The Jersey Settlers of Adams County MS

I haven't posted in awhile, but there are several entries in my drafts folder, which I will finish editing..

Recently I went in search for information on Rev. Samuel Swayze, the brother of my 5th great grandfather, Israel Swayze. My search led me down a fascinating trail. My ancestor, Israel, like many Loyalists, fled to Canada after the Revolutionary War. But his brother, Samuel, left New Jersey in 1773 for the British Colony of West Florida.

Most people, including me until recently, when asked would say Florida was a Spanish colony. And it was. But Spain traded it to Britain for Cuba in the 1760s. Britain divided it, and territory received from France, into East Florida and West Florida. 

During the Revolution, Florida mostly remained Loyal. When Britain lost, it appears they essentially abandoned their newer colony as well, so Spain retook control.

Rev. Samuel Swayze, his family, and 14 other interrelated families are known as The Jersey Settlers of Adams County, MS. (Natchez). 

1. Swayze, Rev. Samuel and wife, Hannah Horton
2. Coleman, Jeremiah and wife, Hannah (Swayze) Coleman (1733-1807)
3. Unknown and wife, Phoebe Swayze (1735-bef.1787)
4. Samuel Swayze Jr (1737-1800) and wife, Elizabeth Putnam
5. Nathan Swayze (abt.1740-1819) and wife, Bethia (Hopkins) Swayze (1747-1840)
6. Elijah Swayze (1741-abt.1814) and wife, Polly White
7. Stephen Swayze (1743-1776) and wife, Rachel Hopkins
8. Obidiah Brown and wife, Penelope Swayze (1756-1836)
9. Swayze, Richard and wife, Sarah (Horton) Swayze
10. Gabriel Swayze (1745-1814) and wife, ______ Clark
11. King, Caleb and wife, Mary Swayze
12. King, Justus and wife, Sarah (Swayze) King (abt.1740-)
13. Richard Swayze Jr (abt.1746-) and wife, Hannah Budd|
14. Cory, Job and wife, Lydia Swayze (abt.1755-)
15. Luce, Israel and wife, Deborah (Swayze) Luce (abt.1754-1828)

I’m related to several families on the list. Shared surnames include Swayze, Horton, Coleman, Clark and King. Without more information on Gabriel Swayze's wife, I am uncertain if it is the same Clark family, but there is a good chance. My fourth great-grandfather, Israel's mother-in-law was Abigail Clark Coleman. The linked website has a lot of research on the families demanding my attention.

Notable descendants of these settlers include actor, Patrick Swayze (1952-2009), and cartoonist, Marc Swayze (1913-2012), co-creator of DC's Mary Marvel.

Amanuensis Monday: Israel Swayze and The Beaverdams Church

Amanuensis: A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

I continue my project to transcribe family letters, journals, newspaper articles, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Not only do the documents contain genealogical information, the words breathe life into kin - some I never met - others I see a time in their life before I knew them.

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Below I transcribe a plaque, mentioning my 4th Great Grandfather, Israel Swayze (1753-1844)

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THE BEAVERDAMS CHURCH 1832

Early in the 1790s a group of settlers in this area had been converted to Methodism and formed a Class which in 1795 was included in the newly-established Niagara Circuit. Services were held in the home of a prominent local settler, Israel Swayze, and camp meetings took place on his property. This church, one of the oldest remaining Methodist chapels in the province, was built in 1832. The Reverend Egerton Ryerson, who later was principally responsible for the founding of this province’s educational system, was the first minister to preach in the chapel. The building was renovated extensively in 1879, but regular services were discontinued about 1890.

Architectural and Historic Sites Board of Ontario.

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Image source: OntarioPlaques.com

Notes:

1. Other sources indicate the meetings were on the property of Israel and his son, Hiram Swayze. Hiram deeded the land to the congregation where the church was built in 1832.

2. Israel Swayze isn't the only ancestor of mine responsible for the founding of a place of worship. My 8th great grandfather, Myndert Frederickse, helped found a Lutheran church in Albany, New York. And my 2nd great grandfather, Selig Feinstein, helped found Tpheris Israel Congregation in St. Louis.

