There is much uncertainty in Catherine Brown's ancestry. The parentage of three of her four grandparents: Joseph Brown, Nancy Ann Windsor and Elizabeth Dorman are all in doubt. Only her grandfather, John Hubbard's ancestry is well known. This page also includes the Simontons who are the Scots-Irish ancestors of William Stevens' wife, Nancy.
Catherine Brown married Frank Stevens on May 27, 1865. Kate Brown lived her whole life in Columbus. She attended the first public school established in Columbus. She went on to higher education at St. Mary's of the Woods in Terre Haute. She was a devout Catholic. By 1860 Kate's father had died and the census from that year listed her as a school teacher at 16 years old. She was an amateur artist of some local renown.
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Edward Brown married Mary Ann Hubbard in Columbus, Indiana on January 13, 1843. Edward had been born in Hardin, Kentucky in 1812. The 1850 census lists his occupation as clerk.
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Joseph Brown married Nancy Windsor on December 18, 1799 in Montgomery County, Maryland. Joseph and Nancy moved their growing family to Hardin, Kentucky in about 1811 where their son Edward was born.
John Hubbard married Elizabeth Dorman on April 23, 1814 in New Haven in the State of Connecticut. Both John and Elizabeth had been born in Connecticut but had moved to southwestern Ohio by 1819. Before 1825 they had relocated to Columbus, Indiana.
Swivel Gun
John ran a dry goods store for a number of years in Columbus. In 1850, his occupation was listed as a grocer. The location was across the street from the courthouse (215 Washington St.) and the family lived in part of the building. John was elected County Sheriff in 1827 and re-elected in 1829. He ran for the office of Treasurer and Collector in 1850. John ran a saloon late in his life and in his appeal to voters in 1850 he said, "I have a right to presume that the voters of this County have not, from any conduct of mine lost confidence in me, unless it should be for the crime (if crime it is,) of retailing spiritous liquors."
John was known for many years for livening up the 4th of July celebrations by shooting his iron swivel gun.
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Jonathan Hubbard married Sally Thomas in November, 1789 in Haddam, Connecticut.
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Jonathan Hubbard married Esther Starr on September 8, 1768 in Middletown, Hartford in the Colony of Connecticut. Jonathan was a blacksmith who spent his whole life in Middletown, Connecticut.
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Hezakiah Hubbard married Ruth Center on October 10, 1739 in Middletown, Hartford in the Colony of Connecticut. He is credited with supplying provisions for soldiers in the Revolutionary war.
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George Hubbard married Mehitabel Miller on December 2, 1703 in Middletown, Hartford in the Colony of Connecticut.
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Joseph Hubbard married Mary Porter on December 29, 1670 in Farmington, Hartford in the Colony of Connecticut. At a town meeting on 17 December 1666, the town voted to allow 40 shillings to Joseph for beating the drum for all common meetings, both on Sabbath days and all other meetings and to beat twice on forenoons and twice in afternoons Sabbath days and thanks giving days and fast days to be beaten from the meeting house to against Mr. Stows to be given first with a preparative and after a call this for the year ensuing, but the drum for future to be beaten after the same manner.
Mary's parents were Robert and Mary (Scott) Porter who married in Hartford on November 7, 1644. Robert was one of the original proprietors of Farmington, Connecticut. Mary Scott's parents were Thomas and Ann Scott who came to Massachusetts in 1634. They first settled in Cambridge; then moved to Hartford in 1636 where Thomas is considered one of the founders. He died in 1643 and a jury found that "John Ewe, by misadventure, was the cause of the death of Tho[mas] Scott".
George Hubbard married Elizabeth Watts in 1640 in Hartford in the Colony of Connecticut. George had been born “probably in eastern or southern England” and Elizabeth had been born in Hertfordshire.
His name first appears in 1639 in a list of the early settlers of Hartford. George was one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut and his name is on the Founders Memorial. George became a significant land owner there. In 1649, George had been “fined 10 pounds for exchanging a gunn with an Indian.” He appears to have disposed of his land and moved with about fifteen other families in March, 1650-51 to Mattabesett, so called until 1653, when it became Middletown.
