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The Ancestry of 
Nelson Hyder and Lucy Jane Bentley Hyder

A genealogical report by
David T. Koyzis,
great-grandson

July 2002




 

This report concerns the ancestors of my great-grandparents, Nelson Hyder (1875-1959) and Lucy Jane Bentley Hyder (1875-1948). I shall begin with Nelson, whose ancestors can be traced to sixteenth-century Germany, and then move on to Lucy Jane, whose ancestry can be traced much earlier to the British Isles and indeed to virtually every country in Europe, and appears to include some rather prominent personages.

My research began with two written reminiscences of Lucy Jane, which she had the foresight to record for posterity in 1940 and 1945 and which are included in the appendix below. In these she recounted as much of her family history as she could recall, going back to the end of the 18th century. Had it not been for these reminiscences my own research would have been that much more difficult, if not impossible. But armed with this information, which has proved remarkably accurate, I was able to establish quite a few connections, the most significant of which are recounted below. Much of this information is now available on the internet, through the familysearch.org website of the Mormons and the ancestry.com and rootsweb.com websites. Other information was culled from websites devoted to individual family histories. My research has been further enhanced by communication with distant cousins, with whom I have been put in touch through the genforum.com website.

A word of warning is in order. There is no certainty to many of the connections that I have discovered, and in some cases there is more than one theory as to the parentage of a particular person in the charts. This is especially true of the royal genealogies, some of which implausibly claim to trace forebears back as far as King Priam of Troy or even the biblical Noah's son Japheth or to Jacob's son Judah! These seem to be rather obvious fabrications, undoubtedly put together to enhance the stature of a monarch whose ancestry was thereby made to seem that much more illustrious.


 

NELSON HYDER'S ANCESTRY

Nelson's Hyder ancestors apparently originated in the little village of Glashütten in the region of Oberfranken (Upper Franconia) in what is now Germany. Oberfranken became part of Bavaria after 1815, but before that it encompassed the Principality of Beyreuth and the Bishoprics of Bamberg and Würtzburg. Glashütten is located approximately ten kilometres southwest of the city of Beyreuth, and if it was within the boundaries of the principality of that name (which I am unable to determine), it would likely have been protestant during and after the 16th century. The Hyder surname may originally have been spelt Heyder or Heider. The known pedigree is rather simple, beginning with the earliest forebears, surnamed Bauer. Collateral ancestors are not included until the tenth generation. Please note that each number indicates a new generation. Birth years and death years are not always known in every case.


 

1. Herman BAUER (b.1574)
sp: Appolonia  (b.1578)
  +-2. Wolf BAUER (b.1592-Oberfranken,Germany)
    sp: Katherina  (b.1596-Glashütten,Oberfranken,Germany d.1686-Glashütten,Oberfranken,Germany)
     +-3. Johann BAUER (b.1644-Ploesen,Oberfranken,Germany d.1731-Ploesen,Oberfranken,Germany)
       sp: Margaretha NUETZL (b.1645-Ploesen,Oberfranken,Germany)
        +-4. Barbara BAUER
          sp: Johannes (Hans) HEYDER (b.1676 d.1741)
           +-5. Johannes (Hans) Michael HEYDER (b.1704-Glashütten,Oberfranken,Germany d.1758-Virginia)
             sp: Kathrine CHASTEEN (b.1700-Glashütten,Oberfranken,Germany d.1746)
              +-6. Michael HYDER (b.1740-Hampshire Co.,Virginia d.1790-Carter Co.,Tennessee,USA)
                sp: Elizabeth WOOD (b.1745-Hampshire Co.,Virginia d.1841-Carter Co.,Tennessee,USA)
                 +-7. Michael HYDER (b.1767-Carter Co.,Tennessee,USA d.1861-Carter Co.,Tennessee,USA)
                   sp: Sarah Isenberg ZIMMERMAN (b.1780 d.1865-Carter Co.,Tennessee,USA)
                    +-8. Joseph D. HYDER (b.1820-Carter Co.,Tennessee,USA d.1882-Carter Co.,Tennessee,USA)
                      sp: Elizabeth BEAN (b.1812-Washington Co.,Tennessee m.1839)
                       +-9. Mary HYDER (b.1844-Mitchell Co.,North Carolina,or Carter Co.,Tennessee, USA d.1925-Adrian,Michigan,USA)
                         & UNKNOWN
                          |-10. Nelson HYDER (b.1875-Mitchell Co.,North Carolina,USA d.1959-Adrian,Michigan,USA)
                          | sp: Lucy Jane BENTLEY (b.1875-Big Stone Gap,Virginia,USA m.1896 d.1948-Adrian,Michigan,USA)
                          |  |-11. Frances Marie HYDER (b.1904-Big Stone Gap,Virginia,USA d.1975-Naperville,Illinois,USA)
                          |  | sp: Eino Justus KORPINEN (b.1905-Oskar,Michigan,USA m.1928 d.1977-Plant City, Hillsborough, Florida)
                          |  |-11. Mary Elisabeth HYDER (b.1896-Big Stone Gap,Virginia,USA d.1968-Adrian,Lenawee,Michigan)
                          |  | sp: Richard SUYDAM (b.1898-Adrian,Lenawee,Michigan m.1917 d.1933-Adrian,Lenawee,Michigan)
                          |  |-11. William Bennie HYDER (b.1898-Big Stone Gap,Virginia,USA d.1968-Adrian,Lenawee,Michigan)
                          |  | sp: Sinda BYRD (b.1910 d.1981-Adrian,Lenawee Co.,Michigan,USA)
                          |  |-11. Emma HYDER (b.1901-Big Stone Gap,Virginia,USA d.1901-Big Stone Gap,Virginia)
                          |  |-11. Emmet HYDER (b.1901-Big Stone Gap,Virginia,USA d.1901-Big Stone Gap,Virginia,USA)
                          |  |-11. Johnie Willard HYDER (b.1902-Big Stone Gap,Virginia,USA d.1986-Bradenton,Florida,USA)
                          |  |   sp: Christine
                          |  |-11. Theodore Roosevelt HYDER (b.1907-Big Stone Gap,Virginia,USA d.1974-Saginaw,Saginaw,Michigan)
                          |  | sp: Dora (DREW)
                          |  |-11. Walter Birdine HYDER (b.1909-Big Stone Gap,Virginia,USA d.)
                          |  | sp: Carmella CATERINO (b.1919-Michigan d.1998-Rialto,San Bernardino,California)
                          |  |-11. Virginia Helen HYDER (b.1911-Big Stone Gap,Virginia,USA d.1945-Michigan,USA)
                          |  | sp: Ervan KINGSLAND (b.1907 d.1978-Akron (Ellet),Summit,Ohio)
                          |  |-11. Ruby May HYDER (b.1913-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA d.2001-Michigan,USA)
                          |  | sp: Joseph KASENOW (b.1907-Michigan m.1933 d.1977-Riverview,Wayne,Michigan)
                          |  |-11. Catherine June HYDER (b.1916-Adrian,Michigan,USA d.2001-Scottsdale,Arizona,USA)
                          |  | sp: James MCLAUGHLIN (b.1892-Michigan d.1973-Phoenix,Maricopa,Arizona)
                          |  +-11. Hazel HYDER (b.1918-Adrian,Michigan,USA d.1977-Adrian,Michigan,USA)
                          |    sp: MILLER
                         sp: David SHEPPARD
                         sp: William HUGHES (d.1875)
                          +-10. Edna HUGHES (b.1861-Mitchell Co,North Carolina d.1927-Lansing,Michigan)
                            sp: Samuel BIRCHFIELD (b.1836)

