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In [General Mercer's] Experience and Judgment you may repose great Confidence.- George Washington, July 6, 1776. General George Washington's positive assessment of Hugh Mercer was based on their nearly twenty year acquaintance and friendship, a relationship that began in the French and Indian War. Both men commanded provincial units; Washington led Virginians and Mercer, Pennsylvanians. Unlike Washington, however, Mercer was not a native of the American colonies. He fled to Pennsylvania from Scotland in 1746 after the Battle of Culloden (part of an unsuccessful Scottish uprising against King George II). Mercer, who had studied medicine in Scotland, settled in the Pennsylvania frontier to avoid possible arrest for his participation at Culloden. When the French and Indian War erupted nearly a decade later, Mercer's neighbors tapped him to command a company of militia. Mercer quickly rose in the ranks and eventually commanded a battalion of Pennsylvania provincial soldiers as well as the garrison at Fort Pitt (captured Fort Duquesne). After seven years of military service, Mercer was discharged from the Pennsylvania Regiment in 1761 and settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He married, raised a family, and established a very successful medical practice. When the decade long political dispute with Great Britain turned violent in 1775, Virginia's political leaders considered Hugh Mercer for command of one of Virginia's two regiments of regular troops. After two close ballots, the Virginia Convention opted instead to appoint Virginia natives Patrick Henry and William Woodford to command. Mercer was selected a few months later to command the 3rd Virginia Regiment, but six months after his appointment the Continental Congress elevated him to the rank of Brigadier General in the Continental Army and he left Virginia to assume command of the newly formed Flying Camp in New Jersey. While he served in the northern theatre, Mercer played a critical role in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, two battles that helped save the American army and American independence. Sadly, General Mercer did not live to see the victorious end to America's struggle; he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Princeton in 1777. Congress honored Mercer with a statue that still stands in Fredericksburg and several townships and counties have honored his memory by taking his name. This book seeks to chronicle Mercer's life and service and in doing so validate the observation of Major James Wilkinson, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, who wrote that:In General Mercer we lost a chief, who for education, experience, talents, disposition, integrity and patriotism, was second to no man but the commander in chief, and was qualified to fill the highest trusts of the country. An appendix with a transcript of Mercer's Last Will and Testament, maps, a bibliography, and, an index to full-names, places and subjects add to the value of this work.

This volume is a surname study of the Amory, Insley, Firman and Firth families of Messick, Poquoson, York County, Virginia. Every census record from 1790 to 1910 known to pertain to these Poquoson families has been abstracted and cited. The current volume brings each family from its earliest mention in the colonial era down to the present. Many female lines have been followed for one or more generations. The text is well illustrated with early photographs and includes a bibliography and an index of every individual known to be related by birth or marriage to the families studied in this volume. Most of the family photographs in this volume have never before been published. This is Mr. Willett's 9th volume of family history, and his 6th volume on the Messick area of Poquoson, York Co., VA. Mr. Willett is related to most of the Poquoson families through his maternal Martin and Hopkins ancestors; he is a family history researcher and recognized authority on the Willett surname and on his maternal families of Poquoson, York Co., VA.

"In 1907, the Indian Territory became the State of Oklahoma. To qualify for the payments and land allotments set aside for the Five Civilized Tribes, the former slaves of these nations had to apply for official enrollment, thus producing testimonies of immense value to today's genealogists. The book shows where to find and how to use the Indian Freedman Records, discusses Black Indians and Tri-Racial groups from the Upper South, and has added two lists of family names: Freedman Surnames from the Final Rolls of the Five Civilized Tribes, and Surnames of Tri-Racial families of the South"--From back cover of book.

