USA > Pennsylvania > Genealogical and personal history of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 45
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Michael (3) Gilson, John (2), Joseph (I), 1702-1760. Resided at Groton, Massachusetts. In 1750 he resided above Northfield, Massa- chusetts, in New Hampshire. He was a sol- dier in French and Indian war, and was wounded, June 24, 1746. Proprietor in 1752. He married, in Westmoreland, in 1726, Su- sannah, born 1709, daughter of Zachariah Sawtell and wife Mercy, Groton, Massachu- setts. Names of children: Zachariah, 1727- 1735; Rachel, 1728; Michel, 1730, married Sarah Sessions, a prominent man in Putney, Vermont, captain in revolutionary war ; Jacob, 1732-1735; Benjamin, 1735; Zachariah, 1736; Susannah, 1739; Elizabeth, 1741, married, No- vember 24, 1763, Ebenezer Pierce.
Zachariah Sawtell. His will probated No- vember 29, 1737. In it he mentioned wife Mercy, son Zachariah, and daughters Mary Blanchard, Susannah Gilson, Sarah, Anna and Elizabeth.
John (2) Gilson, died 1707, slain by In- dians. He married, at Groton, in 1697, Sarah
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Children : John, 1698; Sarah, 1700; Michael, 1702, married Susannah Sawtell; Susannah, 1704; Ebenezer, 1707, posthumous. Joseph (1) Gilson immigrated from North of Ireland previous to 1660. Resided in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and Groton. Good Puritan. Married (second) November 18, 1660, Mary Caper. Children: Joseph, born in Groton, married, 1667, Hepsibah; Sarah, 1669: John, married, in 1697, Sarah
No data concerning Anthony (6) Pierce, and John (5), of Watertown.
Joseph (4) Pierce, born 1669, Watertown.
Joseph (3) Peirce, Watertown, son of An- thony (2), had wife, Martha, married (sec- ond) in 1698, Elizabeth (Kendall) Winship. Freeman in 1690. Joseph (3) Peirce, Water- town, by petition with Daniel Warren, evi- dences that he was at Sudbury, April 21, 1676, at the fight with the Indians in which Captain Samuel Wadsworth and Broshlesant were slain, together with fifty others. The petition recites their part in the engagement and con- cerning the burial of the dead. The petition, original, is in Massachusetts Archives, Boston State House, vol. 68, folio 224.
Joseph (3) Peirce, Watertown, appears in company of Watertown men, August 24, 1676, and as receiving for his services. "Bodges History," p. 376.
Anthony (2) Peirce, Watertown; eldest son of John of Watertown, born in England, freeman, 1634. He had two wives, Sarah and Ann, the first died in 1633, and the sec- ond 1682. He died 1678. Children: John, "eldest son," born England; Mary, 1636, mar- ried Ralph Reed, of Woburn; Jacob, 1637; Daniel, 1639; Martha, 1641; Joseph; Ben- jamin, 1649; Judith, 1650, married John Swain, 1667.
Many intermarriages took place in early days between the Peirces and Lockes, and the "Locke Book," 1850, claims it is from Anthony Peirce that President Franklin Pierce is de- scended.
John (1) Peirce, of Watertown, came from England. Freeman in 1638. A man of good estate. Projected settlement at Sudbury and Lancaster. Died May 9, 1661. Will probated the October following. In it he provides for wife, Elizabeth, "Eldest Son" Anthony, and other children, whom he does not name; but his widow, in her will names children: An- thony ; John ; Robert; Ester Morse, wife of
Joseph; Mary Coldham; Judith, who married Francis Wyman; Elizabeth, who married John Ball, Jr.
Moses (4) Marsh, Moses (3), John (2), Alexander (1), born 1774, at Braintree, Mas- sachusetts. Removed to Chesterfield, New Hampshire, where he served in revolutionary war, as private in Colonel Samuel Ashley's company, Chesterfield, New Hampshire. In 1779 he purchased in the town of Rocking- ham, Vermont, "three ninety acre Lotts, being Lotts Number Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen, in the Fourth Range of Ninety Acre Lotts in said Rockingham, said Land being forfeited to this State by James Rogers, by liis Treason- able Conduct-in consideration of six hundred pounds Lawful Money."
