QUAKER-ROOTS-L Archives
Archiver > QUAKER-ROOTS > 2001-09 > 0999403280
From: Shannon <>
Subject: [Q-R] SELL, WYETH, TATUM, SHIELDS, WEAVIL, HEDGECOCK, DE, NC, PA, GA, others
Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2001 21:01:20 -0700 (PDT)
In-Reply-To: <032d01c13355$71119920$4328480c@oemcomputer>
(LONG posting -- VERY long)
I'm fairly new to Quaker genealogy and researching them and associated
families; if I commit a breach of etiquette, please let me know.
I'm trying to nail down my SELL family through the help of associated
branches. My grandmother's grandfather was Jacob William SELL, m.
Elizabeth Caroline HEDGECOCK in 1872 near High Point, Davidson Co., NC.
This I have from their (HEDGECOCK/SELL) Bible as well as my
grandmother's recollection of her grandparents. She knows there are
"plenty of Quakers" on the SELL side.
Unfortunately, some earlier generations are giving me a lot of trouble,
and I hope something looks familiar to someone on this list. Here's what
I have back from there, based upon her recollection, other branches of
the family, and in some cases, some actual sources(!) This may get to
be very long -- if you don't think this matches your family or area of
expertise, I promise not to be offended if you hit -next- now :) I'll
number each paragraph as an aid to generation tracking...
(1) Jonathan SELL, b abt 1700 in New Castle, DE m. Hannah WYETH,
possibly in New Jersey. I don't have any documentation on this
marriage; I don't even know whether they were Quaker at this time.
Here are a few notes:
(1) "There is a 1718 Indenture in the New Jersey Archives... which
records the sale of 205 acres of land in Gloucester Co., New Jersey from
John Hugg to one Jonathan Sell... presumed to be this Jonathan. Index to
"History of Delaware" by J. Thomas Scharf... lists on page 642: "Sell,
Jonathan, Market controversy, Wilmington, 1736... presumed also to be
this man. Volume II, page 672: "In 1736 a collection was taken up in
Willington (now Wilmington) and the Hundred of Christiana, Deleware (now
New Castle County)... Jonathan Sell contributed five shillings..."
(1(??)) In "The Gloucester County Ear Mark Book, 1686-1728", Gloucester
Co. Historical Society, Woodbury, New Jersey... is the following opening
paragraph: "The names of such persons that gave in the markes of thier
Hogges at the Court held at Gloucester the 1st of 7th month 1686 which
were there approved of and ordered to be Registered and a Publick
Registry thereof to be kept by the clark of ye said Court... Jonathan
Sell L Cropt and slit on side..." Other names include Tatem, Wood,
Ladd, Bull, Chew, Hugge... If this is this Jonathan he must have been
considerably older than we have figured here to have been an adult by
1686... perhaps this Jonathan had a father or Uncle named Jonathan??
I wonder about that..... anyone know?
(1) This couple (evidently) had the following kids: William (m. Deborah
CHEW), Samuel (m. Margaret BESORE in PA), Elizabeth (m. John DAWES,
possibly in the Kennett or Newark, Chester Co., PA Meeting(s)), Hendry,
and Jonathan (my ancestor) (m. Sarah TATUM)
(2) That Jonathan m. Sarah TATUM 1/6/1756 in New Jersey. According to a
CELLE family researcher, Carolyn Cell Choppin, "Marriage performed by
J.P. John Ladd." Other documentation: " Marriage license, Gloucester
Co., New Jersey is dated 8 Jan. 1756 for "Jonathan Sell and Sarah Tatem,
spinster." James O. Bond in his book "Walk Cheerfully over the Earth..."
on page 88, states that "Sarah Tatum... married Jonathan Sell on the 6th
day of January, 1756, in Gloucester County, New Jersey. They were
married by a Justice of the Peace, John Ladd. The Justice was a
prominent Quaker... Samuel Pearl, Gabriel Black, and William Sell
signed the marriage document of Jonathan and Sarah..."
(2) Supposedly he became a Quaker at the time of his marriage. More
notes from other researchers: "Jonathan and Sarah Sell moved from New
Jersey to North Carolina by May 1762 when they were received into the
Cane Creek Monthly Meeting, Orange Co.,N.C. In late 1767 they moved from
North Carolina to Georgia, settling Northwest of Augusta in then
Columbia, now McDuffie County. Here they were pioneer founders of the
Quaker community of Wrightsboro, which lasted some 20 years. About 1785
this community disolved and most of the Quaker families returned to
North Carolina, including Jonathan and Sarah and several of their
children." Evidently, they had some trouble with kids marrying out of
unity, with several doing so. Kids are: Sarah (mou. William HARRIS),
Mary (died as a teen?), Patience (also died as a teen?), Deborah (mou.
William SCOTT), Enos (m. Mary), Elizabeth (m. Joseph MENDENHALL), Thomas
(m. Martha, and was kicked out of his Meeting for "bearing arms in a
warlike manner"), Johnathon (m. Sarah SHIELDS), and John (m. Rachael
SHIELDS). I believe the SHIELDS girls were sisters.
(3) John and Rachel were evidently mou -- but why, then would Johnathon
and Sarah not have been? I have precious little on this generation. I
don't believe John and Johnathon are the same kid -- but I'm open to
discussing it. The SHIELDS family is in North Carolina via Delaware and
I don't THINK they were Quaker; in fact, I'm reasonably certain they
descend from New England Puritans (!). I'm also pretty certain that I
have another line to the SHIELDS family through the HEDGECOCKs, who
married into the SELLs a couple of generations into the future. (Two
brothers, Abel and Reuben SHIELDS, in case anyone else has anything on
this family who seemed to tempt Quakers out of unity.)
(4) John and Rachel SELL's son William (my ancestor), born abt 1805,
married Roseannah WEAVIL. The marriage information I have is North
Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868 (on LDS Microfiche): "William Sell,
groom; Rozo Weavel, bride; 19 Dec. 1830, Stokes Co., No. Carolina; John
Shields, bondsman; C. Stockton, witness. However, they're both buried
at Muddy Creek, so presumably they returned to the Friends at some point
in their lives. Roseannah's mother may have been a HEGGE according to my
grandmother (who is Roseannah's great-granddaughter). William's sister
Sarah married Lowell FRAZIER according to John SELL's probate.
(5) Wow -- this has gone on for quite a while. William and Roseannah's
son, Jacob William, was not Quaker as far as anyone knows, so I should
stop here. But I'd love to know where I should begin to look for any
notation of his birth, since his parents may have been Quaker at the
time of his birth.
Thank you for your assistance, not to mention patience in ploughing
through this!
Shannon
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Shannon Smith || a@b.c where a="cantante" and b="xocolatl" and c="com"
My idea of doing housework is to sweep the room with a glance.
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