AncestryDNA Shared Ancestor Hints

AncestryDNA provides what they call "Shared Ancestor Hints." That is, if both you and a DNA match have linked to an Ancestry Family Tree, and there is a shared ancestor on those trees, they will provide you with the information. So instead of guessing how closely you are related by the amount of shared DNA, you know exactly how close. (Assuming both sets of research is accurate.)

A recent email exchange with one of these matches sparked my curiosity enough to categorize these matches by shared ancestor. I have 22 Shared Ancestor Hints. Breaking the hints down into the generational categories Ancestry provides as estimates:

2nd Cousin – 3rd Cousin
Shared ancestor
1. Melvin Vanevery (2nd cousin)

4th Cousin – 6th Cousin
Shared ancestor
1. Andrew Vanevery (4th Cousin)
2. William Denyer (4th Cousin)
3. Samuel Vanevery (3rd Cousin)
4. Israel Swayze (Sr) (6th cousin)

Distant Cousin (5th to 8th Cousin)
Shared ancestor
1. George W Hartley (4th cousin)
2. Samuel Swayze (7th cousin)
3. Samuel Vanevery (3rd cousin)
4. Israel Swayze (Jr) (5th cousin)
5. Israel Swayze (jr) (5th cousin)
6. Barbara Oberholzer (7th cousin)
7. Samuel Swayze (7th cousin)
8. Samuel Swayze (7th cousin)
9. Israel Swayze (Sr) (6th Cousin)
10. Samuel Swayze (7th cousin)
11. Adam Johann Schauers (7th cousin)
12. Adam Johann Schauers (7th cousin)
13. Joseph Swayze (8th cousin)
14. Adam Johann Schauers (7th cousin)
15. Israel Swayze (Jr) (5th Cousin)
16. Michael Schauers (6th cousin)
17. Barnabas Horton (8th cousin)

Totals by Surname
• Denyer: 1
• Hartley: 1
• Horton: 1
• Oberholtzer: 1
• Schauers: 4
• Vanevery: 4
• Swayze: 10

What traits do all these ancestors share:

1) They are all relatives through my maternal grandmother. I have many matches that I know are through my paternal grandparents’ and maternal grandfather’s lines. However, these matches haven’t posted their family trees back far enough for the Shared Ancestor Hints. Mostly because it is difficult to trace ancestry in Eastern Europe. Especially if your ancestors are Jewish.

2) My Swayze, Vanevery, and Schauers/Showers ancestors during the Revolutionary War were all Loyalists. It is possible that having ancestors in North America at the time of the revolution increases the likelihood that you will have traced your family tree back that far in order to identify Patriot or Loyalist lineage. (Or it's just a matter of having ancestors that far back in North America, where the research is relatively easy compared to other countries.)

Barbara Oberholtzer was part of a Mennonite family, who were mostly Conscientious Objectors. There were Patriot Hortons, but by the time of the Revolution they weren’t my ancestors.

3) I have a lot of Swayze matches. Does the celebrity nature of the Swayze name also have an influence on the likelihood of research?

Three out of the 21 matches (14%) are actually more closely related than Ancestry's estimate based on shared DNA. An 86% correct rate seems to me to be pretty good.

Two DNA Circles or a Venn Diagram?

Ancestry updated their DNA interface by eliminating a large number of false positive matches, and adding a new feature called DNA Circles.

You can read more here and here on Ancestry’s Blog

With some initial reviews at

• The Legal Genealogist 
• Genea-Musings 
• The Genetic Genealogist

What are DNA circles? According to Ancestry:

Ancestry told me that I am part of two DNA Circles
One has 8 descendants of Israel Swayze, Jr
One has 5 descendants of Abigail (Coleman) Swayze

Ancestry calculates the likelihood of the members in the circle sharing the same shared ancestor: Strong, Good, Some, Emerging or Weak. In all of my cases, they're 'Emerging.' This suggests to me that we're all in these circles based mostly on our Family Trees, and less on our DNA, or else it would probably be stronger. However, their description of DNA circles above states all members must share some DNA with at least one other member of the circle. 

