This site is devoted to storing information about Adam and Angela Neely's heritage on their father's side. In addition to documenting their family tree, it contains videos, links to helpful web sites, letters written by their grandparents, and key source documents such as U.S. Census records, passenger lists, passport applications, Selective Service records, marriage certificates, tax records, and family histories written by ancestors themselves. Select a menu option on the left to learn more about their grandparents and their ancestry. A companion site, which is under development, will hold information about their mother's Frazier heritage.

 Below are  24 interesting tidbits about Adam and Angela's Neely ancestry.

 1. Some of their ancestors were slave owners:

 Elizabeth Darlington – Adam and Angela's g.g.g.g.g.g. grandmother on their grandmother’s side – owned a slave girl named Patience during the mid 18th century. Elizabeth was a Quaker who lived in Chester County, Pennsylvania. While Quakers would lead the fight to abolish slavery in the first half of the 19th century, it was not unusual to find Quakers in 17th and 18th century America who owned slaves. For example, William Penn, the colony's founder, was a slave owner. In 1731, an estimated 20% of Quakers living in Philadelphia owned slaves. Quaker views on the institution of slavery would evolve. By 1776, all Quakers in good standing had released their slaves. As it turns out, Elizabeth Darlington’s granddaughter, Mary Ann M’Clintock, would become a founding member of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society.

 James Patterson – their g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather on their grandfather’s side – was a Scotch-Irish, Presbyterian farmer in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania who owned three slaves in 1800, in addition to an indentured servant. One of his slaves bore two children, so by 1805 the number of slaves in his possession had grown to five. His son, Thomas Patterson, Sr. – their g.g.g.g.g. grandfather and also a farmer in Lancaster County – owned one slave according to the 1800 census. Slavery in Pennsylvania during the first part of the 19th century was rare but still legal. In 1810, there were only 795 slaves in the state.  The fact that the Pattersons owned slaves indicates that they were relatively wealthy landowners and, of course, speaks to their moral indifference to the practice. 

 While not a slave owner, Thomas Patterson Sr.’s son, Thomas Patterson, Jr. – their g.g.g.g. grandfather – may have also had an uneasy relationship with African Americans living in Lancaster County, based upon three articles that I found in a county newspaper. The first article, published in October 1855, reports that "the barn of Mr. Thomas Patterson, of Little Britain township, together with its entire contents of hay, grain,  etc., was consumed by fire on Tuesday last." The second,  in January 1856, describes how it didn’t take a jury long to convict “a colored man” named James Johnson to 7 years of hard labor in prison for the arson. The third, in November 1857, provides a detailed account of James Johnson’s suicide by hanging while in his jail cell.

 2. On the other hand, several of their ancestors were abolitionists:

 Thomas and Mary Ann M’Clintock – Adam and Angela' g.g.g.g grandparents – are their best known abolitionist ancestors. Thomas co-founded the Free Produce Society of Pennsylvania which was an effort to promote the exchange of goods not involved in slave labor. Mary, as noted above, was a founding member of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. They both were friends with the leading abolitionists of the 1830s and 1840s, including William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglas, Lucretia Mott, and Abbey Kelley Foster. Their house in Waterloo, New York was used as a station on the Underground Railroad.

 There are several less well-known Quaker ancestors – all on their grandmother's side – who were active in the struggle to end slavery: 

• William Garrigues – their g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – was a carpenter in Philadelphia and was an early advocate of the abolition of slavery. In 1783, he and his brother Edward were among a group of Quakers who signed a petition to Congress to end slavery.

• Joseph Moore– their g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – became a member in 1784 of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. Organized in 1775, this was the first American abolitionist society. Benjamin Franklin would become its president in 1787. Joseph Moore served on a committee that visited prisons to make sure that African Americans had been committed legally and that they received a fair trial. In 1783, he signed the same petition that William Garrigues signed (see above) urging Congress to end slavery.

• George Truman – their g.g.g.g. grandfather and Joseph Moore’s son-in-law – was a friend of well-known abolitionists Lucretia Mott, William Lloyd Garrison, and Sojourner Truth. Along with two other Quaker abolitionist ministers, he took a trip in 1839 to the British West Indies, which had abolished slavery the year before. He reported back to interested abolitionist groups about their trip and how the British West Indies were faring since they had made owning slaves illegal.

• Joseph Moore Truman, George Truman’s brother, was a member of the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society, a friend of William Lloyd Garrison, and a manager of the Pennsylvania Hall, which was built in Philadelphia in 1838 to provide abolitionists with a place to hold meetings and which was burned to the ground four days after its opening by an angry pro-slavery mob.