When he moved from Hartford, he carried with him a commission from the Colonial Government as "Indian Agent and Trader for the Mattabessett District." The Commemorative Biographical Record of Middlesex County, Connecticut of 1903 described George Hubbard this way:
English connection
"It was recorded of him that he was highly respected and of marked integrity and fairness, which he must have been to be selected by the colony as its Indian trader, for promiscuous trading was forbidden, and the possession by the Indians of firearms and fire water would produce direful results; so the trading was confined to one man of discretion and judgment."
Note that this conflicts with the fine he received in Hartford in 1649 "for exchanging a gunn with an Indian." Perhaps he was forgiven in his time, or later biographers chose to forgive him as part of their remembrance. Hubbard was the “keeper” of the first meeting house in Middletown, and he and Wetmore both donated land for the second meeting house.
Many researchers have confused him with George Hubbard of Wethersfield, Guilford, and Milford, Connecticut who was the son of Edmund Hobart and Margaret Dewey. This George's parents are unknown.
Elizabeth Watts' parents were Richard Watts and Elizabeth Duck, married in England in 1617. He was one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut.
Elizabeth Dorman married John Hubbard on April 23, 1814 in New Haven, Connecticut. Elizabeth and John had 9 children together in Connecticut, Ohio, and ending up in Columbus, Indiana.
Elizabeth was born and married in New Haven Connecticut which probably means that she had other family there. In fact there were many Dormans living in New Haven at the time. I do not know which Dorman may be her parents but there is a good chance that Elizabeth is the great grand-daughter of Benjamin Dorman (1699-1783). I will use him to show likely Dorman origins. As further corroboration later Dormans from that line do show up as DNA-related relatives of mine.
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Benjamin Dorman married Sarah Tuttle on 10 January 10, 1722 in New Haven, Connecticut.
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Benjamin Dorman married Ruth Johnson on October 10, 1698 in New Haven, Connecticut.
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Edmund Dorman emigrated from England to New Haven, Connecticut by 1657. He married Hannah Hull on December 25, 1662 in New Haven. In 1680, the land owners were urged to examine their titles, establish their boundary lines and make a record with the town clerk. This was a difficult thing to do because of the haziness of proof of original grants. Robert Foote on the Plains, instead of making a title, made a record stating, "having been in quiet possession for a number of years, according to law, ..." and the next day sold his property to Edmund Dorman.
Ruth Center married Hezakiah Hubbard on October 10, 1739 in Middletown, Connecticut.
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Jonathan Center married Martha Markham in Middletown, Connecticut on April 26, 1706. He received fourteen acres of land in Middletown from his father-in-law.
Martha's parents were Daniel Markham and Patience Harris. Daniel arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1665, first settled in Cambridge and was a merchant and a deacon in the First Church of Christ, Middletown, Connecticut. He was apparently a slave owner since he left in his will, "my negro Sampson during her life and then to be free."
Patience was the daughter of Middletown first settler, William Harris and Edith (last name possibly Bligh). William was one of the first settlers in Middletown, Connecticut. William had arrived in the colonies with his parents, Thomas and Elizabeth (Hills) Harris
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John Center (Senter) married Ruth Todd on April 10, 1681 in New England. He died at 46 years old.
Ruth's parents were John Todd and Susannah Hunt. John sailed from England to Charleston, Massachusetts in 1637. He was one of the earliest settlers in Rowley, and kept an "ordinary" (tavern) in town.
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John Senter married Sarah Weedon, his second wife, about 1659 in Massachusetts.
Sarah was the daughter of Edward Weedon and Elizabeth Cole. Edward sailed from London to New England in 1635 at age 22 aboard the Susan and Ellen. He settled at Boston, where he was a carpenter. His wife, Elizabeth, was a midwife and they had eight known children. There is no evidence of Edward's owning land himself until a 1666 bequest from his father-in-law.
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John Senter married Emme (last name unknown) in 1629 in England.
Mehitabel Miller married George Hubbard on December 2, 1703 in Middletown, Connecticut. Mehitabel was Thomas Miller's youngest child, born when he was 70 years old.