Israel and Abigail were husband and wife, and I am unaware of any other spouse for either of them.

All five matches in Abigail's circle are in Israel's circle.
According to our Online Trees, my most recent common ancestor for the three in Israel's Circle that aren't in Abigail's is actually Israel and Abigail's daughter, Johanna Swayze.

I have no clue why these two circles aren't identical - or how Ancestry would be able to distinguish whether particular DNA for anyone in these two circles was from Israel or Abigail, since we all, if the research that went into our online trees is accurate for all of us, are descendants of both of them -- unless Ancestry had information about DNA circles involving other Swayzes or Colemans. If this is the case, I would like to know this information.

Another conundrum is that a known second cousin, a descendant of Melvin Elijah Van Every through a different daughter, isn't in either of these circles, even though her tree is public. I wonder if this implies she doesn't share any of the Swayze-Coleman DNA. Perhaps she does have DNA from Israel and Abigail, but it's not the same DNA that the eight in these circles inherited.

Thoughts on July 1 and July 4

As July 1st (Canadian Independence Day) and July 4th (US Independence Day) approaches, I once again find myself thinking about my Colonial ancestry.

I have several maternal ancestors who arrived on this continent prior to the American Revolution.

[I indicate my web-based sources for the information below, though for most I am relying on the poorly cited research of others.]

1) The Betts and the Stoughtons

My eighth great grandparents, Richard Betts and Joanna Chamberlain were married in Ipswich, Massachusetts Bay Colony - in 1648. It is thought Joanna arrived by 1635, and Richard mid-1640s. [source source]. Joanna Chamberlain was the daughter of Elizabeth Stoughton and Richard Chamberlain, and the granddaughter of Rev Thomas and Katherine Stoughton.

2) Hortons and Langtons

9th great grandparents, Barnabas Horton and Mary Langton are said to have immigrated c. 1630 on the ship "Swallow." [source] - Living in Massachusetts and Connecticut prior to settling in Southold, Long Island.

3) Hallocks

Barnabas Horton's son, Caleb, married Abigail Hallock. Abigail's father, William Hallock, likely arrived in Southold, Long Island ca. 1640. [source]

4) Van Everys

Brothers Myndert and Carsten Frederickse (sons of Frederick Van Iveren) likely immigrated to New Amsterdam in the 1640s or 1650s, with Myndert marrying Catharina Burger (Burghart) in New Amsterdam in 1656. [source]. Most of the descendants of Myndert and Carsten took the surname of either Van Every or Van Avery. Myndert was my 8th great grandfather.

5) Swayzes and Kinges

John Sweezey [Swayze], another eighth great grandfather, immigrated prior to 1650. [source]. He married Catherine Kinge in 1650 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts. He settled in Suffolk, Long Island.

Catherine emigrated with her father, William, prior to 1635

They settled at Salem, Massachusetts. He was admitted a freeman there May 25, 1636. He had grants of land of forty acres on Jeffrey's Creek, now Manchester-by-the-Sea; thirty acres at Royal-side at the head of Bass river, now Beverly, and he located his homestead there. He was a grand juror in 1637. He was a member of the First church at Salem, but in 1637 joined the Antinomians and came under the ban of the Salem authorities. He was requested to sever his connection with the new church or have his arms taken away from him. He remained with the new faith and gave up his gun to Lieutenant Danforth. Later he was banished for a time for sheltering the persecuted Quakers. [source]

6) Rosenbergers and Fretzes

Henry Rosenberger (1685-1745) left Germany and arrived in Franconia, Pennsylvania prior to 1729.

Hans (Weaver John) Fretz (1704-1772) left Alsace, Germany and arrived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania approximately 1720.

Their children, Mark Fretz and Elizabeth Rosenberger, were married on May 11, 1773. [source]

[The above list revised from a post I wrote last year]

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As for ancestors alive between 1775-1789, the Swayzes and Van Everys ended up Loyalists, and fled to Canada afterwards. The Fretzes and Rosenbergers were Pennsylvania Mennonites, and I've found no evidence that they violated their commitment to peace and took either side.