 3. Some of their ancestors were involved in the alcohol business:

 Matthieu Garrigues– Adam and Angela's g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – owned a tavern in Philadelphia during the 1720s called the "Prince Eugene", which was located somewhere on Front Street (next to the Delaware River). Given that the Garrigues had been persecuted because of their Protestant beliefs in Louis XIV’s France, the tavern was probably named after Prince Eugene of Savoy, a successful Austrian Hapsburg military commander who had several significant victories over Louis XIV’s French Army.

 Robert Welsh I – their g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – and his son Robert Welsh II – their g.g.g.g. grandfather – were whiskey distillers in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Farmers in western Pennsylvania during the 18th and first half of the 19th century often supplemented their income by distilling their excess rye and corn into whiskey. Robert and his son probably supported, and may have actively participated in, the Whiskey Rebellion, a violent uprising in western Pennsylvania against a whiskey excise tax imposed by the Federal government in 1791.

 There is evidence to suggest that two of their ancestors had a drinking problem - at least in the eyes of their fellow 18th century Quakers. According to Quaker records, Nathaniel Allen – Adam and Angela's g.g.g.g.g. uncle  – was dismissed by the Philadelphia Friends Meeting in 1772 because of "his neglect of family and heavy drinking."  John Allen, Nathaniel's brother, was also disowned by the Philadelphia Friends Meeting in 1772 for his "drinking and neglect of business."

 4. On the other hand, many of their ancestors supported the Temperance movement:

 Adam and Angela's Quaker ancestors in the 18th and 19th centuries believed that drinking alcohol was sinful. Along with the abolition of slavery and the struggle for women’s rights, they viewed the reduced use of alcoholic beverages as an integral part of their effort to achieve social justice and to improve the human condition. James Truman – their  g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – was a coppersmith in Philadelphia through the late 1790s. He changed to the tin-plate and tin roofing business because too many of his customer’s were using his services and products to build whiskey stills. Thomas and Mary Ann M’Clintock – their g.g.g.g. grandparents – hosted temperance meetings over their drug store in Waterloo, New York.  Elizabeth Scranton Truman – their g.g grandmother – was a member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union.

By the middle of the 19th century, many members of the Presbyterian Church – which would include their numerous Presbyterian ancestors – were fully supportive of the temperance movement. By the end of the century, they had begun to favor a constitutional amendment banning the sale of alcohol. Nancy Welsh – their g.g.g. aunt – was the state president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union in Tennessee during the 1870s and 1880s. Edward Burgett Welsh – their great grandfather – was in favor of the legal prohibition of the sale of alcoholic beverages. His primary reason for voting for Franklin Roosevelt’s Republican presidential opponents during elections in the 1930s was Roosevelt’s support for the repeal of the 18th amendment which had prohibited the sale of alcohol.

5. Six of their ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War:

I didn’t find any ancestors who were Tories and openly supportive of the British during the Revolutionary War. I did find, however, several ancestors who served in George Washington’s army:

• Thomas Patterson – their g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – served as a private in Captain Thomas Whiteside's Company of Lancaster County Militia, Colonel Thomas Porter's Regiment.

• Timothy Scranton – their g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – enlisted April 1, 1777 and served until June 7, 1783. He fought in the battles of Stony Point, Jamestown, and Yorktown, serving under Captain Elijah Humphrey and Colonel RJ Meigs.

• Thomas M'Clintock, Sr. – their g.g.g.g.g. grandfather and the father of their better known ancestor Thomas M’Clintock, Jr. – was a private in Captain George Evans' Militia Company from 1776 to 1777; an Ensign in Captain Paul Raulston's Company in the Western District of Brandywine Hundred in New Castle County in 1778; and a Lieutenant in the New Castle County Militia in 1780.

• Samuel M’Clintock – their g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – was a private in Captain Paul Raulston's Militia Company in the Western District of Brandywine Hundred in New Castle County. He was over 50 years old at the time.

• Sebastian Burgett – their g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – was a Washington County Ranger.

• Jacob Garrigus – their g.g.g.g.g.g.g. uncle – was a private in Captain Josiah Hall's Company of Morris County (NJ) militia. He was over 60 years old at the time.

6. On the other hand, some of their ancestors were neutral during the Revolutionary War:

 Members of the Quaker faith do not condone warfare as a means to further political or other goals. During the Revolutionary War, most Quakers, including Adam and Angela's  Garrigues ancestors, carried out a vow of neutrality, and tried their best not to show favor to either side. This meant not selling goods to either side to be used for warfare, not quartering officers or soldiers of either army, and not showing favor or disfavor for successes or failures of either side. Many colonialists who supported the Revolutionary effort mistrusted and resented the Quakers who maintained strict neutrality. 

 (It should be mentioned that a small number of Quakers renounced neutrality and actively sided with the Patriots. They were known as Free Quakers or Fighting Quakers.)