Hans Michael and Katherine immigrated from Germany to Virginia on the Mortonhouse, which sailed from Rotterdam to Philadelphia in 1729. Their son Michael moved from Virginia to Carter County, Tennessee, where their descendants were born, up to and apparently including Nelson's mother Mary Hyder Shepherd. Around 1914 Nelson moved the family from Big Stone Gap, Virginia, to near Adrian, Michigan, where his mother and stepfather, David Shepherd, were already living. The identity of Nelson's natural father is unknown.

Mary Hyder Shepherd (seated, right) with daughter, Edna Hughes Birchfield, 1900s (?)
 

Nelson Hyder (far right), with four of his children, (left to right)
Johnie, Marie, Ruby and Hazel, 1957

LUCY JANE BENTLEY HYDER'S ANCESTRY
 

Lucy Jane's known ancestry is far more interesting and complex. There is no way to include everything I've discovered in a brief report. But suffice it to say that her ancestors have connections with the early colonial settlement of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and (apparently) Connecticut in the seventeenth century. Among the surnames in her family are included Wells, Culbertson (Cuthbertson), Osborne, Patterson, Elkins, Bentley (of course), Davis, Bridgeman, Hines, Thomas, Beasley, Williams, Brown, Howard (the powerful Dukes of Norfolk in England), Gassaway, Hammond, Gorsuch (possibly), Hall, Booth, Ashton, Dutton, Hawley, Venables and Brereton. Depending on the veracity of some of these connections, more surnames can be added, including Lovelace, Barnes, Sandys, Wroth, Rich, Dixon, de Roos, Latimer, de Hastings, Tudor, York, Lancaster, Plantagenet (the early kings of England after the Norman conquest), and many more. Again, depending on the reliability of the connections, Lucy Jane's ancestors include William the Conqueror, the Capetian kings of France, the kings of Castile, Aragon and Leon (now parts of Spain), the kings of Hungary, Scotland and Scandinavia (Norse chieftains), the grand princes of Kievan Rus of the Rurik dynasty (also originally Norse chieftains), the emperors of more than one Byzantine dynasty, and the Frankish rulers going back to Charlemagne and his forebears. Even Hugh VIII de Lusignan, the ancestor of the Latin kings of Cyprus from 1192 to 1489, is numbered among her direct forebears (her 25th, 26th and 27th great grandfather). I find this especially interesting, because my mother married a Greek Cypriot!

Lucy Jane Bentley Hyder with daughter, Marie, early 1920s

The Bentley line

The following is an account of the Bentley line, beginning with Thomas Bentley, Sr. The names in boldface are of direct ancestors of ours; other names are of collateral ancestors.