I still had some Denyer ancestors living in England at the time, though I'm unsure if any were Redcoats.

My paternal ancestors, and half my maternal ancestors were all situated in Eastern and Central Europe (Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Transylvania) and were likely mostly oblivious to the war. Of course, the Polish general, Casimir Pulaski, 'Father of the American Cavalry,' came from Warka, Poland, as did my Newmark ancestors.

I have one branch I haven't yet researched far enough to ascertain where they were in the 18th century, and that is the ancestors of my maternal great great granmother, Sarah (Hartley) Denyer.  So there is still some hope I may someday find a truly Patriotic ancestor.

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Poem: A Toast to the First and the Fourth of July

The Immigrants: 1600s

Over the Fourth of July holiday a family member was in Plymouth, MA, and I was asked if any ancestors came over on the Mayflower.  My response was an, "I don't know of any."  However, this inspired me to catalog as many early Immigrants I could for my family.  ["Early" as in those who didn't cross via the Land Bridge.]  I indicate my web-based sources, though for most I am relying on the poorly cited research of others.

1) The Betts and the Stoughtons

My eighth great grandparents, Richard Betts and Joanna Chamberlain were married in Ipswich, Massachusetts Bay Colony - in 1648.  It is thought Joanna arrived by 1635, and Richard mid-1640s. [source source].  Joanna Chamberlain was the daughter of Elizabeth Stoughton and Richard Chamberlain, and the granddaughter of Rev Thomas and Katherine Stoughton.

2) Hortons and Langtons

9th great grandparents, Barnabas Horton and Mary Langton are said to have immigrated c. 1630 on the ship "Swallow." [source] - Living in Massachusetts and Connecticut prior to settling in Southold, Long Island.

3) Hallocks

Barnabas Horton's son, Caleb, married Abigail Hallock.  Abigail's father, William Hallock, likely arrived in Southold, Long Island ca. 1640. [source]

4) Van Everys

Brothers Myndert and Carsten Frederickse (sons of Frederick Van Iveren) likely immigrated to New Amsterdam in the 1640s or 1650s, with Myndert marrying Catharina Burger (Burghart) in New Amsterdam in 1656. [source].  Most of the descendants of Myndert and Carsten took the surname of either Van Every or Van Avery.  Myndert was my 8th great grandfather. 

5) Swayzes and Kinges 

John Sweezey [Swayze], another eighth great grandfather, immigrated prior to 1650. [source].  He married Catherine Kinge in 1650 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts.  He settled in Suffolk, Long Island.

Catherine emigrated with her father, William, prior to 1635 

They settled at Salem, Massachusetts. He was admitted a freeman there May 25, 1636. He had grants of land of forty acres on Jeffrey's Creek, now Manchester-by-the-Sea; thirty acres at Royal-side at the head of Bass river, now Beverly, and he located his homestead there. He was a grand juror in 1637. He was a member of the First church at Salem, but in 1637 joined the Antinomians and came under the ban of the Salem authorities. He was requested to sever his connection with the new church or have his arms taken away from him. He remained with the new faith and gave up his gun to Lieutenant Danforth. Later he was banished for a time for sheltering the persecuted Quakers. [source]

SNGF: Relationship Calculator

This week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun mission:

1) Open up the genealogy software program of your choice.
2) Think about two special people in your family tree (your parents? your spouse? a famous person? a distant cousin? yourself?).
3) Use the Relationship Calculator in the software to determine the relationship between the two special people. If you don't know where to find the Relationship Calculator, go to the Help button and find out. Follow the directions!

I was going to plot the relationship between my maternal grandmother, Myrtle Van Every (who chose to follow Christian Science) and Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science.  I hadn't entered Mary Baker Eddy into my database, but I figured perhaps I would.  First step was to actually see if a quick internet search turned up any possible holes in Ancestry Family Tree's relationship chart.

Ancestry Family Trees has their relationship as 7th cousins, once removed.  (Link is a list of all the notable individuals to whom they claim my grandmother is related.  You can then follow the links it provides to the relationship charts.  Some of them are more likely than others.)