This volume contains abstracts from forty-four newspapers originally published in Texas during the years 1839 through 1881. The authors have abstracted any mention of a death or implied death from death notices and obituaries; articles concerning accident

There is no such thing as a small genealogical research project. Family histories, like precocious children, always challenge their authors with more and more questions. Paul C. Van Dyke discovered this fact when he wrote a genealogy of his branch of the Van Dyke family in the late 1950s. That project led Mr. Van Dyke to explore and research the whole history of the Van Dyke family in America. This excellent book, based on primary sources recounting the Dutch settlement of New Jersey, is the fruit of those years of research. It is fundamentally a Dutch-American history. Incorporating a wide variety of historical accounts, original documents and illustrations, Mr. Van Dyke has written a compelling and richly informative account of nine generations of Van Dykes and the nearly three centuries of American history that serve as a backdrop. Thomas Van Dyck of Amsterdam was the 16th-century patriarch whose story opens the book, and the author also includes helpful background information on Holland's golden age of exploration and the Dutch East India Company. Thomas' son, Jan Van Dyck, and his family immigrated to New Amsterdam in 1652, eventually settling in New Utrecht on Long Island. Jan Jansen Van Dyck was the third generation, and his son John Van Dyck participated in the large Dutch migration (c.1711) to the Millstone Valley in Middlesex and Somerset Counties in the prerevolutionary province of New Jersey. The subsequent generations of Van Dyck farmers in New Jersey were well-respected, patriotic members of such communities as New Brunswick, Princeton, Trenton, Ten Mile Run, Penns Neck, Rocky Hill, Harlingen, Griggstown, Bridgepoint, Kingston, Millstone, Somerville, Franklin, Montgomery and West Windsor. When they deemed the time appropriate, some of these hard-working and versatile Dutch broke with the farm tradition to enter upon various commercial occupations and the professions, as exemplified in the final chapter and appendices of the book. Every chapter opens with a genealogical note that provides vital statistics such as birth, marriage and death dates. The names of spouses and children are always included in the narrative accounts of the subjects. Numerous appendices furnish additional details, often through transcriptions of original wills, deeds, military records, etc. A bibliography and separate indices for subjects and surnames are included. (

This book contains a short history of Germanna and Germantown, Virginia; the small band of miners and their families who founded them; and the circumstances of their travel from the Nassau-Siegen District in Germany. Specifically covered is the family of John Joseph Martin (Johann Jost Merten). He was born May 24, 1691 in Muesen, Nassau-Siegen, Germany, and emigrated from Germany in 1713 with the first Germanna colony of 1714; his ancestry goes back to the 1500s. Martin's descendants are covered at great length, and the major allied families of Ehresmann, Fischbach/Fishback, Heimbach, Knieling/Kneiling, Moore, Otterbach/Utterback, Richter/Rector, Stuell/Still, Turner, Wendling, and Zachmann are covered to at least three generations in the appendix. Two indexes provide easy access to the names of people and places found in the text.

This book offers a compilation of essays regarding the military history of Rhode Island. Although small in size, Rhode Island history is big in significance. Since the American Revolution, and especially in the Civil War, Rhode Islanders have long contributed to the nation's defense. These essays, each different in its scope, provide an overview into the Rhode Island military experience and a better understanding of the rich military heritage of the smallest state.Rhode Island's motto is Hope, originally styled as "In Te Domine Speramus," meaning "Our Hope is in Thee, Lord." Rhode Islanders have long used the anchor as a symbol of Hope, while wearing badges and buttons inscribed with the motto on their uniforms in times of conflict, or even now by the Rhode Island State Police and Rhode Island National Guard.Chapters include: "We landed beat them from fence to fence," "Died in the Service of his Country," "The muffled drum's sad roll has beat," Solving a Rhode Island Civil War mystery, "An Officer of Rare Judgement," "Martyrs to the Cause of Liberty," "I have not heard of him since," In Search of Private Coman, Writing Rhode Island Civil War History, Ocean State Confederates, "They have just brought one more," "Here we lost many good men," "With regret I am called to inform you," "Scarce a man but lost a friend or relative," and Lines on the Death of Alfred S. Knight.

This transcription was developed from a book bought at a yard sale in Frederick, Maryland. The following was written inside the cover of this volume: "Smith's Temple of Fancy, Frederick Maryland; this book can be duplicated by David H Smith; Frederick December, MD[; ] 1/88." The transcriber believes it to be one of the original records held at the Frederick County Courthouse, which were removed when the county deaccessioned a lot of its paper records and deposited them on the sidewalk where some of the papers were picked up by people from the community who saw their value. Transcribed records include: date, name of the person involved, type of record (if tax was not being paid), tax district, values for disbursements, state tax, interest, county tax, and total paid. The transcriber has included verbatim local law information from legislative acts which pertain to the dispersion section of the book and information on the tax rate. There is also statute law relating to the payments for judges, mayors, and other occupations. The transcriber's remarks are in brackets. An every-name index adds to the value of this work.