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Thomas Miller married Sarah Nettleton on June 6, 1666 in Middletown, Connecticut. Thomas was a carpenter and grist mill operator. He had been previously married to Isabel (last name unknown) who died in 1666. They had one child, Ann. The Puritans have an enduring reputation as moral and upright people; in many respects their reputation is well deserved. Obedience was central to their religion: children were to obey their parents, wives their husbands, and citizens the laws of their government. Yet Puritans were human, no less susceptible to temptation and error than their modern counterparts. Thomas Miller incurred the wrath of the church for his actions.
Thomas and Isabel Miller moved to Middleton, Massachusetts, from Rowley, about 1652. On May 6, 1666, the couple's maid, Sarah Nettleton, gave birth to a son. The father was Thomas Miller. Thomas was about 56 years old; Sarah was 22. Within a few days of the birth, Thomas's wife Isabel died. Thomas rapidly married Sarah, but did not escape a brief imprisonment for his adultery. All things considered, the couple was fortunate to avoid the standard civil penalty of the day, which included the whipping of both or being "burnt on the Forehead with the letter A." For his sin, the church adjudged him guilty and ordered him ex-communicated, which order was publicly read, October 6, 1667. "Afterward prayer was made that God would ratify the sentence & let loose Satan on Him." Finally, in 1674, the convicted adulterer made his only trip back to Massachusetts to express his repentance, and was received back into church membership. Thomas and Sarah Miller had eight children together, the last born after Thomas's death in 1680, when he was over 70 years old.
Sarah's parents were Samuel Nettleton and Mary Lucas. Samuel lived in Wethersfield, Connecticut before removing to Milford where he was an after-planter (came after the first settlers). In 1644 he was one of the thirty-eight Milford men who purchased the lands of Totokek (Branford), being one of the first settlers there. He also owned land in Fairfield.
On November 4, 1647, he testified in the General Court at Hartford, that he had purchased shoes from Goodman Meges of New Haven for his wife. After wearing them for three days, they ripped open due to defective leather. Goodman Meges was ordered to pay 10 shillings to any person who bought his shoes and complained about them.
Esther Starr married Jonathan Hubbard on September 8, 1768 in Middletown, Connecticut.
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William Starr married Sarah Roberts on October 8, 1747. William spent much of his adult life at sea. He was in an expedition sent out by the Colonies to Havana. He sailed to the West Indies with a cargo of horses. The Middletown town records state, "William Starr went from Hence to sea the 4th day of August, 1763, and had a heavy storm, and never heard of since."[1]
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Daniel Starr married Esther Southmayd on February 26, 1723 in Middletown, Connecticut. Daniel was a weaver. He owned a large tract of land in the South Farms district which was a rich farming area south of Middletown.
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Joseph Starr married Abigail Baldwin on June 24, 1697 in Boston. Joseph was a tailor who was chosen tax collector in 1705 and constable in 1711 and 1712.
Starr brothers grave
Joseph and Abigail had another son, Jehosaphat, who married Sarah Stow. Three of their sons died in infancy in 1755 and are buried in Riverside Cemetery in Middletown, Connecticut in what must be one of the saddest graves ever.
To add to Jehosaphat and Sarah sorrows, Jehosaphat's grave stone memorializes his son, Comfort, "who sailed from this Town in Dec 1764 and never has been heard of since."
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Comfort Starr married Marah Weld in 1669 in Boston. They moved to New London, Connecticut soon after their marriage but quickly relocated to Middletown where they became among the earliest settlers.
It is said that Marah got her name which means bitter in Hebrew from her father who was afflicted with cancer and died soon after her birth.
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English connection
Thomas Starr married Rachel Harris in Ashford, Kent, England in 1639. Thomas had come to America with his parents on The Hercules in 1634/5. In May 1637 Thomas was named "chirurgery" to the forces against the Pequots.
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President Calvin Coolidge
Dr. Comfort Starr married Elizabeth Mitchell on October 4, 1614 in Northam, Sussex, England. Comfort had four siblings: Jehosaphat, Joyfull, Suretrust, and Constant (a brother Nostrength died as an infant). Comfort and his family arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the Hercules. In order to obtain passage, Dr. Starr presented a certificate of his "conversacion and Conformity to the orders and discipline of the Church" signed by Edmund Hayes, Vicar of Ashford, 21 March 1634.