I had high hopes for Mary Baker Eddy, but even quick research suggests Ancestry may have it wrong.

Gary Boyd Roberts, Senior Research Scholar Emeritus at the New England Historic Genealogical Society has an article including some of Eddy's ancestry.  In his notes he states that an earlier work [The Ancestry of Mary Baker Eddy (1924)] is flawed on the Pikes, Ambroses and Lovejoys.  However, the ancestors he lists matches Ancestry's for the first three generations of Ambroses, and one generation of Hoyts.  That's where his list ends.  [Even though his stated goal was to go five generations, where possible, so it seems he isn't sure of the next generation.] In his sources he lists: [A Genealogical History of the Hoyt, Haight and Hight Families (1871, reprint 1984)] which I found in Google Books.

Even though Gary Boyd Roberts doesn't appear sure of Hannah's parents, Ancestry trees says Hannah Hoyt's grandfather, Thomas Hoyt married a Mary Brown, daughter of Richard Brown and Hannah King.

The Hoyt, Haight and Hight Families says that Thomas Hoyt married a Mary Brown, daughter of "William and Elisabeth Brown of Salisbury."  Putting this link in doubt, unfortunately puts my grandmother's relationship to her 'spiritual leader' in doubt.

Here's a post I wrote last year on how I and Patrick Swayze are seventh cousins.  That relationship is much more likely.  Though, interestingly, Ancestry Trees doesn't know about it. [Patrick, for some reason, doesn't appear in OneWorldTree, which I think is a requirement for someone to be listed under 'famous relatives'.]

Sometimes I think to myself, "You should just accept everything you see on the internet; it's much more fun that way."  Unfortunately, I have an interest in the truth.

SNGF: Degrees of Separation

This week's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun over at Genea-Musings looked fun, but was slightly depressing.

1) Find an ancestral line that stretches back to the time of the US Revolutionary War (1775-1783), about 230 years. Define your person-to-person connection (the person actually met the next person on the list) back to a historical figure from that time.

Since the challenge only specified time, and not location, I actually considered seeing what I could do with my father's chart. The earliest ancestor I have is a Meer Kruvond born "before 1795." I can definitely imagine parents, but I have no idea who they would have come in contact with in Cekiske, Kaunas, Lithuania. I remember my great grandmother, Bertha (Cruvant) Newmark, quite well, so I could get off to a very good start on that chain.

So I turned my attention to my mother's side, and that's when I realized how few generations I was able to skip in the process.

1) I know my mother.
2) My mother knew her mother, Myrtle (Van Every) Deutsch (1900-1951).
3) Myrtle Van Every knew her father, Melvin Van Every (1863-1929)
4) Melvin Van Every knew his grandfather, Andrew Van Every (1798-1873). (In a letter Melvin wrote Myrtle, he recalls receiving a half-dime from his grandfather.)
5) Andrew Van Every knew his father, David Van Every (1757-1820)

David Van Every, a loyalist from Poughkeepsie, NY, served under the leadership of Colonel John Butler, in Butler's Rangers. David also served very briefly in the New York militia, before joining the Loyalist side...I'm not sure who he met while there.

Or I could take a slight detour

4) Melvin Van Every knew his mother, Abigail Stuart (1825-1866), albeit only for three years.
5) Abigail most likely knew her grandfather, Israel Swayze, Jr (1753-1844)

Israel Swayze, Jr was a loyalist from Hope, New Jersey. I'm not sure where he served, but once he migrated to Niagara, he himself became quite prominent locally.

THE BEAVERDAMS CHURCH 1832: Early in the 1790's a group of settlers in this area had been converted to Methodism and formed a Class with in 1795, was included in the newly-established Niagara Circuit. Services were held in the home of a prominent local settler, Israel Swayze, and camp meetings took place on his property. - Beaverdams Church Historical Plaque

Town meetings were also held in his home between 1806 and 1809.

Note: Israel Jr's grandfather, Judge Samuel Swayze, is my shared ancestor with the late actor.