He married, in 1764, Jerusha (4), daughter of Joseph Owen, in Braintree, Massachusetts. He was a large landowner, and man of affairs in town, holding different offices. They had numerous offspring. His wife died, and he married (second) Ester Day, of Rockingham. No children. Children by first wife: Joseph (5), born 1769, Braintree, married Joanna Pierce; Thomas; Mariah; Jerusha, married, 1788, Phineas White; Sally; Moses, married, 1790, Betsey Campbell; Betsey, baptized 1779, married Boyington ; Daniel, baptized 1779, married Martha Bailey; Polly, baptized 1785, married -- Burt ; Samuel, baptized 1785; Phebe, baptized 1787, married, 1802, Christopher Lovell ; John.
Joseph (3) Owen, born 1720, Braintree, Massachusetts, Estate probated 1760, died in Provincial service in Boston. He married, in 1742, Elizabeth (5), daughter of John (4) Newcomb and wife, Mary. Their children : Anne Owen, born 1742-43; Betty, born 1744; Jerusha, born 1747, married, 1764, Moses Marsh; Sarah, 174-, married, 1768, Silas Hollis ; Elizabeth, born 1750; John, born 1753.
(The Newcomb Line).
John (3) and wife, Elizabeth; John (2), Francis (1), came in the "Planter" to Boston at the age of thirty years, with his wife, Rachel, who was twenty years old in 1635 ; set- tled first in Boston, then in Braintree. He died at the age of one hundred years. See "Savage's Genealogy of Newcomb Family."
Joseph (2) Owen, born 1695, Braintree, married, 1718, Elizabeth, born 1694, daugh- ter of John and Humellis Williams, of Boston.
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Their children: Joseph, born 1720, married Elizabeth Newcomb; Elizabeth, born 1722; John, born 1726.
Nathaniel (1) Owen, died 1733, Braintree, Massachusetts. Married Mary --. Large estate : gave thirty pounds to Harvard College, after providing for his family and giving them a liberal education. Their children : Nathaniel, born 1683 or 1684, married, 1714, Deborah Parmenter; Benjamin, born 1691; Joseph, born 1695, married, in 1718, Elizabeth Wil- liams; William, born 1697, died 1702; John, born 1699; Mary, born 1702, married, 1723, Thomas French ; Sarah, born 1708, died young.
The Owen family was of rugged and sturdy Puritan stock.
Moses (3) Marsh, John (2), Lieutenant Alexander (1), born 1713, at Braintree, Mas- sachusetts. He was a man of wealth and prominence; was drafted into "His Majesty's Service," and regardless of influence was ob- liged to serve, and died from exposure at Greenbush, New York. He married, in 1739, Sarah (4), daughter of Simon (3) Crosby and Rachel, his wife. She married (second) in 1761, William Hayden, of Boston. Their children : Mary, born 1740, died young ; Sarah, born 1741, married Samuel Peck; Moses, born 1743-44, married Jerusha Owen ; Rachel, born 1746, married Joseph Brackett ; Anna, bap- tized 1749, married Thomas; Phebe, baptized 1753, died 1839, unmarried ; Mary, born 1750, married, 1777, Jonathan Damon. of Dedham.
(The Crosby Line-Puritan Strain).
Simon (3) Crosby, Joseph (2), Simon (1), 1688-1755, Braintree. Married Rachel He held property in partnership with his brethren, Joseph, Thomas and Ebenezer. Will proved June 27, 1755. Children: Samuel; Joseph ; Simon ; Timothy ; Richard ; Elizabeth ;. Sarah, married Moses Marsh; Matthew ( ?) ( Martha) ; Mary; Anna.
Joseph (2) Crosby, 1639-1695, Braintree. He was representative to great and general court in 1689; soldier in King Philip's Indian war, 1675-1676. Vide Bodges History. He went against "Mount Hope," also to defence of Marlborough. He married (first) in 1675, Sarah, daughter of Richard Brackett and wife, Alice. Married (second) Elin Chil- dren: Sarah, born 1677; Thomas, born 1688 or 1689, married -
- -; Simon, married Rachel -- -; Joseph, married, 1726, Abigail
Adams; Ebenezer, born 1694 (by wife Elin), married Bathsheba Beale.