Soon after arrival Comfort opened a medical practice in New Towne (Cambridge).According to family history, Dr. Starr's house became the home of Nathaniel Eaton and served in 1639 as the site where Harvard College instruction began.
Sarah Roberts married William Starr on October 8, 1747 in Middletown, Connecticut.
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William Roberts married Susannah Collins on December 1, 1714 in Middletown, Connecticut.
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John Roberts married Sarah Blake on December 27, 1693. The first public record of John Roberts is his marriage to Sarah. He made a living as a farmer and a carpenter. The public record for John shows some interesting (if cryptic) notations.:
1691: John Roberts made acknowledgement of 8th Commandment.(Note: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor!)
1692: John Roberts publicly admonished for he had killed a neighbor's beef cow.
1693, November 6: John Roberts was released and restored to former standing in the church.
Sarah parents were John Blake and Sarah Hall. John's father died when he was seven years old and his mother, Elizabeth (last name possibly Franks), married George Durant who raised John. They all immigrated in about 1660. John was one of the original settlers of Middletown, Connecticut. He died at age 38 leaving behind 10 children. Sarah Hall married Edward Turner after John's death. Sarah's parents were Richard Hall and Mary Anthony who married in about 1645 at Hartford, Connecticut. Richard was a weaver. They settled first at Hartford and then moved to Middletown, Connecticut in about 1650. He became a large landowner. His parents were John Hall and Esther Anne Willocke who married in England about 1616. He was a carpenter. John and his family immigrated from England to Boston, Massachusetts in about 1633.
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Samuel Roberts married Katherine Butler in 1662 in Middletown, Connecticut. After Samuel's death, Katherine married twice more to Mr. Leeke (or Leete) and Thomas Wetmore. The identity of Katherine's parents is in dispute.
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Samuel William Roberts married Sarah (last name unknown) in 1637 in Stratford, Connecticut.
The Collins family were early Massachusetts settlers whose progenitor, Edward, was a wealth of contradictions: church man, slave owner, confidant of the Regicides.
Susannah Collins married William Roberts on December 1, 1714 in Middletown, Connecticut.
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Samuel Collins married Susannah Henchman in 1693 in Boston. It seems that they got divorced in about 1700 because both of them remarried about 1702.
Susanna's father, Daniel Henchman, was the son of Richard Henchman and Anna Newberry of London, England. After his immigration to New England, he became a school teacher at Boston and captain of that town’s Artillery Company. As commander of Boston’s First Company of Infantry during King Philip’s War, his unit was stationed at Pocasset where he built a garrison called Fort Leverett. In 1675, Henchman was one of a committee authorized by the Massachusetts General Court to establish a settlement at Quinsigamond in western Massachusetts that would become Worcester, Massachusetts.
Letter, Hezekiah Woodward To Samuel Hartlib Click to access full size image
Daniel's wife Sarah was the daughter of Rev. Hezekiah Woodward. He was an English nonconformist both in his religious views and his views on education. In the early 1640s he was a preacher at Aldermanbury in London. At this period he was linked with John Milton, as authors in “the frequent printing of scandalous Books by divers”. In 1644 he was interrogated about his writings, but was released two days later. His family were Puritans and he was one of those articulating the Puritan argument against the celebration of Christmas. He was called the “Schismatical” Vicar of Bray due to the views he espoused which caused a schism in the parish. He was ejected from Bray in 1662, after the English Restoration of 1660. Subsequently he was in Uxbridge, one of the founders of the Old Meeting Congregational Church there.
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Samuel Collins married Mary Marvin in about 1664 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Samuel came to Massachusetts with his parents. He lived first in Cambridge, then in Saybrook and lived out his life Middletown. He went briefly to Scotland in 1658 when his brother was in Edinburgh. In 1691, he manumitted a slave: "I whose name is underwritten, do oblige myself, my heirs, executors, and assigns, to set free for himself a Mulatto Boy, which was givin me by my mother, Mrs. Martha Collins, at the age of thirty- one years, which boy was born in the year 1686, on the 30th of March."