1. Thomas BENTLEY Sr. (b.1690-Virginia d.)
sp: Mary BEASLEY (b.1695-Virginia d.)
 +-2. Thomas BENTLEY Jr. (b.1729-Lincoln Co.,North Carolina d.1789-Lincoln Co.,North Carolina)
   sp: Hannah THOMAS (b.1725-Massachusetts d.1793-Lincoln Co.,North Carolina)
    |-3. Benjamin BENTLEY (b.1747-North Carolina d.1839-Wilkes County,North Carolina)
    | sp: Jane (b.1750-Rowan Co.,North Carolina)
    |  |-4. Squire (Esquire) BENTLEY (b.1770 d.1851-Alexander Co,North Carolina)
    |  | sp: Sarah HINES (b.1770)
    |  |  |-5. Benjamin H. BENTLEY (b.1814 d.North Carolina,USA)
    |  |  | sp: Mary "Polly" DAVIS (b.1815)
    |  |  |  |-6. Squire Benjamin Martin BENTLEY (b.1849-Yancey,North Carolina,m.1870,d.1903-East Stone Gap,Virginia,USA)
    |  |  |  | sp: Virginia Elizabeth WELLS (b.1854-East Stone Gap,Virginia,USA d.1917-East Stone Gap,Virginia,USA)
    |  |  |  |  |-7. Lucy Jane BENTLEY (b.1875-Big Stone Gap,Virginia,USA d.1948-Adrian,Michigan,USA)
    |  |  |  |  | sp: Nelson HYDER (b.1875-Mitchell Co.,North Carolina,USA m.1896 d.1959-Adrian,Michigan,USA)
    |  |  |  |  |-7. William BENTLEY (b.1873 d.1906)
    |  |  |  | +-7. Mary BENTLEY (b.1881 d.1934)
    |  |  |  |-6. Henry BENTLEY (b.1845-North Carolina,USA)
    |  |  |  | sp: Jerusha ELKINS (b.1845 d.1916-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA)
    |  |  |  |-6. Thomas Newton BENTLEY (b.1847-North Carolina,USA)
    |  |  |  | sp: Jennette WELLS (b.1855-Lee Co.,Virginia,USA)
    |  |  |  |-6. David BENTLEY (b.1855-North Carolina,USA)
    |  |  |  | sp: Sarah ELKINS (m.1883)
    |  |  |  |-6. Nancy (Katherine) E. BENTLEY (b.1857-North Carolina,USA)
    |  |  |  | sp: James CHANDLER (b.North Carolina,USA)
    |  |  |  |-6. William Rufus BENTLEY (b.1840-North Carolina,USA d.1889)
    |  |  |  | sp: Rachel OLDHAM
    |  |  |  | sp: Louise BENTLEY (b.1855-Letcher Co.,Kentucky)
    |  |  | +-6. George BENTLEY (b.1850 d.died in infancy?)
    |  |  |-5. Squire (Esquire) BENTLEY (b.1821-North Carolina,USA d.1865)
    |  |  | sp: Frances "Fanny" DAVIS (b.1822 d.1916-)
    |  |  |-5.Elizabeth BENTLEY (b.1800 d.)
    |  |  | sp: Bentley HARRISON
    |  |  |-5. Jane BENTLEY (b.1811)
    |  |  |-5. Hannah BENTLEY (b.1800 d.1892)
    |  |  | sp: Thomas BENTLEY (b.1805 d.1888)
    |  |  |-5. Margaret BENTLEY (b.1806)
    |  |  |-5. Martin BENTLEY (b.1815)
    |  | +-5. Mary BENTLEY
    |  |-4. Benjamin BENTLEY Jr. (b.1771)
    |  | sp: UNKNOWN
    |  |  |-5. Daniel BENTLEY (b.1800)
    |  | +-5. Thomas BENTLEY (b.1805 d.1888)
    |  | sp: Hannah BENTLEY (b.1800 d.1892)
    |  |-4. James BENTLEY (b.1781-Irdella Co.,North Carolina d.1815-Alexander Co,North Carolina,or Letcher Co.,Kentucky)
    |  | sp: Elizabeth LAWS (b.1785-Wilkes County,North Carolina)
    |  |  +-5. Mary BENTLEY (b.1837-Irdella Co.,North Carolina d.1925-Letcher Co.,Kentucky)
    |  |    sp: Davis BENTLEY (b.1836 d.1910)
    |  |     +-6. Louise BENTLEY (b.1855-Letcher Co.,Kentucky)
    |  |       sp: William Rufus BENTLEY (b.1840-North Carolina,USA d.1889)
    |  |       sp: John V. BENTLEY (b.1849-Letcher Co.,Kentucky)
    |  |-4. Drucilla BENTLEY (b.1772-Bear Creek,Rowan County,North Carolina)
    |  | sp: Joseph HARRISON (b.1790)
    |  | +-5. Bentley HARRISON
    |  |   sp: Elizabeth BENTLEY (b.1800 d.)
    |  |-4. Moses BENTLEY (b.1766-North Carolina)
    | +-4. Catherine BENTLEY (b.1773)
    |-3. Mary BENTLEY (b.1749-Chowan Co.,North Carolina)
    |-3. Daniel BENTLEY (b.1752)
    | sp: Nancy Jane LEWIS
    | +-4. Thomas BENTLEY (b.1782-North Carolina d.1860)
    | sp: Margarett CRACE (b.1795-Virginia,USA)
    |  |-5. Davis BENTLEY (b.1836 d.1910)
    |  | sp: Mary BENTLEY (b.1837-Irdella Co.,North Carolina d.1925-Letcher Co.,Kentucky)
    |  |  +-6. Louise BENTLEY (b.1855-Letcher Co.,Kentucky) (*Already Printed*)
    | +-5. Thomas BENTLEY Jr. (b.1827)
    |   sp: Dulcina JOHNSON (b.1832)
    |   +-6. John V. BENTLEY (b.1849-Letcher Co.,Kentucky)
    |     sp: Louise BENTLEY (b.1855-Letcher Co.,Kentucky)
    |-3. Lydia BENTLEY (b.1755)
    |-3. Patience BENTLEY (b.1757)
   +-3. Margaret BENTLEY (b.1765-North Carolina)

