staff were very nice but could not provide much help. All their microfilm and files have been moved to the PA historical society. We all noticed that I don't have too many names or specific locations for Pennsylvania so it may be a bit of a lost cause. I will focus on the DeHavens and Stephens since I have some specifics on them. On the schedules is Montgomery County (just NW of here) and the Dave museum on Revolutionary War activities over the the next couple of days as well as the Historical Society.

Meanwhile, I took a walking tour of Germantown, enjoying the 18th century architecture and warm sun before heading to David and Louise Tukey's. They have a lovely home on 3/4 of land. The front of the house slopes to the street but the back of the house is the treasure. They have filled it with trees and shrubs adding to the large Chestnut already ensconced and made a wonderful city hideaway. It will be a very pleasant place to stay. Great conversations catching up with these cousins over dinner on the back porch.

Tomorrow I must work on grants. The blog is doomed to banality.