Mary's parents were Reinhold and Mary Marvin. Reinold inherited lands from his father in England, and was a churchwarden in Great Bentley before sailing to America. He came to New England about 1638 and moved first in Hartford, then in 1640 relocated to Farmington, and finally settled in Saybrook and Lyme. He has many famous descendants including Bill Gates and George W. Bush.
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Cotton Mather's 1702 Magnalia Christi Americana
Edward Collins married Martha Baylie on November 20, 1628 in Framlingham, Suffolk, England. He was in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1638 where he was deacon of the first church. He lived several years on the Craddock plantation (now Medford, Massachusetts), owned by the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company, Matthew Cradock. Since Cradock never came to New England, he depended on agents to manage his interests. After Cradock's death, his heirs sold the plantation to Edward. When Collins owned the plantation there were several slaves. In 1655 his slave Elline was whipped and two years later two of his other slaves were also whipped.
Cotton Mather in his book published in 1702, Magnalia Christi Americana (The Glorious Works of Christ in America), describes Edward Collins as a "good old man, the deacon of the church in Cambridge, who is now gone to heaven; but before he went thither, had the satisfaction to see several most worthy sons become very famous persons in their generation."
Edward was in the confidence of the Regicides, Colonels Goffe and Whaley (2 of the 7 who signed the death warrant for King Charles I), who were in hiding in America after the Restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660. Edward was the correspondent of those who furnished their wants when they were in hiding in the dreary years of their exile. (Col. Goffe became later known as the "Angel of Hadley" for leading the inhabitants of the town against the Indians in King Philip's War in 1675.)
Esther Southmayd married Daniel Starr on February 26, 1723 in Middletown, Connecticut.
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John Southmayd married Susannah Ward in Middletown, Connecticut in 1700. He was Harvard educated in the class of 1697, and was apparently more of a hell-raiser than student while at Harvard. A professor Hedge at Harvard loved to recount the story of John Southmayd preparing a chair which was so constructed that when an unsuspecting person sat down in it, it suddenly collapsed. John moved to Waterbury in 1705 and was ordained as the pastor of the Congregational Church. In addition to serving the religious needs of Waterbury, John held numerous civic positions. In 1721, he was chosen town clerk and treasurer, and filled these offices for the next 34 years until his death. He was also chosen to represent Waterbury in the Connecticut general assembly in Hartford in 1740 and for every session thereafter until his death.
He inherited a large amount of money from his father, and eventually became one of the largest and wealthiest land-owners in Waterbury. By the time of his death at age 80, Southmayd “owned” two people--a woman named Fillis and a man named Sampson. Southmayd’s will declared that “my negro man” and “my negro girl” were to take care of his grandchildren until the youngest one was 12; at which point, if they were “faithful, careful and industrious” in this, they could be “free” and able to choose which member of the Southmayd family they would live with following their freedom.
John's death did not end the story. In 1891, the Grand Street Cemetery in which he was buried was relocated and his grave was dug up and his remains removed. In the process, Walter H. Holmes, M.D., decided to write a medical study on John's remains which had been in the ground at that point for 136 years. The article was published in "the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal" of July 23, 1891. In the article, Dr. Holmes describes in great detail John's skull, described as "large and massive". John's body was reinterred in Riverside Cemetery with a new headstone, but his skull was missing at the time of reburial and has not, to date, been found.
John's wife, Susannah was the daughter of William Ward and his second wife, Phebe. They had ten children. William came to Middletown, Connecticut by 1659 from Rowley, Massachusetts. He built a fulling mill (part of woolen clothmaking) and became an ensign in the Middletown Train Band.
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William Southmayd's lot on Gloucester Harbor Click to access full size image
William Southmayd married Esther Hamlin on October 16, 1673 in Middletown, Connecticut. William was a mariner, shipwright and ship owner. After his father's death he moved with his mother and step father to New London, Connecticut. He as the Master of the sloop John & Mary.
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William Southmayd (Southmead) married Millicent Addis on November 28, 1642 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. William was the first Southmayd immigrant to America. He was a shipwright. He died when his son, William, was only five and his wife remarried.