The Bentley family apparently came from England, and some pedigrees I've seen locate the first Thomas Bentley's birth in England around 1700. I am unable to assess the validity of the two divergent accounts. The Bentleys appear to have been the stereotypical mountain people of the Appalachians, complete with marriages between fairly close cousins, as indicated at more than one point above.

Squire Benjamin Martin Bentley and Virginia Elizabeth Wells Bentley, 1890s (?)

The Davis line

As for the Davis line, I have been unable to locate any information that takes us earlier than Lucy Jane's reminiscences. However, correspondence with a distant cousin, Jack Davis, has fleshed out some of this information. Jeremiah and Nancy moved to Hardin County, Illinois, around 1851, taking Nancy's mother Mary Bridgeman and most of their children with them. They left behind three daughters, including Mary Davis Bentley, from whom we are all descended. Jack Davis is descended from one of the offspring that relocated to southern Illinois. The surname "Madcap" is a bit of a mystery. Lucy Jane reported this to be Nancy Davis' maiden name (see appendix), but existing records appear to identify her birth surname as Bridgeman. Nancy's mother, Mary Bridgeman, was born around 1778 and died around 1871. All of the sons fought in the Civil War in the Illinois infantry for the Union. Census records appear to have relied on reported ages, and these often changed from one census to the next (though apparently not out of personal vanity, because Nancy somehow managed to age herself 19 years between 1850 and 1860). Hence the different possible birth years for Nancy Bridgeman Davis.

Although I have found no earlier information, Jack Davis notes that two men named George Davis and Roger Bridgeman served in Col. Adam Stephens' company around 1755.  The following year George Davis was killed by Indians in the region of what is now West Virginia.  It is possible that Jeremiah may have been George's grandson, and perhaps Mary was the daughter or granddaughter of Roger Bridgeman.  But again this is speculation.

1. Jeremiah DAVIS (b.1794-North Carolina or Virginia,USA d.1882-Hardin Co.,Illinois,USA)
sp: Nancy (MADCAP?) BRIDGEMAN (b.1796 or 1805-North Carolina or Virginia,USA d.Illinois,USA)
 |-2.Mary "Polly" DAVIS (b.1815)
 | sp: Benjamin H. BENTLEY (b.1814 d.North Carolina,USA)
 |-2. Jeremiah T. DAVIS (b.1834-Alexander Co,North Carolina)
 |-2. Peter DAVIS (b.1822-Alexander Co,North Carolina)
 |-2. Robert A. DAVIS (b.1836-North Carolina,USA)
 |-2. George F. DAVIS (b.1829-Alexander Co,North Carolina d.1873)
 | sp: Mary Jane FRAILEY
 |-2. William DAVIS
 |-2. Elizabeth DAVIS (b.1812-Hardin Co.,Illinois,USA d.1890)
 | sp: John SIMMONS
 |-2. Katherine DAVIS
 |-2. Nancy DAVIS (d.1894-Hardin Co.,Illinois)
 | sp: Archibald LACKEY
 |-2. Frances "Fanny" DAVIS{+} (b.1822 d.1916-)
 | sp: Squire (Esquire) BENTLEY (b.1821-North Carolina,USA d.1865)
sp: Catherine EADS (b.North Carolina)
+-2. Frances "Fanny" DAVIS{+} (b.1822 d.1916-) (*Already Printed*)

The identity of Frances "Fanny" Davis' mother is in doubt. Her death certificate indicates that her parents were Jeremiah Davis and one Catherine Eads. But census data show no indication of such a person. Thus Frances Davis is listed twice above under both "mothers."
 

The Wells and Howard lines

Here is a similar chart for the Wells line, beginning with James Wells, who was apparently born in England and migrated to Maryland:

1. James WELLS (b.1648-Somerset,England d.1680-Baltimore,Maryland)
sp: Elizabeth CLARK? (b.1648-<,Baltimore,Maryland>)
 |-2. Sarah WELLS (b.1697-Prince Georges,Queen Anne,Maryland)
 |-2. Robert WELLS (b.1693-Prince Georges,Queen Anne,Maryland d.1771)
 |-2. Elizabeth WELLS (b.1699-Prince Georges,Queen Anne,Maryland)
 |-2. James WELLS (b.1672-Baltimore,Maryland d.1771-Baltimore,Maryland)
 | sp: Ann STEVENSON (b.1690-,Baltimore,Maryland m.1708 d.1773-,Baltimore,Maryland)
 |  |-3. Alexander WELLS (b.1727-St. Pauls,Baltimore,Maryland d.1753-Wellsburg,Brooke,West Virginia)
 |  |-3. Richard WELLS (b.1715-Baltimore,Maryland d.1808-probably Virginia or Ross Co.,Ohio)
 |  | sp: Nancy BROWN
 |  |  |-4. Zachariah WELLS (b.1745 d.1825-Lee Co.,Virginia,USA)
 |  |  | sp: Abigail OSBORNE (b.1757-Orange County,Virginia, d.1856-McMinn County,TN)
 |  |  |  |-5. Dr. Jeremiah WELLS (b.1792-Scott Co.,Virginia,USA d.1845-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  | sp: Elizabeth CULBERTSON (b.1796-Scott Co.,Virginia,USA d.1858-Wise County,Virginia)
 |  |  |  |  |-6. David W. WELLS (b.1815 d.1865)
 |  |  |  |  | sp: Nancy Jane ELKINS (b.1822 d.1887-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |  |  |-7. Virginia Elizabeth WELLS (b.1854-East Stone Gap,Virginia,USA d.1917-East Stone Gap,Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |  |  | sp: Squire Benjamin Martin BENTLEY (b.1849-Yancey,North Carolina d.1903-East Stone Gap,Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |  |  |-7. James M. B. WELLS (b.1857-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |  |  |-7. Agnes Sommerville (?) WELLS (b.1859-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA d.1860)
 |  |  |  |  |  |-7. Lucy Ann WELLS (b.1849-Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |  |  |-7. Jennette WELLS (b.1855-Lee Co.,Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |  |  | sp: Thomas Newton BENTLEY (b.1847-North Carolina,USA)
 |  |  |  |  |  |-7. Jeremiah E. WELLS (b.1851-Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |  |  |-7. Jonathan Hyatt WELLS (b.1862-Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |  |  |-7. William Tazewell WELLS (b.1865 d.1940-Pardee,Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |  | +-7. Newton P. WELLS (b.1873)
 |  |  |  |  |-6. Andrew WELLS (b.Lee County,Virginia)
 |  |  |  |  |-6. Joseph Culbertson WELLS (b.1813)
 |  |  |  |  |-6. James Franklin WELLS (b.1817-Lee County,Virginia d.1871-Gladeville,Wise County,Virginia)
 |  |  |  |  |-6. Jeremiah C. WELLS (b.1819)
 |  |  |  |  |-6. Ellington WELLS (b.1821)
 |  |  |  |  |-6. Johnson WELLS (b.1823-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |  |-6. Franklin WELLS (b.1825-Lee Co.,Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |  |-6. Agnes WELLS (b.1828)
 |  |  |  |  |-6. Elizabeth WELLS (b.1829)
 |  |  |  |  |-6. William WELLS (b.1833)
 |  |  |  | +-6. Jonathan Brickey WELLS (b.1837-Big Stone Gap,Lee County,Virginia d.1923-Texas,USA)
 |  |  |  |-5. Joseph WELLS
 |  |  |  |-5. Thomas WELLS (b.1772-Grayson Co,Virginia d.1845)
 |  |  |  | sp: Rebecca BLEVINS (b.1775)
 |  |  |  |  +-6. Jacob WELLS (b.1804)
 |  |  |  |  sp: Nancy Jane ELKINS (b.1822 d.1887-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |   |-7. Rebecca WELLS (b.1841-Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |   |-7. Margaret WELLS (b.1843-Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |  +-7. Rachel WELLS (b.1845-Virginia,USA)
 |  |  |  |-5. Nancy WELLS (b.1773)
 |  |  |  | sp: John BOGGS
 |  |  |  |-5. William T. WELLS (b.1779)
 |  |  |  |-5. Robert WELLS (b.1780)
 |  |  |  |-5. Jemina WELLS (b.1781)
 |  |  |  |-5. Elizabeth WELLS (b.1783)
 |  |  |  |-5. Abigail WELLS (b.1785)
 |  |  |  |-5. Jacob WELLS (b.1787)
 |  |  | +-5. John P. WELLS (b.1789)
 |  |  |-4. Aaron WELLS
 |  |  |-4. Edmond WELLS
 |  |  |-4. George WELLS
 |  |  |-4. Moses WELLS
 |  |  |-4. Richard WELLS
 |  |  |-4. Robert WELLS
 |  |  |-4. Thomas WELLS
 |  |  |-4. William WELLS
 |  |  |-4. Mary WELLS (b.1748)
 |  |  |-4. James WELLS (b.1751)
 |  |  |-4. Patience WELLS (b.1759)
 |  |  |-4. Nathaniel WELLS (b.1765)
 |  | sp: Mary STEVENSON
 |  |  |-4. Charles WELLS
 |  |  |-4. Bazil WELLS
 |  | +-4. Hugh WELLS
 |  |-3. Honor WELLS (b.1724-Baltimore,Baltimore,Md d.1816-Holiday Cove,Berks Co.,West Virginia)
 |  |-3. Patience WELLS (b.1712-,Baltimore,Maryland)
 |  |-3. James WELLS (b.1716-Baltimore Md.,Baltimore,Maryland d.1804-Baltimore Md.,Brook,West Virginia)
 |  |-3. Prudence WELLS (b.1720-Baltimore,Baltimore,Md)
 |  |-3. Anne WELLS (b.1729-Baltimore,Baltimore,Maryland,St.paul Epscopal)
 |  |-3. Thomas WELLS (b.1710-<,Baltimore,Maryland> d.1804-,Baltimore,Baltimore,Maryland)
 |  | sp: Elizabeth Howard WELLS (b.1714-Garrison Forest,Baltimore,Maryland m.1736 d.1785)
 |  |  |-4. Joseph WELLS (b.1739-,,Baltimore,Maryland d.1808-,,Fred.,Maryland)
 |  |  |-4. John WELLS (b.1743-,,Baltimore,Maryland)
 |  |  |-4. James WELLS (b.1747-,,Baltimore,Maryland)
 |  |  |-4. Richard WELLS (b.1753-,,Baltimore,Maryland d.1771-,St Thomas Parish,Baltimore,Maryland)
 |  |  |-4. Thomas WELLS (b.1750-,,Baltimore,Maryland)
 |  |  |-4. Ann WELLS (b.1756-,,Baltimore,Maryland)
 |  |  |-4. Francis WELLS (b.1737-,,Baltimore,Maryland d.1769-,St Thomas Parish,Baltimore,Maryland)
 |  | +-4. Ann WELLS (b.1736-,Baltimore,Maryland)
 |  |-3. Joseph WELLS (b.1733-,Baltimore,Maryland)
 | +-3. WELLS (b.1716-<,Baltimore,Maryland> d.1771)
 |-2. John WELLS (b.1670-<,Baltimore,Maryland> d.1699-,Baltimore,Md)
 |-2. Stephen WELLS (b.1691-<Prince Georges,Queen Anne,Maryland>)
+-2. Joseph WELLS (b.1672-<,Baltimore,Maryland>)
 