This book is an annotated index to the death certificates issued in Harford County, Maryland, from July 1898 through December 1918. Death certificate entries contain the name of the deceased, date of death, place of death, time of death (beginning in 1911), race, and age. The entries have been arranged alphabetically by the name of the deceased and other names mentioned have been cross-referenced, thus precluding the need for a separate index. There are over 8,500 death certificates indexed, including nearly 2,000 African Americans and many certificates for soldiers and civilians from other states who died at either Aberdeen Proving Ground or Edgewood Arsenal in the flu epidemic that spread from 1918 into 1919.Names on death certificates were often illegible and information had to be gleaned by the author from local newspaper obituaries and tombstones. Dates and ages often differed. Therefore, information abstracted in this book has been annotated by the author with other data and comments inserted in brackets for clarification.

The boundaries of old Frederick County today encompasses 12 counties: Frederick, Clarke, Warren, Shenandoah, and Page counties in Virginia; and Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, Mineral, Hardy, and Grant counties in West Virginia. During the 1700s a land dispute between a Colonist and an Englishman developed into a lawsuit. The suit was between Jost Hite, the plantiff and Lord Thomas Fairfax, defendant. Fairfax claimed to inherit all of the country know as the Northern Neck from his father and maternal grandfather, Lord Thomas Culpeper. During the eighteen years of the court battle no land was legally disposed of, resulting in no legal land documents. This book is a comprehensive study of the settlers of old Frederick County, who they were, where they came from, and where they lived in the county, and where they went.

The names of more than one thousand Garlinghouses are catalogued here to aid in researching the roots of this venerable and historically elusive family. A petition found in the Pennsylvania State Archives, dated 1746, refers to a Jonathan Garlinghous residing in Buck's County on the north branch of the Delaware River. John Garlinghouse appears in two petitions on behalf of Smithfield Township, Pennsylvania, dated 1746 and 1748 respectively.While much Garlinghouse family history has gone unrecorded or has been lost over time, this volume represents a comprehensive survey of every known family member throughout the United States descended from these early Pennsylvania families. Each entry includes information such as date and place of birth, date of death and place of interment, marriage(s), names of spouse(s) and offspring, and military service whenever known. An index of maiden names, married names and children is also included, making this book an invaluable resource for tracing the roots of your Garlinghouse ancestors.

This alphabetically arranged index contains births, marriages and deaths from the early 1800s to 1930. Births are arranged according to the surname of the parents. Date of birth, gender, number of children and father's occupation are given when possible. The marriage section is cross-referenced by brides' and grooms' surnames and gives date and place of marriage. The list of deaths supplies the date and place of death, and place of birth if known. These records, more than 6,000 entries in all, were acquired from town records and town reports at the Gray town hall.

"With this continuation of records from the counties surrounding Fredericksburg as well as from Fredericksburg, we begin to get a clearer picture of how the present population came to be as well as some interesting insights into life styles, patterns of migration and family 'alliances.'" The marriages were extracted from marriage bonds, marriage licenses, newspaper articles, ministers' returns and church records. "Unlike earlier documents, licenses and minister returns after 1854 contain a wealth of genealogical data." There are a large number of marriage records for people of African heritage. Also included are some records for Spotsylvania County recorded in Fredericksburg. A list of ministers for Fredericksburg and Stafford County, a list of churches in Stafford County and Fredericksburg (1851-1900), a church location map, a list of free blacks of Fredericksburg, and a full-name index add to the value of this work.