 Samuel Garrigues – their g.g.g.g.g.g grandfather – was on at least two occasions accused of spying for the British forces. His charge was that he kept watch for the British at Schulykill Bridge during the occupation of Philadelphia. All these charges were either disproved or dropped but they serve to portray the distrust that existed between colonists of the time.

As a young man, Edward Garrigues, Samuel’s nephew, had a brief physical altercation with an officer in the Revolutionary Army who accused the Quakers in general and his father-in-law in particular of sympathizing with the Tories. Such behavior caused some to question the depth of his religious convictions because he did not appear to exemplify the "mild and subdued character of a Friend.”

The Garrigues’ principled neutrality during the war led to a split in the family. Jacob, Samuel’s brother, left the Society of Friends to join the Presbyterian Church and enlisted in support of the Revolutionary cause. These decisions caused him to be disowned by the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting and by his Garrigues brothers and sisters. Jacob even changed his surname to “Garrigus” to mark his separation from the family.

7. One of their ancestors spent time in jail:

Jonathon Ogden - Adam and Angela's g.g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather - was one of the first settlers of Elizabeth, New Jersey in the 17th century. It was then known as Elizabeth Town. (His granddaughter, Mary Ralph, would marry Samuel Garrigues who is described above as having spied for the British during the Revolutionary War.) There is evidence that Jonathon Ogden was outwardly resisting the heavy-handed British colonial government more than 70 years before the start of the Revolutionary War.  William Ogden Wheeler, in his history of the Ogden family, describes the following two "run ins" that Ogden had with British authorities:

• The first is when Ogden along with others were indicted on May 13, 1699 for breaking into the jail in Woodbridge, New Jersey and releasing two fellow colonists who they felt had been wrongly imprisoned

• The second is when Ogden, his son, and others were indicted on September 12, 1700 for forcibly taking the jail keys from the Sheriff. "The Complainte of the Sheriffe at ye time and day aforesaid. That he was satt upon by severall men of Elizabeth Towne & forceably Robbed of ye Keys of the Prisson thereupon Imediately Taken out of his Custtody."

8. Another ancestor was murdered in a brawl following a poker game:

George Truman, Jr.  - Adam and Angela's g.g.g.g.uncle and the son of George Truman who is mentioned above as being an abolitionist - died of injuries received during a fight with Adam A. Shissler, a Federal civil servant whom Truman had accused of cheating at poker.  I pieced together the following story from articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the New York Times, and the National Police Gazette.  I also found a copy of his death certificate which corroborates his occupation, the date and cause of death, his burial place, and his home address. 

Truman had been active in local and national politics. In 1872, he was a  delegate from Pennsylvania at the national Republican convention, which unanimously nominated Ulysses Grant for reelection. In November 1878 he was elected as a Republican to be the "Clerk of the Court of Quarter Sessions" for Philadelphia, which the New York Times called a "very important position." As such, he was responsible for maintaining court records, staffing courtrooms, and collecting bail money and fines in criminal cases. Truman's prominent position meant that his death was well-covered in the local press and even by the New York Times. 

The story begins on Monday, September 15, 1879, when Truman joined Shissler and three or four others (the news accounts varied) for an evening of drinking and "draw poker" at the B. Van Leer, a saloon at 104 South Eighth Street near the intersection with Chesnut Street. One of those joining Truman and Shissler was a police officer named "Humphries". Several rounds of drinks were had by all. During the evening, Truman accused Shissler of cheating at the card game and an argument ensued. According to witnesses, the argument eventually ended and playing continued. After the game had ended at half past eleven, Truman invited his four (or five) companions to dinner at the nearby Dooners Restaurant. Witnesses reported that all were under the influence of alcohol when they left the restaurant. The men sat down for what was described as a "sumptuous wine supper." Truman ordered a bottle of wine for his guests, and Shissler requested that the waiter carry a glass to one of two ladies sitting at a nearby table. Truman objected saying that "no gentleman would do such a thing and that Shissler was a 'cur'." (This was a termed used often in the 19th century to describe a dog of dubious breeding - essentially, a mongrel or mutt.) After dinner, the men stayed at the restaurant to play pool. 

At about three o'clock, they left the restaurant and walked down Eighth street towards Truman's home at 142 North Seventh Street where he lived with his elderly mother. Truman and Shissler "had a dispute about the language used in the restaurant". When they arrived at Arch Street, Truman repeated his accusations about Shissler's cheating. The New York Times reports him saying: "Shissler, there's no use lying about it; you will cheat whenever you get a chance; you did cheat tonight, and you know it."  Shissler then struck Truman, knocked him down, "bruising his body, breaking his ankle, and injuring him badly."  The men took him to the Almshouse Hospital nearly 3 miles away. Truman died from his injuries one week later on September 23rd. Truman was 45 years old. He is buried next to many of his Quaker ancestors in Fair Hill Burial Ground in Philadelphia.  