Esther Hamlin married William Southmayd on October 16, 1673 in Middletown, Connecticut.
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Giles Hamlin married Hester Crow about 1655 in Connecticut. Giles was a sea captain who made many trade voyages during his career, especially to the West Indies. He commanded the ships Desire and John and James. Records of some of his trading voyages can be seen here. He came first to Hartford before 1651 and became one of the founders of Middletown, Connecticut by 1654. In his will Giles left his "servant Joan" to his wife.
Hester's father was John Crow. John married Elizabeth Goodwin but she was probably too young to be Hester's mother so John must have had a first wife from England who was Hester's mother. John was one of the party that settled Hadley, Mass. in 1659, and he returned to Hartford in 1678. He came to America 1634; and was one of those who settled Hartford with Rev. Thomas Hooker in 1636. His name is on the monument in the Hartford Cemetery, erected in memory of the first settlers there. He became a wealthy man and he and his father-in-law, Elder Goodwin, "were copartners in their buyings and sellings". John Crow's parents were the well-matched John Crow and Olive Bird.
Abigail Baldwin married Joseph Starr on June 24, 1697 in Boston.
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Samuel Baldwin married Abigail Baldwin about 1675. They were very distant cousins (4th cousins once removed). Together they had seven children. Samuel was a blacksmith. They family moved from Fairfield to Guilford after being invited by the town "to work upon his trade of smithing, upon trial." The Town of Guilford granted him, on July 15,1676, half an acre upon the Green for his shop, with the promise that if he left, it should return to the town.
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Nathaniel Baldwin married Joanna (last name unknown) on June 9, 1644 in Milford, Connecticut. It was the second marriage for both of them. Nathaniel had come to the New World with his two brothers, Joseph & Timothy. They originally settled in Milford. He was a cooper (a maker of barrels and the like) and a planter. By 1653 he had relocated to Fairfield, Connecticut.
John Baldwin married Mary Bruen on August 15, 1653 in Milford, Connecticut. John arrived in New England in 1636 aboard the Martin. He was a founder and after-planter of Milford and was selected to be Marshal of the settlement, and commission as sergeant of the Milford militia in 1658. Mary was his second wife.
Mary Bruen married John Baldwin on August 15, 1653 in Milford, Connecticut.
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President Barack Obama
Obadiah Bruen married Sarah Seeley. Their daughters, Mary and Hannah married John Baldwin, Sr. and John Baldwin, Jr., respectively, father and son. He came to America in 1640 and landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was a draper, i.e., a dealer in cloth. He held many local positions in Gloucester, Massachusetts and New London, Connecticut where he lived from 1641 to 1666. He then joined the group from Connecticut which founded Newark, New Jersey. Newark was settled by Connecticut Puritans led by Robert Treat from the New Haven Colony. It was conceived as a theocratic assembly of the faithful, though this did not last for long as new settlers came with different ideas.
Marah Weld married Comfort Starr in 1669 in Boston.
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Joseph Weld, married Barbara Clapp on October 11, 1620 in Sudbury, Suffolk, England. He immigrated to New England about 1635. Joseph was a captain in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and as an award for his participation in the Pequot War of 1637 and subsequent negotiations, the colonial legislature granted Weld 278 acre in the town of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Captain Weld's land is now much of present day Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. With the wealth generated from this grant, Joseph Weld became one of the first donors to Harvard and a founder of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts.
Joseph's brother Thomas also joined the Great Migration to New England and was a well-known Puritan minister before returning to England.
The Weld family has many famous descendants including William Weld, former Governor of Massachusetts, and the actress, Tuesday Weld.
Rachel Harris married Thomas Starr in Ashford, Kent, England in 1639.
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Thomas Harris married Elizabeth Hills in Bedfordshire, England about 1600. In 1630 he brought his wife, Elizabeth, and his six children to Salem, Massachusetts on the Lyon, an early part of the Winthrop fleet. For unknown reasons he went by the alias surname of Williams. Thomas died just four years after arriving in America.
Thomas Windsor married Catherine (last name in dispute) in Montgomery, Maryland in about 1778. There is a lot of uncertainty about Thomas. The story I like best is that Thomas was convicted of pickpocketing in England. His punishment was transportation to America and seven years servitude.