WINNER OF THE SUMNER A. PARKER PRIZE for the best genealogical work concerning a Maryland family published in 2015. Awarded by the Maryland Historical Society. John F. Polk Jr. This book of the Polk / Pollock family traces the family of Robert and Magdalen Polke who came to Somerset County, Maryland, from Donegal, Ireland, about 1687, among the first Scotch-Irish settlers in colonial America. They settled in an area called (for good reason) Damned Quarter but now known more genteelly as Dames Quarter. Beyond Damned Quarter is a carefully researched account of the family's initial struggle and ultimate success over its first three generations. Drawing from the original colonial records of the Maryland and Delaware State Archives much new information is introduced which changes some of the long-accepted beliefs about the family's history. The book runs almost 400 pages and contains detailed accounts of the lives of Robert and Magdalen and their 10 children, with a 4 generation family tree. Also included are family genealogical letters written in the 1800s and an extensive compilation of actions from the Somerset Court records involving Polk/Pollock family members.

This volume continues to focus on families living in Kent County and Sussex County, tracing lineages of early settlers into the early 1800s. The primary sources of information are court records (probate and orphans' court), land records, and church records. Many of the early settlers in these counties were Quakers. Chapters are included for descendants of the following families: Thomas Anderson, Ashford, Baucomb, Blacksheare, Bowers, Owen Cain, Francis Cain, Caton, John Clark, Maschal Clark, William Clark, William Clark (brickmaker), Daniel Corbit, Mathew Corbet, Craig/Crage of Kent County (Delaware), Edward Craig, Crippen, Cuff, Jacob Emerson/Emmerson, Vincent Emerson, Adam Fisher, John Fisher of Sussex County, William Fisher of Sussex County, Fitzjarrell/Fitzgerald, Fleetwood, Fleming, Moses Freeman, Samuel Freeman, William Freeman, Futcher/Footcher, James Gordon, John Gordon, George Green, William Green, Hart, Kollock, Marim, Molleston, Paynter, (N) Paynter (sons Rees, Richard and Samuel), Parker, John Robinson/Robison, George Robbison, William Robinson, Samuel Rowland, Thomas Rowland, Sap, Standly, Stanton, Steel, Tarrant, Tilton, John Tomlin, Nathaniel Tomlin, Townsend, Train, Tybout, Vanderford, Vanwinckle, Waples, James Wells, Richard Wells, West, James Williams, John Williams, Reynear Williams, Thomas Williams, John Willson, Winsmore, Worral, John Wright, Jonathan Wright, and Wynne. A list of sources, additions and corrections to the first volume, and an index to full-names and places add to the value of this work.

In 1658, George Alsop left England for Maryland, where he worked as an 'indented' servant in Baltimore County, under the government of Lord Baltimore. It seems highly probable that the lord proprietor and governor, both eager to attract laborers, encouraged Alsop to write this glowing account of the province. Alsop paints an extremely enticing picture of the bountiful natural resources of Mary-Land, followed by a discussion of the merits of "her well ordered Government," and her virtuous settlers. The benefits of apprenticeship and the necessity of servitude are discussed. "And what's a four years Servitude to advantage a man all the remainder of his dayes, making his predecessors happy in his sufficient abilities, which he attained to partly by the restrainment of so small a time?" The section on trade and commerce discusses the three main commodities of tobacco, 'furr and flesh.' Alsop's flattering words do not extend to his horror-filled chapter on the customs, manners and religion of the Susquehanock Indians. This slender volume, reprinted from the original edition of 1666, is enhanced by an introduction by Newton D. Mereness, Ph.D. that offers a glimpse of the author's life and times. The book concludes with a collection of letters written by the author.

The index to wills found in this work differs substantially in its arrangement from the original. The column format has been retained; however, it has been rearranged into a more reader-friendly format. There are five columns: Date, Surname, Given Name, Instrument and Will Book, and page number. Entries are alphabetized by surname and given name. The probate records are arranged in chronological order by will book for each decedent in the Instruments column. There is an abbreviated index on each page for surnames. Additional information includes, where available, location at the writing of the will, date of death, month/year the will was recorded, location of a court other than Prince William, where the will was first recorded, and alternative name spellings.