The connection between Zachariah Wells and Richard Wells is by no means certain and appears to be somewhat speculative, since there were two Wells families, the so-called "Big Wells" and "Little Wells" lines, in the Baltimore area in the 17th century. (Richard is from the "Little Wells" family.) At present a DNA analysis is being undertaken to determine the veracity of the various Wells links. Preliminary results were to have been announced in June 2002.



There is an apparent connection between David W. Wells' ancestors and the famous Howard family of England, the influential Dukes of Norfolk. The connection seems to be through a woman named Hannah Howard and an ancestor of hers, Matthew Howard, who was one of the first settlers of Virginia and/or Maryland in the 17th century. Here are Matthew Howard's descendants, down to and including Abigail Osborne and Zachariah Wells. Some names may be listed more than once, either because they are descended from Matthew in more than one way or because one of the parents of the person (e.g., Capt. Cornelius Howard, Jr.) is uncertain.


 

1. Matthew HOWARD (b.1609-Wardour,Wiltshire,England- d.1659-)
sp: Anne HALL (b.1610-<,,,England> m.1631 d.1640-,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
 |-2. Matthew HOWARD (b.1640-Of,A-nne Arundel,Md d.1692-A. A. Co.,Md)
 |-2. Henry HOWARD (b.1622-,Lower Norfolk Co,Virginia d.1684-Ann Arundell Co,Maryland)
 |-2. Ellinor HOWARD (b.1626-,,,England)
 |-2. Samuel HOWARD (b.1628-Of,Anne Arundel,Maryland d.1703-,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
 |-2. Mary HOWARD (b.1647-Of,Anne Arundel,Maryland d.1721-,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
 | sp: John HAMMOND (b.1643-Of Anne Arundel,Maryland d.1707-Anne Arundel County,Maryland)
 | +-3. Mary Katherine HAMMOND (b.1689-Anne Arundel County,Maryland d.1714-St. Ann's Parish,Anne Arundel,Md)
 |   sp: Capt. Cornelius HOWARD Jr.{+} (b.1664- d.,Anne Arundel,Md1717-)
 |   |-4. Thomas HOWARD (b.1697-St. Anne,Anne Arundel,Maryland d.1771-,Anne Arundel,Md)
 |   |-4. Mary HOWARD (b.1703-St. Anne,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
 |   |-4. Charles HOWARD (b.1693-St. Anne,Anne Arundel,Maryland d.1717-,,Anar.cty. Md.)
 |   |-4. James HOWARD (b.1697-Of,,Maryland)
 |   |-4. Sarah HOWARD (b.1700-St. Anne,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
 |   |-4. Eleanor HOWARD (b.1706-Of,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
 |   |-4. Sophia HOWARD (b.1709-All Hallows Par,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
 |   |-4. John HOWARD (b.1711-,,Maryland)
 |   |-4. Cornelius HOWARD (b.1685-St. Anne,Anne Arundel,Maryland d.1743-,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
 |  +-4. Capt. John HOWARD (b.1698-St. Anne,Anne Arundel,Maryland d.1765)
 |    sp: Elizabeth GASSAWAY (b.1712-Anne Arundel Co.,Maryland)
 |     +-5. Hannah HOWARD (b.1735-Virginia)
 |       sp: Caleb OSBORNE (b.1725-James City (Williamsburg),Jamestown County,Virginia d.1781-North Carolina,USA)
 |        +-6. Abigail OSBORNE (b.1757-Orange County,VA d.1856-McMinn County,TN)
 |          sp: Zachariah WELLS (b.1745 d.1825-Lee Co.,Virginia,USA)
 |-2. Philip HOWARD (b.1649-Of,Anne Arundel,Maryland d.1701-,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
 |-2. John HOWARD (b.1639-Of Norfolk Co.,Norfolk,Virginia d.1696-Wd,,Anne Arundel Co.,Md)
 |-2. Anne HOWARD (b.1644-,Of,Norfolk,Virginia d.1690-,,Anar.cty. Md.)
 |-2. Elizabeth HOWARD (b.1642-,Of,Norfolk,Virginia d.1695-Annapolis,Anne Arundel,Md)
 +-2. Capt. Cornelius HOWARD (b.1637-,Norfolk,Va d.1680-,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