According to  the Philadelphia Inquirer, the witnesses to the crime (who included a police officer) didn't immediately report Shissler to the authorities. In fact, it was initially reported in the newspaper that Truman "trod upon a banana skin after leaving the Masonic Temple, and broke some of the small bones of his leg."  It was only after Truman was close to death that they came forward and Shissler was arrested. The coroner held an inquest and the jury returned this verdict: "That George Truman came to his death from injuries received on September 16th, 1879, at the hands of one A.A. Shissler, and that the injuries on George Truman were inflicted by Shissler, after premeditation, with the deliberate intention to do him bodily harm."  Shissler was sent to "murderer's row" in Moyamensing prison in south Philadelphia to await trial. He would be found not guilty by the trial jury on March 29, 1880. (I have not been able to find any records of the trial.)   Shissler died on February 21, 1898.

9. Their ancestor was the first American to write an opera:

James Ralph – their g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – was born in either Philadelphia or New Jersey in the late 17th century. He married Rebecca Ogden who was the daughter of Jonathon Ogden, the resident of Elizabeth, New Jersey who is described above as having spent time in jail. Ralph had a falling out with his impetuous father-in-law, and in 1724 abandoned his wife and young daughter and went to London. In 1730, he wrote a ballad opera called The Fashionable Lady (or the Harlequin). It is generally recognized as the first opera written by someone who had been born in the New World. It was never staged or produced in the New World; only in London.  The opera had mild success. In addition to opera composing, Ralph made his living in London as a published poet, political writer, and playwright. He was a close friend and collaborator with Thomas Fielding, the author of Tom Jones. (Ralph's daughter Mary married Samuel Garrigues, the Quaker ancestor described above who was accused of spying for the British.)

10. They are distantly related to Benjamin West, the noted American painter:

Thomas Miller – their g.g. uncle on their grandfather’s side – was an amateur genealogist who had long suspected, but could never confirm, that the family is related to Benjamin West, the distinguished American painter of the 18th century. I was able to find credible sources that link Adam and Angela as distant relatives to the noted painter. Samuel Pusey – their  g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – was a Quaker farmer in London Grove Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania during the first half of the 19th century. Two of Samuel’s siblings married into the West family, who were also Quakers. Samuel’s brother Joshua married Hannah West, who was Benjamin West’s niece. Samuel’s sister Mary married Samuel West, who was Hannah West’s brother and therefore Benjamin West’s nephew. Samuel and Hannah West’s father was William West, Benjamin’s oldest brother.

11. Some of their ancestors may have known Edgar Allen Poe:

Edgar Allen Poe lived in Philadelphia from 1838 to 1844. This period was one of the most productive of his life. He wrote "The Mystery of Marie Roget," "The Black Cat," and "The Gold-Bug" while in the city. During the last 18 months he was in the city he lived at 234 North Seventh Street in the Spring Garden District, where Adam and Angela's Truman and Garrigues relatives lived. James Ralph Garrigues – their g.g.g.g. grandfather - lived at 278 North Seventh Street, a few houses down from Poe and on the same block. It’s reasonable to assume that the Garrigues and Poe were acquainted. In fact, in Dwight Thomas' "Poe in Philadelphia, 1838-1844: A Documentary Record", Lydia Hart Garrigues, James' niece, is said to have "often watched Poe walking down the street from the window of her father's house." (Lydia’s father Isaac lived at 181 North Seventh Street, two blocks from Poe’s house.)

12. Several of their ancestors knew Benjamin Franklin:

James Ralph – their g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather who is described above as having written the first American opera – was one of Franklin’s best childhood friends. He is mentioned several times in Franklin’s autobiography. Franklin recalls that "Ralph ingenious, genteel in his manners, and extremely eloquent; I think I never knew a prettier talker.” In 1724, Ralph went to London with Franklin. In 1726, Franklin returned to Philadelphia, but Ralph remained in London, pursuing a career as an opera composer, playwright, poet, and political writer.

Ralph’s daughter, Mary, married Samuel Garrigues – their g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – in 1740. Franklin may have attended the wedding. By this point, James Ralph had abandoned his family and had severed all contact. Later in life, Mary evidently solicited Franklin's help in contacting her father. Ralph, living in England, sent her a piece of blue cloth after the birth of her 13th child, Benjamin Franklin Garrigues. The cloth was made into clothing for Samuel and their 8 sons. According to contemporary accounts, the contrast between the blue color and the drab color of other clothing worn by their Quaker friends "attracted attention."

After James Ralph died, Mary’s son, Isaac, wrote the following letter to Franklin: "Worthy sir . . . you have been pleased once to do a great favour for my Mother with respect to finding her Father the late Mr. Ralph for which you have laid us all under lasting Obligation to you . . . I am Worthy Sir with the Greatest Respect your much Obliged and Obedient servant. Isaac Garrigues."