Genealogy research is like a puzzle that must be solved without the help of a reference picture. This book presents valuable puzzle pieces to complete the picture for the Port of New York, spanning December 9, 1719 through December 31, 1723, with a complete list of ships and their travels. The author has reconstructed a nearly complete list of ships and their voyages across the Atlantic and West Indies to and from New York. In addition to records for the New York Custom House, this book shows partial arrival and departure records (including ports other than New York) and previously unknown interactions between ships and captains. After cross-referencing names, ships, ship types, dates, and ports from the original list of 2348 captains and 2348 ships, the list was concatenated to 347 captains and 376 ships. This wealth of information is presented in a table format. An index of captains, an index of ships, and an index of sources add to the value of this work.

This book contains a narrative history of the town of Abbeville, South Carolina, from its beginnings until the early twentieth century. "Three disastrous fires in the 1870s destroyed many of the public records of this area," requiring the author to gather information from alternate sources, including articles from numerous authors. "The variety of authors enables the reader to see Abbeville life from different perspectives." In his search, he "was frequently impressed by accounts of life in the town of Abbeville. They included contemporary records, but were primarily reminiscent accounts of persons and events in its history, and they reflected the atmosphere of the town." Two themes run through Abbeville's history: a strong sense of pride and honor; and, recurring incidents of violence. These themes are emphasized by accounts which the author "found interesting as well as important." The author has included materials which will be of particular interest to genealogists and other students of family history: names of residences from the census, church records, and other sources as well as businesses and institutions. The author "made a special effort to include some account of the life of the blacks in Abbeville's history and to integrate them in the story. During most of its past, they were a majority in the population of the town."

This volume begins the series of abstracting this county's land records.

The author opens with a transcript of the Charter for the "Province of Mayne," listing Sir Ferdinando Gorges as the "Lord" of the province, then proceeds with a general early history. Moody covers: York in the Colonial War - Louisburg; the War of 1812; the Civil War; the Olde Gaol; the first Parish Meeting House; the York Harbor and Beach Railroad; York hospital; newspapers; schools; York as a summer resort; cotton and woolen mills; witchcraft, legends and traditions; the Norridgewock Expedition; William Hutchins - the last survivor of the Revolution; shipbuilding and sea captains; physicians and surgeons; the York Country Club and much more. A section of brief biographical sketches of York's prominent men follows, including George Burdette, Samuel and Nathaniel Donnell, the Fitzgeralds, Isaac Lyman, Alexander McIntire, Samuel Moody, Abraham Preble, Henry Sayword, David Sewall, and Samuel Sewall. The text is filled with names and dates, including a list of 1861 York patriots, and a "Civil List" of representatives. A portrait of the author, numerous brief excerpts from a variety of documents, and a full-name index enhance the value of this book.

In 1853, the Commonwealth of Virginia began an annual registration of births and deaths. The Birth Index of Slaves, 1853-1865 was later transcribed by the Works Project Administration (WPA) and recorded on microfilm. While the information-name of slave owner, infant's name, mother's name, birth date, place of birth-is of immense value to genealogists, working with the microfilm can be problematic. Hence, the creation of this multi-volume reference work, Virginia Slave Births Index, 1853-1865. In 2003, staff and volunteers with Local History/Special Collections, Alexandria Library began to transcribe the WPA microfilm, enter data into spreadsheets, and sort the information by slave owner's surname and given name. Entries include single births, multiple births, and stillbirths. Occasionally, both parents of an enslaved infant are identified. In rare instances, the name of a freeborn infant appears. Independent city and county names are spelled out. Data not reported in the microfilm is denoted by "----." Illegible text in the microfilm is denoted by "####." This index includes more than 130,000 entries.

This the first volume in a two-volume series of transcriptions of microfilm No. 68, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Marriage Register, Volume 7, 1854-1906. The microfilm is of the handwritten original Fauquier County Marriage Register, 1854-1906. The first vo