   sp: Elizabeth TODD
    |-3. Capt. Cornelius HOWARD Jr.{+} (b.1664- d.,Anne Arundel,Md1717-)
    | sp: Mary Katherine HAMMOND (b.1689-Anne Arundel County,Maryland d.1714-St. Ann's Parish,Anne Arundel,Md)
    |  |-4. Thomas HOWARD (b.1697-St. Anne,Anne Arundel,Maryland d.1771-,Anne Arundel,Md) (*Already Printed*)
    |  |-4. Mary HOWARD (b.1703-St. Anne,Anne Arundel,Maryland) (*Already Printed*)
    |  |-4. Charles HOWARD (b.1693-St. Anne,Anne Arundel,Maryland d.1717-,,Anar.cty. Md.) (*Already Printed*)
    |  |-4. James HOWARD (b.1697-Of,,Maryland) (*Already Printed*)
    |  |-4. Sarah HOWARD (b.1700-St. Anne,Anne Arundel,Maryland) (*Already Printed*)
    |  |-4. Eleanor HOWARD (b.1706-Of,Anne Arundel,Maryland) (*Already Printed*)
    |  |-4. Sophia HOWARD (b.1709-All Hallows Par,Anne Arundel,Maryland) (*Already Printed*)
    |  |-4. John HOWARD (b.1711-,,Maryland) (*Already Printed*)
    |  |-4. Cornelius HOWARD (b.1685-St. Anne,Anne Arundel,Maryland d.1743-,Anne Arundel,Maryland) (*Already Printed*)
    | +-4. Capt. John HOWARD (b.1698-St. Anne,Anne Arundel,Maryland d.1765) (*Already Printed*)
    |    sp: Anne DORSEY (b.1643-<,Norfolk,Va>)
    |-3. Joshua HOWARD (b.1679-Of,Baltimore,Md d.1738-,Baltimore,Md)
    | sp: Joanna O'CARROLL (b.1683-Ireland d.1763)
    |  |-4. Francis HOWARD (b.1688-,Baltimore,Md)
    |  |-4. Elizabeth HOWARD (b.1718-,Baltimore,Md)
    |  |-4. Violete HOWARD (b.1702-<Ireland>)
    |  |-4. Violetta HOWARD (b.1716-Of,Baltimore,Md d.1783-,Baltimore,Md)
    |  |-4. Mary HOWARD (b.1713-,Baltimore,Md d.1755-Nc)
    |  |-4. Sarah HOWARD (b.1711-,Baltimore,Md d.1726-St. Margarets We,A.a. Co.,Md)
    |  |-4. Elizabeth Howard WELLS (b.1714-Garrison Forest,Baltimore,Maryland d.1785)
    |  | sp: Thomas WELLS (b.1710-<,Baltimore,Maryland> m.1736 d.1804-,Baltimore,Baltimore,Maryland)
    |  |  |-5. Joseph WELLS (b.1739-,,Baltimore,Maryland d.1808-,,Fred.,Maryland)
    |  |  |-5. John WELLS (b.1743-,,Baltimore,Maryland)
    |  |  |-5. James WELLS (b.1747-,,Baltimore,Maryland)
    |  |  |-5. Richard WELLS (b.1753-,,Baltimore,Maryland d.1771-,St Thomas Parish,Baltimore,Maryland)
    |  |  |-5. Thomas WELLS (b.1750-,,Baltimore,Maryland)
    |  |  |-5. Ann WELLS (b.1756-,,Baltimore,Maryland)
    |  |  |-5. Francis WELLS (b.1737-,,Baltimore,Maryland d.1769-,St Thomas Parish,Baltimore,Maryland)
    |  | +-5. Ann WELLS (b.1736-,Baltimore,Maryland)
    |  |-4. Francis HOWARD (b.1705-<Garrison Forest,Baltimore,Maryland>)
    |  |-4. Edmund HOWARD (b.1709-,Baltimore,Md d.1745)
    | +-4. Cornelius HOWARD (b.1706-<Garrison Forest,Baltimore,Maryland> d.1777-,Baltimore,Md)
    |   sp: Ruth EAGER (b.1721 m.1738 d.1796-Baltimore,Maryland,USA)
    |    +-5. Gov. John Eager HOWARD (b.1752-Baltimore,Baltimore Co.,Maryland d.1827-Baltimore County,Maryland)
    |-3. Hannah HOWARD (b.1668-<,Norfolk,Va>)
    |-3. Charles HOWARD (b.1665-<,Norfolk,Va>)
    |-3. Benjamin HOWARD (b.1661-<,Norfolk,Va>)
    |-3. Francis HOWARD (b.1667-<,Norfolk,Va>)
    |-3. David HOWARD (b.1664-<,Norfolk,Va> d.1701-?)
    | sp: Elizabeth GORSUCH (b.1641-Walkern,Hertfordshire,England,Great Britain m.1662 d.1680-Baltimore,Maryland)
    |-3. Sarah HOWARD (b.1666-,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
    |-3. Mary HOWARD (b.1668-Anne Arundel,Maryland)
    |-3. Elizabeth Or Eliza HOWARD (b.1670-,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
    |-3. Capt. Cornelius HOWARD Jr.{+} (b.1664- d.,Anne Arundel,Md1717-) (*Already Printed*)
   +-3. Joseph HOWARD (b.1663-<,Anne Arundel,Md> d.1736-Testate,Ann Arundel,Md)