Adam and Angela's other ancestors who lived in 18th century Philadelphia probably knew Benjamin Franklin, including James and Mary Llewelyn Truman – their g.g.g.g.g.g. grandparents – and Joseph and Sarah Smedley Moore– also their g.g.g.g.g.g. grandparents. In 1785, the Trumans lived on Elbow Lane near 3rd Street. The Moores lived at the other end of Elbow Lane near Market Street. Both homes were within a half-block of where Franklin was living at the time, making both families close neighbors.

13. Their ancestors knew William Penn:

Nathaniel Allen - Adam and Angela's g.g.g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – was selected by William Penn as one of three commissioners responsible for assisting him in establishing the new colony of Pennsylvania. Allen, a founding member of the Society of Friends in Bristol, England, emigrated with his wife Eleanor and their three surving children in October 1681, a year before Penn's arrival. Allen was active in the administration of the colony during its formative years. In late 1682, Penn met with Delaware Indians and made a treaty for the purchase of land. Tradition holds that the treaty was signed under an elm tree at Shackamaxon, a Delaware Indian town once located near present-day Kensington, Pennsylvania. Nathanial was probably with Penn at the meeting with the Delaware and is depicted as one of the men to the left of Penn in the well-known painting of the event by Benjamin West, another relative of Adam and Angela's (see #8 above).

Nehemiah Allen - Nathanel's son and Adam and Angela's g.g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – was appointed by Penn in 1701 to be one of the  "councilmen" of the newly incorporated city of Philadelphia, a position equivalent to a modern day city councilman.  

14. Their ancestor taught dentistry to Doc Holliday and Zane Gray:

Dr. James Truman – Adam and Angela's g.g.g. grandfather – taught at the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, and then was a professor and dean at the College of Dentistry in the University of Pennsylvania. Two of his students were Doc Holliday, who earned his DDS degree in 1872 and would later go on to fight with Wyatt Earp at the OK Corral, and Zane Grey, who received his dental degree in 1896 and would later become a pulp-Western novelist.

15. Their ancestors were early, forceful, and influential advocates for women's rights:

By now, the family knows that the M'Clintock family were instrumental in planning, organizing, and running the first women's rights convention held in the United States in July 1848. The convention is generally considered to be the genesis of the modern women's rights movement.  Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the well-known early women's suffragist, is often mistakenly credited with sole authorship of the Declaration of Sentiments, a manifesto of women's rights that was discussed, approved, and signed at the convention. In fact, it is likely that Mary Ann M'Clintock - Adam and Angela's g.g.g.g. grandmother - and Mary's eldest daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, provided substantial input to the document.  It was written by Stanton, with input from the three M'Clintocks, at the M'Clintock house in Waterloo, New York, on a parlor table which is now in the Smithsonian Institution.  The M'Clintock's house in Waterloo, New York is now part of the Women's Rights National Historical Park. The M'Clintock women, along with Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Jane Hunt, and Martha Wright, were instrumental in advertising and running the convention.  Thomas M'Clintock, Mary Ann's husband, was one of a small number of men who signed the Declaration of Sentiments. He and Frederick Douglass were the only two men to speak at the convention.  

The M'Clintocks' advocacy for women's rights would continue in subsequent generations. Their son-in-law Dr. James Truman - Adam and Angela's g.g.g. grandfather -  was the dean at the College of Dentistry in the University of Pennsylvania and an early and influential advocate of the admission of women into the dentistry profession. 

16. Perhaps their most heroic ancestor was  Edward Garrigues:

Edward Garrigues – Adam and Angela's g.g.g.g.g.g. uncle – was a Quaker carpenter in Philadelphia during the five decades that followed the Revolutionary War. In the summer of 1798, a yellow fever epidemic struck Philadelphia taking approximately 4,000 lives. An estimated 80 percent of the city’s population left the city for the healthier environment of the surrounding counties. Nearly all who remained were poor and did not have the financial wherewithal to leave. More than one third of those who stayed in the city died from the fever.

Edward Garrigues kept a diary which recorded his feelings, thoughts, and actions, as well as the horror that the fever caused as it spread throughout the city. He was a fairly wealthy carpenter with the financial means to re-locate out of the city. Fully understanding the considerable risks but "believing this City my proper place," he decided to stay to help "better the situation of some of my fellow creatures who are now suffering under poverty and disease."

His diary vividly recounts his very long days devoted to tending to the sick, comforting those who lost friends and relatives, helping inter the growing number of dead, and worrying about whether the fever would take him or a member of his family. The following is a typical passage:

“On passing through a sick neighbourhood, the cries of a child arrested my progress by its moans for its departed mother and in vain I offered to Console this poor orphan. And surely the cries ‘Oh my mother is dead, my mother is dead’ vibrating in my heart at present ought to excite thankfulness on my part that this language has not been applicable in my own house.”

