John & Paige's Genealogy Home Page

Eras: [ Since 1650 ] [ 1534 - 1766 ] [ 1395 - 1687 ] [ 1322 - 1543 ] [ before 1420 ]

Some background on the ancestors of the eight great-grandparents

Ancestors of James Boyd McDowell Surnames included in this family are: McDowell, Gettys (or Getteys), Carlile, Finney, Glenn, Henderson, Loughead, McKean, and Mease (or Meas). The McDowell line is almost completely Scottish and Scotch-Irish. The earliest immigrants from these families arrived in America in the early- and mid- 1700's. They settled in and around Chester County, Pennsylvania and the greater Philadelphia area. Virtually all of them were Presbyterians and were very fanatic patriots during the American Revolution. Several of these ancestors fought in the county, state, or colonial armies as did many of their brothers and cousins. Cousins and siblings include a governor of Pennsylvania and signer of the declaration of independence, and many colonial legislators and administrators. There are several other McDowell families that emigrated from Northern Ireland to the Philadelphia area, including the Ephraim McDowell family that moved to Virginia, and the Alexander McDowell family that stayed in Pennsylvania but we've been unable to prove a connection to our Capt. James McDowell who emigrated from County Londonderry in 1760 to Philadelphia/Chester County. If a connection exists, it might go back to Scotland. Allegedly, the earliest of our McDowells were two brothers, John and James McDowell, who emigrated from Edinburgh to Northern Ireland "in the time of the Ulster Plantation". James' family ran a tavern in Tobermore and John's family were tenant farmers between Tobermore and Cluny. John had two sons, John and James and the second John is the father of our Capt. James McDowell, born in 1742. Realistically, this means that the two McDowell brothers probably left Edinburgh in the late 1600's or early 1700's (the Plantation of Ulster started in 1610/11, 132 years before James' birth, at least a couple generations prior to his grandfather's arrival in Ireland). Pennsylvania Governor (and signer of the Declaration of Independence) Thomas McKean was a cousin. Ancestors of Elizabeth Meredith Hall Surnames included in this family are: Hall, Rankin, Achelley, Coppenheffer, Batdorf, Bennett, Buffington, Cope, Davenport, Evans, Feg, Fincher, Haffner, Herber, Jones, McElwee, Risch, Stafford, Stanfield, Taylor, Walborn, and Zinn. The Halls and related ancestral families were mostly English and Welsh, with a few Scotch-Irish. Many arrived in America in the mid-to-late 1600's though some arrived in the early 1700's. In America, most of these families lived in the area where Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware come together though some lived in New Jersey and others in the south-central counties of Pennsylvania. They arrived in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York. All of these American settlers were Protestants and many were Quakers; at least two of these Quaker families (Mendenhalls and Buffingtons) also appear in the Pusey and Simmons family trees and it is possible that Thomassine Maindonail (an ancestor of Arthur Willson) is related to the Mendenhalls. As Quakers, most of these ancestors did not participate in the American Revolution. One ancestor, James Rankin, a member of the Provincial Assembly, declared his loyalty to sovereign, King George III in the summer of 1776 and was forced to flee later that year to Long Island and then back to Englad. Though his children and wife remained in America, his lands in York County, Pennsylvania were expropriated in December, 1776 for 'treason'. The new Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was not formally created as a sovereign body over those lands until January, 1777, so a question was raised by his heirs in a mid-19th century lawsuit seeking compensation for those lands: "How could James Rankin be disloyal to an as-yet nonexistent state?" The Coppenheffers and their ancestors are a very interesting line. They descend from Protestants living in the region where Switzerland, France, and Germany come together. Suffering from the 30-Years War, they emigrated through Amsterdam, to England, and then to New York before traveling down the Susquehanna River valley to Berks County, Pa. Other than the Broases who have Dutch blood, these are our only non-Anglo/Celtic/Norman ancestors. According to Mary Elizabeth McDowell (Whitaker-Jamar) (1852 - 1926), "a tradition in the family is that Grandfather Levi Hall's family was sent to New Jersey as 1st High Sheriff by King George II - Grandfather used to say that his ancestors did not come to America as emigrants or squatters, but were sent by the King George II & came with a large retinue." A few of the Quaker families were relatively well-to-do in England and arrived with servants but most were simple farmers, emigrating along with a more powerful/wealthier family. Ancestors of Edward Pusey Surnames included in this family are: Pusey, Mendenhall, Baker, Barnard, Bickombe, Bowater, Corbet, Cross, De Westbury, Dench, Gilpin, Glover, Hill, Hone, Hopton, Hyandson, Ingersoll, Knight, Lea, Leversedge, Lewis, Marsh, Newlin, Okle, Paggett, Palmer, Pennell, Pritchett, Smythes, Strode, Upton, Weldon, Whiting, Williamson, Wilson, and Yarnall. The Puseys and related families arrived in America in the mid 1600's to