Richard (1) Brackett, born 1611, in Eng- land, was in Boston in 1632; freeman in 1636; member of Artillery Company in 1639. Dis- missed, with wife Alice, from Boston church to Braintree, December 5, 1641 ; ordained deacon in 1642; town clerk for many years; was the third captain of train band of Brain- tree ; he was a magistrate and served the town as deputy to general court. Married Alice Died in 1691. Children: Hannah, baptized 1635, married Samuel Kingsley ; Peter, baptized 1637, married Elizabeth Bos- worth ; John, married Hannah French ; Rachel, born 1638, married, July 15, 1659, Simon Crosby ; Mary, born 1642, married, 1662, Jo- seph Thompson ; James, married Sarah -; Josiah, born 1652, settled in Billerica; Sarah, married, in 1675, Joseph Crosby.
Simon (1) Crosby, born 1609, in England, died in 1639, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Came in the "Susan and Ellen," 1635, free- man in 1636, selectman in 1636, 1637 and 1638. His estate finally passed into the possession of the Brattle family. Brattle House is on a portion of it. He married Anna ---. Chil- dren : Thomas, "aged six weeks," born Eng- land, or "seaborn ;" Harvard College, 1653; clergyman ; settled in Eastham, Massachusetts ; died in Boston, 1702; had several children ; Simon, born 1637, married Rachel Brockett, daughter of Richard Brockett (1); Joseph, born 1639, married Sarah Brockett, daughter of Richard Brockett (1). The widow of the emigrant married (second) an early minister in Braintree, which evidences that she was a woman of fine quality. The Bracketts were people of means in Boston and Braintree.
John (2) Marsh, son of Lieutenant Alex- ander Marsh, 1678-1747, resided at Braintree, "Gentleman" of landed estate, and large busi- ness interests bequeathed by his father. His estate was divided among his heirs, June 24, 1747. He married, 1701, Sarah, born at New Haven, 1684, daughter of Dr. John (6) Wil- son, and wife, Sarah (2) Newton. Their chil- dren : John, born 1702, married Submit Wood- ward, settled in East Haddon, Connecticut ; Sarah, born 1704, married, 1748, John Hall, of Hingham; Alexander, born 1705, died 1706; Alexander, baptized 1707, married Hannah Parmenter, settled in Holliston, Massachusetts ; Ambrose, baptized 1709; Wilson, born 1711, married a widow, Abigail Allen, daughter of
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Rev. Experience Mayhew, of Martha's Vine- yard; Moses, born 1713, married Jemima Spear, settled in 1760 in Nova Scotia; Ed- mund, born in 1720, died 1728; Mary, born 1722, died 1722; Ezekiel, born 1724, died in infancy.
(The Wilson Family of Boston and England).
Dr. John (6) Wilson, Rev. John (5), Rev. John (4), Rev. William, D. D. (3), William (2), gent., William (I)-born in Midfield in 1660. Educated at Harvard College. In 1692 removed to Braintree, settling on land willed to him by his father. Here he resided, culti- vated the farm, practicing medicine and per- forming legal services until his death in 1728. By reason of his education, large estate, and distinguished ministerial family connections, he occupied a leading social position, and was popular and prominent in town affairs from 1695 to 1710, often serving on committees and as moderator at town meetings, and was repre- sentative to the general court in 1698. In 1696 he received a commission as captain of one of the local military companies, and on June 7, 1700, was appointed justice of the peace, offices of distinction at that time. He married, in 1683, his cousin Sarah, born 1662, daughter of Rev. Roger (1) and Mary (Hooker) Newton. Mr. Newton came to New England when a youth, and was educated for the ministry by Rev. Thomas Hooker, whose daughter he later married ; was minister at Farmington, Connecticut, 1652-1657; went back to England, but returned in 1660, and was settled over the church at Milford, Con- necticut, where he died in 1683. His wife died in 1676.