There is an equal amount of uncertainty about Catherine. Her last name is variously listed as Howse (or House), Baden (or Beeden), and Ward. For now Nancy Windsors parents will be left as unknown.
The story of the Simonton family is a classic American journey in search of new opportunities. The ancestors were Scottish farmers probably displaced by their landlords and resettled in Northern Ireland by the English to dilute the recalcitrant Irish population. After a few generations, they struck out for America following earlier family. They took advantage of the Penn family offer to settle in Pennsylvania before looking for cheaper land in North Carolina. They later moved to the Midwest, first settling in Southwest Ohio before finally arriving in Columbus, Indiana.
Nancy Simonton married William Stevens in 1832 in Clermont, Ohio. Nancy was born near Cincinnati and spent her life in SW Ohio and the Columbus, Indiana area with the exception of a year spent in Iowa when her children were young. After William's death in 1857, Nancy lived the rest of her life with her daughter, Mary, and son-in-law, Hezakiah Griffith, in Columbus.
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William Simonton married Mary Polly Shaw on June 15, 1797 in Hamilton, Ohio. That was the year that William, his parents and two brothers resettled in Clermont County, Ohio after moving from Iredell County, North Carolina. Life was different in SW Ohio in those days. William's brother Theophilus was paid a bounty of two dollars in 1809 for killing wolves. The same Theophilus built and ran a saw mill on O'Banion Creek and distilled whiskey.
Mary's parents were John Shaw and Margaret Kelley who married in Rowan County, North Carolina in about 1769. John had emigrated from possibly Northern Ireland and Margaret may have come from Scotland but very little is known definitively about their background.
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Map of Fourth Creek Land 1773 Access full size image
Adam Simonton married Sarah Cooper in Rowan County, North Carolina in January 1774. Adam was a land owner there along with his father-in-law, John Cooper, as shown in this map.
In the Fall of 1796, Adam Simonton moved from Iredell County, North Carolina along with his three sons John, Theophilus, and William and their families to become early settlers of Clermont/Warren County Ohio. Although poorly educated and illiterate, Adam Simonton was evidently an industrious and enterprising man as evidenced by his many land deeds in North Carolina and Ohio.
John Simonton married Margaret Strong in South Carolina about 1748. John only lived to be thirty-two but left with his mother and siblings to North Carolina after the death of his father and grandfather in Pennsylvania.
Margaret Strong was possibly the daughter of Charles Strong and Janet Gaston but that is still unproven.
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Theophilus Simonton married Mary Frame in Lewes, Delaware. Theophilus and Mary were Scottish immigrants from Northern Ireland. Theophilus came as a child with his parents. He died before many in his family relocated from Pennsylvania to cheaper land in North Carolina.
Theophilus Simonton married Mary Smith in Northern Ireland in the early 1700s. It is believed that Theophilus and Mary came to America in about 1725 and landed in Lewes Delaware where Theophilus apparently worked with Mary's brother Archibald Smith. Archibald had settled in Lewes before 1713 and was a successful merchant. Archibald Smith died in 1729 and left some land to Mary. It appears that Theophilus sold this land and since Scotch-Irish settlers were being welcomed and the possibility of land was available in the territory of Pennsylvania the family moved to Lancaster County. Conestoga Manor was established by the Penn Family and here Theophilus Simonton and his children cleared the land and established homes.
After Theophilus died in 1754 in Lancaster County and was buried on his land there, Mary his wife, and his son William, his youngest son and the "grandchildren" left for Rowan County North Carolina.
Theophilus is possibly a descendant of John Simonton who came to North Ireland in about 1630 and received 1000 acres during the "Plantation" (colonization) of Scots to Ulster, Northern Ireland by the English during the reign of King James I. Colonizing Ulster with loyal settlers was seen as a way to prevent further rebellion, as it had been the region most resistant to English control during the preceding century. Other Simontons who came to New Jersey, other places in Pennsylvania, Maine and Delaware were probably cousins or brothers as they all came from North Ireland. For example, Andrew Simonton and his son William arrived in Maine in 1718. They are probably descendants of the same John Simonton.