early 1700's. Virtually all of these families were Quakers from England and Wales. Their descendants are quite numerous and thoroughly scattered throughout the United States and Canada. As Quakers, these families did not fight in the American Revolution and in fact suffered for their non-participation. Edward Pusey descended from William Pusey and Elizabeth Bowater. There were at least two major Pusey families to emigrate to America, William, his brother (or possibly cousin) Caleb, and their uncle Caleb who arrived in Wilmington in the late 1600's/early 1700's and settled in the Chester County, Pennsylvania area, and another Pusey who arrived in Virginia whose descendants removed to the DelMarVa peninsula. The Wilmington/Chester County Puseys have scattered across the country but many remained in southeast Pennsylvania through the early 20th century. During the 19th century, Edward's family owned and operated several cotton and textile mills in New Castle County, Delaware and Chester County, Pennsylvania. Richard Milhous Nixon is a very distant cousin (through his mother, he descended from Benjamin Mendenhall and Ann Pennell). Ancestors of Mary Ella Simmons Surnames included in this family are: Simmons, Bancroft, Bushell, Byffen, Duck, Dunbobbin, Glancy, Green, Harlan (and Harland), Heald, Maspratt, Pringle, Pyle, Shaw, Steward, Webb, and Withers. The Simmonses and related families are virtually all Quakers who arrived from England. They settled in the greater Philadelphia area, especially Wilmington and New Castle County, Delaware and Chester County, Pennsylvania. As Quakers, these families mostly sat on the sidelines during the American Revolution, however Joshua Simmons' obituary states that he was descended from General Nathaniel Greene. Nathaniel Greene was a Quaker, but that may have been wishful thinking. Ancestors of Henry Clay Broas I don't know any family names in this line other than Broas. Henry Broas' granddaughter, Dorothy Willson Broas, used to say that the family name in 'Holland' was van Broszen (my spelling). The Broases probably emigrated to New York in the 17th or 18th centuries, possibly to New Amsterdam (New York City). Our Broases lived in the Fishkill or Poughkeepsie areas in the late 1700's to mid-1800's and were living in New York City in the latter half of the 19th century. Nothing is known about their participation in the American Revolution, but Henry Clay Broas fought in the Civil War, serving under Gen. George Custer, among others. Ancestors of Mary Augusta Morey Surnames included in this family are: Morey (and Mowry), Allen, Anthony, Farley, Goodrich, Greene, Hazard, Heath, Johnson, Latting, Potter, Swift, and Tattershall. These families were all English Protestants and arrived in America in the early to late 1600's. Roger Mowry was one of the founders of Rhode Island along with Roger Williams. Ancestors of Arthur L. Willson Surnames included in this family are: Willson, Ackronden, Alsop, Alton, Arms, Arnold, Barlow, Batte, Belden (Baildon or Bayldon), Beeston, Berchard, Bold, Bradley, Bradshaigh (Bradshagh), Browne, Budd, Bulkeley, Burton, Calveley, Carpenter, Cargrave, Castile, Charlton, Chasmore, Clopton, Comstock, Convin, Daniel, Davenport, Daylson, De Beauchamps, De Bohun, De Brereton, De Bunbury, De Bures, De Clare, De Erdington, De Ferrers, De Gaveston, De Lacy, De Muscegros, De Oriby, De Patshull, De St. Pierre, De Umfreville, Dean (Deane), Delgson, Donne, Erdington, Feake, Ferris, Fisher, Fitzaer, Folkingham, Fones, Foote, Fouaschin, Fowler, Francis, Gamage (Gammage), Goodrick, Goody, Gregory, Grosvenor, Gulley, Handford, Havilland (de Haveilland), Hellesby, Hicks, Hill, Holland, Hoyt (Haight), Husted, Hyelston, Irby, Jackson, Knightley, Le Strange, Lawell, Lott, Maindonail, Mainwaring (Maynwarynge), Malbranch, Mallory, Mann, Marvin (Mervyn), Mauduit, Milton, Mirfield, Moore, Morgan, Mosely, Moton, Mott, Moulton, Newell, Norton, Olmstead, Ormeston, Parre, Peake, Pellham, Pershale, Pigot, Plantagenet, Platt, Porter, Ruscoe, St. John (De St. John), Savage, Seaman, Searles, Seeley, Seymour, Sharp, Sherwood, Smythe, Sneathing, Stanley, Stowers, Thomas, Thornton, Thornycraft, Toeni (De Toeni), Tursell, Underhill (De Underhulle), Waller, Warmstead, Wetherall, Wilbraham, Winthrop, Wood, Wynter, Youngs, and Zouche. While the Willsons can only be traced back to the early 1800's, some of the distaff families claim to have a long provenance, going back to King Edward I (Longshanks) of England and King Ferdinand of Castile and to other medeival royalty back through Emperor Charlemagne of France. Several of these families can trace their roots back to the Norman conquest of 1066. Almost all of these families are of Norman or English origin with a scattering of Welsh and families from Devon and Cornwall. They emigrated to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York beginning with the Plymouth colonies in the early 1600's. During the American Revolution, several of these ancestors fought in the American armies. The Bushes George are very distant cousins. Ancestors of Tillie E. Wilson Not much is known about the ancestors of Tillie E. Wilson. She was from New York City so her ancestors probably emigrated to that general area. According to the 1880 census, Tillie's father was born in New York but her mother Jane, who was living as of 1880, was born in Scotland, as were Jane's parents.