Harford County was created from Baltimore County in 1773 and its first court was established in March 1774 in Harford Town (or Bush). In the first two decades following the creation of Harford County, a great quantity of records of importance to local historians and genealogists were generated. This three-volume series presents facts relating to individual Harford Countians from the creation of the county in 1773 through and including the first United States census of 1790. Volumes 1 and 2 have been extracted from the following: Tax lists of 1774, 1776 (missing two hundreds now contained in the supplement), 1778, 1783; censuses of 1776 and 1790; Dr. Archer's ledgers; Orphan's Court Proceedings; Family Bibles; Estate Administrations; registers of St. Johns, St. George's, Quaker monthly meetings of Deer Creek and Little Falls; wills; court minutes; commercial licenses; survey certificates; land records index; marriage licenses; gleanings from various publications such as the Bulletin of the Historical Society of Harford County and other periodicals and histories; list of Non-Associators and Non-Enrollers in 1775; tombstone inscriptions; and other data drawn from the author's research and collections. Virtually any person connected to an historical and/or genealogical event between 1773 and 1790 in Harford County has been included in this book. Over 30,000 entries.

Volume 11 focuses on the early families of Kent County including some of their lines to Sussex and New Castle, especially the Davis/David families. It covers descendants of John Bennett, Robert Bohannon/Buchanan, Robert Buckhanon/Bohannon (No. 2), Buckingham, Joseph Buckmaster, Thomas Buckmaster, Joseph Burchinal/Burchinell, William Burrows/Burroughs, Levin Coverdall, Richard Coverdill, Davis/David/Davies of Delaware, Robert Davis, Thomas Davis, Thomas Davis (Davies) of Sussex County, John David, Morgan David/Davis, Owen David (Davis), Daniel David, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Hamilton, Joel Hamilton, John Hamilton, Hamm/Ham, Milby, and Needles. A list of sources, additions and corrections to previous volumes, and an index to full-names and places add to the value of this work.

This work consists primarily of deeds, but these early land records sometimes served as a "catch-all" for recording events including powers of attorney, patents, articles of agreement, acknowledgment of receipt of estate portion, deeds of gift to family members, contracts, and quit claims. A full-name and place index adds to the value of this work. Kent County, originally a part of Whorekill District (created in 1664), became an independent territory under the name of St. Jones County in 1680. In circa 1682 the name was changed to Kent County. Subsequent to 1674, settlers (principally from Maryland) began to take up land in this area.

In order to reconstruct the history of pre-Cape May County families, the author has organized past research and performed additional research when necessary to fill the gaps. Using a number of sources: wills, church records, land records, and published material, including early issues of _The Cape May County Magazine of History and Genealogy,_ the author has reconstructed lineages for the following families: Badcock, Bancroft, Bennett, Bishop, Brandreth, Briggs, Buck, Carman, Champion, Chester, Church, Corson, Crandall, Crawford, Cresse, Crowell, Daniels, Dennis, Dole, Downes, Edmonds, Edwards, Eldredge, English, Evans, Fish, Flower, Foreman, Foster, Gandy, Garlick, Garretson (Garrison), Godfrey, Goff, Golding, Griffing, Hamilton, Hand, Hathorn, Hedges, Hewett, Hildreth, Holden, Hughes, Ingersul, Ireland, Iszard, Jeacocks, Jenkins, Johnson, Kent, Laughton, Lawrence, Leaming, Lee, Ludlam, Lupton, Mackey, Mason, Mathews, Mulford, Newton, Norton, Osborne, Page, Parsons, Pierson, Pine, Pratten (Pratt), Raney, Reeves, Richardson, Robinson, Ross, Savage, Sayre, Schellenger, Scull, Searle, Shaw, Simkins, Smith, Somers, Spicer, Steelman, Stevens, Stewart, Stillwell, Stites, Storer, Stubbs, Swain, Taylor, Thompson, Townsend, Van Gelder, Wells, Weston, Wheaton, Whilldin, Willits, Woolson, Yates. Whenever possible, the family has been traced up to the time of the Revolutionary War.This edition contains additional information in the appendix based on the Bible records of Cape May County. A full name index adds to the value of this work.

The name of Wright was common in early America, especially in New York, New England, and New Jersey. Most of the early New York Wright families appear to have originated in the British Isles but the surname has also been found in Germany and other European countries, and in Dutch records under such spellings as Ryte and Ryt.This volume focuses on Wright families migrating to and from Westchester and old Dutchess Counties, as well as migrations going further up the Hudson River to Albany County and westward.The author is a member of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and the Maine Historical Society.