Rev. John (5) Wilson, born in England in 1621; was brought to New England by his father on the latter's second voyage, 1632. He was graduated in the first class at Harvard College, in 1642, was admitted to his father's church in Boston in 1644, and was freeman in 1647. After preaching several years he became assistant to Rev. Richard Mather, at Dorchester in 1649, and after two years' serv- ice here removed to Midfield, soon after the settlement of that place, and in December, 1651, he was installed as the first minister of the town, where he was ordained pastor, Octo- ber 12, 1652, in which service he continued for forty years, until his death, besides per- forming the duties of physician and school- master. By a contemporary he is referred to
as "gracious and godly, a faithful and useful man, well esteemed." He died in 1691. He married, about 1648, Sarah (2), daughter of Rev. Thomas (1) and Susannah Hooker, of Hartford, Connecticut.
Mr. Hooker, a powerful and distinguished Puritan preacher, was born at Marfield, coun- ty Leicester, England, in 1586; educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, B. A., 1608, M. A., 1611, fellow of the University, 1612- 1620; rector of Esher, county Surrey, 1620- 1625; preached at Chelmsford, 1625-1629, where he was silenced for non-conformity ; being persecuted he went to Holland, where he preached two years at Delfthaven, and a few months at Rotterdam, as assistant to Rev. Dr. Ames ; came to New England in 1633, and located first at Cambridge, whence in June, 1636, he removed to Hartford, Connecticut, where he served as minister until his death in 1647.
Rev. John (4) Wilson-Rev. William (3), D. D., William (2), gent., William (I)-born at Windsor, England, in 1588. After four years' preparation at Eton School, he was ad- mitted to King's College, Ca.nbridge, in 1602. While at the University he became deeply interested in the theological discussion of the day, and under the influence of Rev. Richard Rogers, of Wethersfield, and of the celebrated Rev. William Ames, D. D., he soon became converted to the principles of the Puritans. His non-conformity resulted in his being ob- liged to leave the University for a time, and he entered one of the Inns of Court to study for the legal profession, but, his disposition for the ministry continuing, by the father's influence, he was returned to the University, where, at Christ College, he obtained the de- gree of B. A. in 1606 and M. A. in 1609. After preaching in several places and being perse- cuted and frequently suspended for his non- conformity, he encouraged and supported the colonization of the Massachusetts Bay, and joined the first emigration, coming to New England in the spring of 1630, in the "Ar- bella," with Governor Winthrop, leaving his wife and children in England. Soon after the arrival of the company the First Church of Boston was organized, on July 30, 1630, John Wilson being installed as teacher. After labor- ing for nearly a year, and filling an important part in establishing the colony on a permanently prosperous basis, he went back to England, in 1631, returning to Boston in May, 1632, with
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his wife, son John and daughter Elizabeth. A few months after his return he was installed as pastor of the church, November 23, 1632, being succeeded as teacher by the celebrated Rev. John Cotton. He continued as pastor until his death in 1652.
Many contemporary writers and records bear witness to the high esteem and veneration in which Rev. John Wilson was held. While not endowed with as brilliant talents as the Rev. John Cotton, he was, nevertheless, a de- vout, learned, zealous and able man, and his sympathetic nature, kindness of heart and generosity to the needy, greatly endeared him to his parishioners. Of his character Cotton Mather says: "If the picture of this good, and therein great, man were to be exactly given, great zeal with great love would be the two principal strokes, that joined with orthodoxy should make up his portraiture." The Rev. John (4) Wilson went as chaplain in the ex- pedition against the Pequot Indians. During his ministry he frequently made visits to the Indian settlements with Rev. John Elliot, the "Apostle" and labored as a missionary to the savages.
Hooker and Wilson created much history. They are "Founders" of Commonwealths. Connecticut and Massachusetts are what these men and their associates proposed and carried out.
Thomas Hooker was author of the first written constitution forming a government, which is the government of the United States. The Rev. Samuel Stone was selected as an "assistant unto Mr. Hooker, with something of a disciple also."
Rev. William (3) Wilson, born 1542, grad- uated from Merton College, Oxford, B. A., 1564, M. A., 1570, B. D., 1576, D. D., 1607; prebendary of St. Paul's, London, 1595, 1615, and of Rochester Cathedral, 1591-1614; and about 1580 he became chaplain to Edmund Grindall, archbishop of Canterbury, and in 1583 he became canon of Windsor, holding this position for thirty-two years, until his death, in 1615. He was buried in the chapel of St. George, Windsor Castle, where a monu- mental brass to his memory states that he was "beloved of all in his life, and much lamented in his death." He married (first) 1575, Isabel, daughter of John Woodhall, Esq., of Walden, county Essex, by Elizabeth, his wife, sister of Edmund Grindall, the celebrated Puritan arch- bishop of Canterbury, described by Lord Bacon
as "the gravest and greatest prelate of the land." He married (second) Anne, sister of Rev. Erasmus Webb, canon of Windsor, who died in 1612, without issue.