Besides his commitment to aiding the afflicted in a private fashion, Garrigues served on a committee of a dozen men appointed by the Board of Hospitals and the Guardians of the Poor to relieve citizens "not in a situation to remove" from the city. While "publicly attending to the wants of the infirm poor in Company with my Colleagues on this appointment," he prayed, "May my heart be always ready to attend to their wants with alacrity."

17. One of their ancestors helped build the first steamboat:

According to two sources, John Wilson - their g.g.g.g.g. grand father - helped inventor John Fitch build one of the first steamboats in 1786 before Robert Fulton was credited with the invention. Wilson owned a ship building business on the Delaware River.  He was also Mary Ann M'Clintock's and Margaret Pryor's father, both signers of the Declaration of Sentiments.

18. Many of their ancestors and relatives were Presybyterian ministers:

Fourteen members of their family tree were (or currently are) ordained and active ministers in the Presbyterian church:

• David Neely (1920-1993) - grandfather

• David Smith (1946-2000) - uncle

• Jeffrey Vamos - first cousin, once removed

• William Vamos (1933-1994) - husband of great aunt

• Norman Roadarmel  - husband of great aunt

• Harry Campbell Neely (1893-1943) - great grandfather

• Edward Burgett Welsh (1881-1968) - great grandfather

• William Alexander Miller (1865-1969) - g.g. grandfather

• Paul Alexander Miller (1894-1985) - g.g. uncle

• William Wade Miller (1897-1986) - g.g. uncle

• Edward Payson Welsh (1844-1883) - g.g. grandfather

• James Ralston Burgett (1830-1903) - g.g.g. uncle

• John C. Irwin (1831- ?) - g.g.g. uncle

• Francis Gibson Ballentine ( Abt. 1791-1826) - husband of g.g.g.g.g. aunt

19. An even larger number were, or currently are, teachers:

A substantial number of relatives and ancestors made a vow of poverty and chose to become teachers:  

• Cathryn Mary Frazier  - mother

• Mary Elizabeth Neely  - aunt

• Deborah Anne Neely - aunt

• Art Stalbow - uncle

• Stan Oldstein - uncle

• Amy Smith  - first cousin

• Matt Toothaker - first cousin, by marriage

• Jeffrey Smith  - first cousin

• Vanessa Dineen - first cousin

• Margaret Anna Welsh (1944-2011) - grandmother, taught English, Bible, sewing and cooking to seminarians and their spouses at Dager Theological Seminary, Bibia, Cameroon

• David Alexander Neely (1920-1993) - grandfather, taught Hebrew, Greek, Old Testment, and other courses at Dager Theological Seminary, Bibia, Cameroon

• Mary Truman (1890-1982) - great grandmother, taught at the Plymouth Meeting Friends School and the Swarthmore Preparatory School, both in Pennsylvania

• Edward Burgett Welsh (1881-1968) - great grandfather, taught in a public high school in Nashville, Illinois

• Elizabeth Patterson Miller (1895-1987) - great grandmother, taught elementary school in York County, Pennsylvania; missionary children at Hope School in Elat, Cameroon; and evangelists in Olama, Cameroon

• Harry Campbell Neely (1893-1943) - great grandfather, taught at Dager Theological Seminary, Bibia, Cameroon

• Howard James Truman (1864-1897) - g.g. grandfather, taught Latin and Greek at Friends Central High School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Maude Mitchell Miller (1896-1962) - g.g. aunt, taught in a public school in Yeagertown, Pennsylvania

• John H. Miller (1908-2000) - g.g. uncle, taught in a public school in Youngstown, Ohio

• Annie Miller (~1858-aft.1880) - g.g.g. aunt

• Mary Lena Patterson (1858-1926) - g.g.g. aunt

• Mary Elizabeth Welsh (1840-1920) - g.g.g. aunt, taught freed African American children in Natchez, Mississippi, during and after the Civil War

• James Truman (1826-1914) - g.g.g. grandfather, taught at the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, Pennsylvania Dental College, and University of Pennsylvania

• Mary Master Truman (1822-1899) - g.g.g.g. aunt

• Julia M'Clintock (1831-1905) - g.g.g.g. aunt, taught art at Friends Central High School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Jeffrey Smedley Truman (1793-1851) - g.g.g.g.g. uncle

20. A few of their ancestors weren’t  Presbyterian ministers or teachers:

I guess it should come as no surprise that the vast majority of their ancestors up until the 20th century earned their living off the land as farmers. And, as we've seen, Adam and Angela have an unusually large number of Presbyterian ministers and teachers in your ancestry. My genealogical hunt, though, did reveal some ancestors with occupations that strayed from the norm, including the following:

• John Neely – their g.g. grandfather – was first a butcher before going into the cattle raising business in York County, Pennsylvania.