William (2) Wilson, gent., born 1515, re- moved from Penrith and settled at Welbourn, county Lincoln. He acquired considerable estate, and on March 24, 1586, had confirma- tion of the following coat-of-arms, and grant of a crest : Arms, per pale argent and azure three lion's gambs erased fessways in pale counterchanged; crest, a lion's head argent guttee de sang. He died at Windsor Castle (where his son William was prebendary ) 1587, and was buried in the chapel of St. George, where a monument was erected to his memory. The name of his wife has not been learned.
William (1) Wilson, of Penrith, county Cumberland, born probably within a decade of 1490, is the earliest ancestor yet known to whom an unbroken line can be traced in the family herein treated.
The last male descendant in America, bear- ing the family name of Rev. John (4) Wilson, the first minister of Boston, is one, Edward Smith Wilson, a musician living in New York City, married Jennie Stone, and has had no children.
The name Wilson being of patronymic origin, it is evident that numerous distinct family lines bearing the name were founded in England at various times, and places by individuals in no degree related; and as heredi- tary family names did not come in vogue until about the reign of Edward I. (except among the nobility and landed families) it is not likely that any Wilson family was permanently established bearing the name continuously, until toward the close of the reign of the above sovereign (circa A. D., 1300). "New England Historic Genealogical Society," 1907.
Lieutenant Alexander (1) Marsh, of Brain- tree, county of Suffolk, within his Majis. Province of Massachusetts Bay, in New Eng- land, yeoman. Left an estate at his death, 1698, valued at £1290,18.04. His parentage has not been found. He was lieutenant of the Braintree train band, and evidently was a man of affairs and good position, as he married (first) in 1655, Mary, daughter of Gregory (1) Belcher, and wife, Catherine, a leading business man, and in company with him ran a "furnace" in Braintree. From his will we gather that he had other financial interests be- sides that of smelting iron ore. He married
AV-16
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(second) Bathsheba, daughter of Rev. John Letterup, of Barnstable.
Gregory (1) Belcher, born 1605; came into New England before 1637; was a freeman in 1640; was one of the founders of the church in Braintree.
DELO Among those who peopled North America there are none whose his- tory is fraught with more interest and is more difficult to trace in its genealogy than that of the French Huguenots. For three centuries they were the flower and wealth of the French Empire-the artisans, mechanics and manufacturers, and among the most intelli- gent citizenship. Yet they were the most perse- cuted people of almost all history, because of their religion-the purest system of faith and practice, for the time, in all Europe. Con- tending for religious liberty, they gave their lives and blood on the altar of freedom that they might worship God according to the dic- tates of conscience, with an open Bible before them. At last, when greatly decreased in num- bers, they expatriated themselves, taking refuge in the English Isles, Holland, Switzerland and Germany. Many of them came to the Amer- ican colonies-to New England, Maryland, Vermont, Virginia and the Carolinas. To trace many of these families is impossible. Names were changed, suffixes dropped, and trans- lations made into other languages. Their de- scendants are among the best citizens, and have given eminent men to positions of trust and responsibility in church and state.
Before the revolutionary war, three brothers -Michael, Joseph and Charles Delo, Hugue- nots-came to Westmoreland, Virginia, which then embraced the southwestern part of Penn- sylvania. Governor Dunmore held court at Pittsburgh, then Fort Duquesne, in 1774. He changed the name to Fort Dunmore. Joseph Delo went down the Ohio, and Charles went east, possibly into Maryland; Michael Delo located in the vicinity of Greensburg. He was a soldier and was killed in an ambuscade by the Indians, leaving a son, George; his wife was Mary Kiefer. It was about 1773 when Mr. Delo was killed. The widow later mar- ried Jacob Smith; they raised a large family of sons and daughters, many of whose de- scendants are in Clarion county, connected with the Brenemans, McLains, McNaughtons and other families.