• Robert Welsh III – their g.g.g. grandfather – was a farmer for most of his life in Richland County, Ohio. After he moved to Lincoln, Tennessee, the 1880 census listed his occupation as “Horticulturalist.”

• Frederick Scranton – their g.g.g. grandfather – was a salesman in a men’s clothing store in Philadelphia.

• William Miller – their g.g.g. grandfather –was a stone mason in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

• James Truman – their g.g.g. grandfather –worked as a “woolsorter” in a wool factory in Seneca Falls before going into the dentistry. 

• James Ralph Garrigues – their g.g.g.g. grandfather – was a gas meter inspector in Philadelphia.

• John Alexander – their g.g.g.g. grandfather – worked in a cotton factory in West Chester, Pennsylvania as a “bobbin winder” before purchasing a farm in Lancaster County.

• Thomas M’Clintock – their g.g.g.g grandfather - was a pharmacist ("druggist") in Philadelphia, Waterloo, New York, and Easton, Pennslyvania.

• George Truman - their g.g.g.g. grandfather - earned a living as a carpenter, dentist, and physician at various points in his life.

• William Garrigues - their g.g.g.g.g grandfather - was a carpenter and an officer of the Carpenter's Company, the oldest craft guild in North America.

• John Wilson - their g.g.g.g.g grandfather - as noted above, was a ship builder on the Delaware River in the 18th century.

• Samuel Garrigues – their g.g.g.g.g.g grandfather – was first a wig maker and then went into the chocolate business. He is listed in one source as one of the first chocolate makers in the New World.

• Matthieu Garrigues – their g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – as noted before, ran a tavern in Philadelphia during the 1720s.

• John Ogden – their g.g.g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – immigrated to the New World in 1640 settling on Long Island. From about 1647 to 1664 he ran a whaling business, perhaps the first on Long Island.

21. Nearly all of their ancestors came from the British Isles:

I was able to trace back 24 branches of Adam and Angela's ancestral tree to Europe. With six exceptions, all immigrated from either Northern Ireland (the Neelys, Frews, Ralstons, Alexanders, and Pattersons), Scotland (the Millers), or England (the Scrantons, Trumans, Bayleys, Ogdens, Puseys, Smedleys, Darlingtons, Hammans, Allens, Earlmans, Webbs, and Staples).

Three of the six exceptions were Huguenots who came from France via the Netherlands:

• Matthieu Garrigues – their g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – was born in the Languedoc region of France in 1677 or 1678. The Languedoc region is in the south central part of the country. Matthieu, a member of the Protestant Reformed Church of France (who are commonly called “Huguenots”), fled to the Netherlands sometime after King Louis XIV renounced the Edict of Nantes and made Protestantism illegal. The Netherlands provided a tolerant safe haven for French Huguenots. In 1702, Matthieu married Suzanne Rochet – your g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandmother –  in The Hague, Netherlands. Suzanne had been born in the Netherlands in about 1686, just after her parents had fled from France. In about 1708, Matthieu and Suzanne moved to St Christopher in the West Indies. From there, they immigrated to Philadelphia in 1713 or 1714.

• Sebastian Burgett – their g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – was born in 1740 in Alsace, then a German-speaking region outside of the French kingdom. His ancestors (probably his parents) had fled the Languedoc region of France following King Louis XIV’s renunciation of the Edict of Nantes. His ancestors’ surname had been “Bourget”, which was probably changed upon their departure from France. Sebastian went from Alsace to the Netherlands, and lived there for a short period of time. He immigrated to the New World in either the 1760s or 1770s.

The other three exceptions were Dutch and German Mennonites:

• Herman Karsdorp and his wife Adriana De Voss - Adam and Angela's g.g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandparents – were Dutch Mennonites. Both had been born in Amsterdam in the mid 17th century. They came to America in 1700 with their four children. They settled in Germantown, Pennsylvania, then a small settlement of mostly German Quakers and Mennonites located northwest of Philadelphia. He purchased 20 acres of land in Germantown. He was a ship builder and is on the original list of members in 1708 of the Mennonite congregation in Germantown.

• Henry Kolb - their g.g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather  – was born in about 1680 in Wolfsheim, Baden, which is located in the southwestern corner of modern Germany. He was a "vinedresser", meaning that he cultivated and pruned grape vines. He, his wife (whose name is unknown), and their three children went to England in 1709. Shortly afterwards, they emigrated to the New World, settling first in Germantown, then moving west to Skippack, a newly settled town of German Mennonites in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Henry was a trustee of the Mennonite Church in Skippack.

22. Nearly all of their ancestors started in Pennsylvania:

With four exceptions, all of their ancestors started their life in the New World in Pennsylvania. Many of their Quaker ancestors – including the Puseys, Trumans, Smedleys, Allens, and Darlingtons – came soon after Charles II handed William Penn the land which is present day Pennsylvania. These Quaker settlers started in Philadelphia or in one of the two surrounding counties, Chester County and Bucks County. Their German/Dutch Mennonite ancestors settled first in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Their Presbyterian ancestors from Northern Ireland came a bit later and first settled in Lancaster County to the west of the Quaker and Mennonite ancestors. These Presbyterian Scotch-Irish ancestors included the Neelys, Pattersons, Montgomerys, Alexanders, Snyders, and Taylors. Other ancestors started their life the New World in western Pennsylvania, with the Burgetts settling in Washington County and the Millers in Allegheny County.

The four original settlers who didn’t start in Pennsylvania are:

• John Scranton – their g.g.g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – immigrated from England in 1639 and settled in Guilford, Connecticut. All of their Scranton ancestry lived in Guilford or in nearby Connecticut towns until the 19th century. Frederick Scranton – their g.g.g. grandfather – was the first of their Scranton ancestors to venture away from Connecticut. He was born in 1828 in Middletown, Connecticut, moved to New Jersey in the 1840s, then went to Philadelphia in about 1854 where he married Mary Miller Garrigues in 1857.

• John Ogden – their g.g.g.g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – immigrated from England in 1640 and settled in Southhampton, on the southern coast of Long Island. His great granddaughter, Mary, would marry Samuel Garrigues of Philadelphia.

• James Welch – their g.g.g.g.g.g. grandfather – was born in South Carolina at the beginning of the 18th century. His parents, or perhaps his grandparents, immigrated from Northern Ireland or Scotland to South Carolina in the 17th century. In 1729, James moved to Paxtang, Pennsylvania, just east of present day Harrisburg. James’ son Robert would move to western Pennsylvania in the late 18th century, settling on a farm in Chartiers Township in Washington County that would remain in the family for three generations.

• Ann Ralston– their g.g.g.g. grandmother – immigrated from Tyrone County, Ireland in 1803 shortly after the death of her husband. She first settled in Baltimore, Maryland, then migrated to Armstrong County in western Pennsylvania in about 1807.

 23. All of their ancestors were Protestants:

All of Adam and Angela's direct ancestors were either Presbyterians, Quakers, Puritans, Huguenots, or Mennonites. These five religious groups were persecuted for their beliefs in Europe. Escaping that persecution was a major reason why many of them came to this country. I couldn’t find a Lutheran, Episcopalian, or Methodist among their direct ancestors, much less a Catholic, Jew, Muslim, or Buddhist.

Nearly all of the ancestry on their grandfather’s side were Presbyterians who immigrated from Northern Ireland or from Scotland. The one exception was the Puseys, who were Quakers living in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Hannah Pusey married Thomas Patterson, a Presbyterian farmer living in Lancaster County.

Most of the ancestry on their great grandmother Mary Truman’s side were Quakers, including the Trumans, Moores, Smedleys, Darlingtons, Pyles, Allens, and Masters. The Garrigues started as members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France. Nearly all of them joined the Society of Friends when they arrived in this country. The early M’Clintock family (Thomas M’Clintock’s ancestry on his father’s side) appear to have been Presbyterian. Thomas M'Clintock's great grandparents on his mother's side were German/Dutch Mennonites. The original Scrantons and Ogdens were Puritans and among the first settlers in the New World.

Virtually all of the ancestry on their great grandfather Edward Welsh’s side were Presbyterians, including the Welshes, Ralstons, Vaughn’s, Dawsons, Caldwells, and so on. The Burgetts, who started as members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France, appear to have joined the Presbyterian Church upon their arrival in the New World.

24. Their ancestors showed little imagination when naming their children:

There are 1,998 relatives in my genealogical database: 1010 are male and 988 are female. Nearly one half (49.4%) of all of their male relatives were given one of the following six Biblical or Anglo-Saxon names:

• John (115)

• William (107)

• James (63)

• Thomas (59)

• Samuel (50)

• Joseph (45)

 Likewise with the females: 43 percent were given one of the following six names:

• Mary (152)

• Elizabeth (86)

• Sarah (74)

• Hannah (52)

• Ann (32)

• Jane (32)

Some relatives whose parents strayed from the norm include:

• Eliphalet Hall – the husband of their g.g.g.g.g.g. great aunt;

• Elmslie Garrigues – their first cousin, six times removed;

• Flavius Ewing – the husband of their first cousin, three times removed;

• Lettuce Ryan – the wife of their g.g.g.g.g.g great uncle;

• Noahdiah Carter – their second cousin, six times removed; and

• Zerubabel Hullock – the husband of their second cousin, five times removed.

I can report that there is only one Angela and one Adam in the database.

By John Neely, June 2013