George Delo, son of Michael and Mary
(Kiefer) Delo, was born in Westmoreland, in 1773, about the time his father was killed. When he came to manhood he married Eve Catherine Kuhns. The Kuhns family is quite numerous in Westmoreland and Clarion coun- ties. In 1807 he moved to a place about four miles southwest of the present location of Clarion. Three years later he sold his land to his half-brother, Henry Smith, and moved to the mouth of Piney, on the Clarion river. Delo's Eddy, on the Clarion, took its name from him. Not long after he moved to a bluff on the Clarion between the mouths of Canoe and Beaver creeks, where he had secured a large tract of land. His wife's brother, John Kuhns, joined lands with him ; another, Chris- tian Kuhns, moved in 1813 to a farm joining the present Reedsburg. Mr. Delo erected a sawmill at the mouth of Canoe creek, and about a half mile below a boat scaffold on the river bank, in 1815, and engaged in lumber- ing and boat-building, at the same time clear- ing a large and beautiful farm, with large and substantial frame buildings. In 1840 he sold his sawmill to Maxon O'Dell. In 1818 the wife of Henry Smith was killed by a cow. Some time after he visited Mr. Delo, who inquired after his circumstances. He replied that it was hard to get along without a mother in so large a family. Mr. Delo said: "You should get you a wife." He replied: "I have no time to hunt one." Mr. Delo told him he had a neighbor, a widow with a number of children, and "when you come again I will take you up and introduce you." Several years passed. In February, 1820, Mrs. Delo died, and when Mr. Smith came again Mr. Delo had married the widow. She was Eve, oldest daughter of Christopher Hummel, one of the founders of Hummelstown, in Dauphin county, who had been a teamster in Washington's army. They were of German stock. She had married Daniel Loughner, a son of Rudolph Loughner, of Westmoreland. He died at the mouth of the Tiscaminitas in 1812. The widow at once moved to Beaver township, where her brothers, Samuel and Henry, and other mem- bers of the family, lived. A sister, Susan Hummel, married William Mays, three of whose sons are living in Clarion county-Sam- uel H., a veteran of the civil war ; David, and John. When Mr. Delo married the widow he had nine children and she had six. Of the Loughner children, Barnet, Michael, Samuel and Daniel, were tradesmen, and all violinists ;
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their descendants are numerous. Christianna married Daniel Delo, and Susan married Reu- ben Fowles, a native of Juniata county : two of their sons were veterans of the civil war- A. R., and William. About 1842, Mr. Delo bought three hundred acres of land at Walnut Bend, on the east side of the Allegheny river, in Venango county, including the islands. Here he laid out a town and named it Georgetown. It became considerable of a place during the oil excitement in the sixties. In 1865 land there sold for $1,000 an acre. Indians were often guests of Mr. Delo, but they had no fixed location in the county. The territory seems to have been reserved for hunting grounds. There were many evidences of their camps in earlier times. There was an Indian by the name of Jack Snow, who had been in the habit of coming up the Clarion and camp- ing on its banks for some years to hunt and fish. The last time he came was in the fall of 1809. With his party of hunters and squaws they set their camp at the mouth of Deer creek. After a short time Snow got into a quarrel with some white men who had gone to his camp: after they had left, one threatened to shoot Snow the first opportunity offered. Mr. Delo went over the river and advised Snow to leave, telling him that his life had been threatened. Snow at once left. The camp fixtures, meat, traps, etc., were packed into their canoes, and hunters and squaws, with their boats, went down the river, never again to return and camp along the stream. They, however, for years traveled through the country, it was thought to visit lead deposits. Several of them came at one time and lodged with Mr. Delo one night. In the morning be- fore breakfast they went out into the woods and soon returned with a quantity of lead ore. Mr. Delo was somewhat of a hunter before he left Westmoreland county. From the vicinity of Greensburg, he with two others followed the track of a large panther ; on the evening of the second day, at Freeport, they lost the trail. His companions, discouraged, returned home, but Mr. Delo after some effort found the track on the third day. He followed this on a chestnut ridge; after a time he came on his own tracks. The hunter had become the hunted. They soon looked into each other's eyes, and a practiced hand and keen sight laid out the panther. An old physician, Dr. Meeker, said the skin measured eleven feet from point of nose to tip of tail, that it was stuffed and
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