Among the more prominent persons in the above pedigree is John Eager Howard, who was governor of Maryland from 1788 to 1791, US Senator from Maryland from 1796 to 1803, and ran unsuccessfully for the Vice Presidency of the United States in 1816. Howard County in Maryland is named for him. Also Capt. Cornelius Howard, Sr., a direct ancestor of ours, served in the General Assembly of the Maryland colony from 1661 to 1675. On our honeymoon my wife and I visited the building and chamber where the Assembly met at St. Mary's City, Maryland. As it turns out, both of us have forebears who were regularly inside that chamber around the same time.

Matthew Howard's parentage is in doubt, and there are two theories concerning this, one of which is rather less credible than the other. According to the first theory, advanced by Zella Armstrong in her Notable Southern Families (Chattanooga: Lookout Publishing Co., 1918), Matthew was the Matthew Howard Arundel, born in 1609 to Sir Thomas Arundel, 1st Baron Arundel of Wardour, and Anne Philipson. Sir Thomas was a descendant of another Sir Thomas Arundel, and Margaret Howard, whose ancestors included the Dukes of Norfolk. This would make Matthew the brother of Anne Arundel, who married Cecil Calvert, the 2nd Baron of Baltimore, and one of the founders of the Maryland colony. (My wife, Nancy Calvert Koyzis, is descended from Cecil and Anne, who are her 8th great grandparents.) This theory is undoubtedly in error, as the Matthew born to Sir Thomas and Ann seems to have died before reaching adulthood, a not uncommon occurrence at that time.

The second and somewhat more likely theory has Matthew as the son of John Howard and Elizabeth Lock Howard. John was the grandson of (possibly) Lord Thomas Howard and Lady Margaret Douglas, whose grandfather was King Henry VII, the first of the Tudor monarchs, and whose mother, Margaret Tudor, had been married to King James IV of Scotland. Lord Thomas' grandfather, Sir John Howard, was the first Duke of Norfolk and died in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 for supporting Richard III. (This "Norfolk" is one of the villains in Shakespeare's Richard III, a play obviously written to bolster the claims of his royal patron Queen Elizabeth's Tudor grandfather, Henry VII, from whom, incidentally, we may also be descended.) This theory is not without difficulties as well, but it is more plausible and is the one favoured by James E. Moss, Providence, Ye Lost Towne at Severn in Maryland (Washington, D.C.: by author, 1976), and also by Joseph H. Howard, in "Who Were Matthew Howard's Parents? A Revisit," Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin, vol. 41, no. 4 (fall 2000): 574-605.

In either case, Matthew seems to be descended from the Dukes of Norfolk, who intermarried with the royal family of England. Included in this family are two wives of Henry VIII, Catherine Howard and Anne Boleyne, who were themselves first cousins. This, of course, opens all sorts of other connections with most of the royal and imperial families of Europe.

Assuming the veracity of the second theory, a plausible pedigree of the Howard line, extending from Sir John Howard, the first Duke of Norfolk, to Matthew Howard, might look something like this:

1.Sir John HOWARD 1st Duke of Norfolk (b.1420-,Tendring,Essex,England d.1485-Battle of Bosworth Field,Leicestershire,England)
sp: Catherine MOLEYNS (b.1424-Of,Stoke Pogis,Buckinghamshire,England m.1442 d.1465)
  |-2. Elizabeth HOWARD (b.1452-Norfolk,Essex,England)
  |-2. Sir Thomas HOWARD 2nd Duke of Norfolk (b.1443-Stoke Neyland,Suffolk,England d.1524-Farlingham Castle,Farlingham,Norfolk,England)
  | sp: Elizabeth TILNEY (b.1450-Of,Ashwellthrope,Norfolk,England m.1472 d.1497-,,,England)
  |  |-3. Thomas III HOWARD 3rd Duke of Norfolk (b.1473-,Kenninghall,Norfolk,England d.1554-,Kenninghall,Norfolk,England)
  |  |-3. Charles HOWARD (b.1483-,Ashwellthorpe,Norfolk,England d.1512)
  |  |-3. Richard HOWARD (b.1487-Norfolk,England d.1517)
  |  |-3. Edmund HOWARD (b.1480-Of,Tisbury,Wiltshire,England d.1538-Executed)
  |  | sp: Joyce (Jocosa) CULPEPPER (b.1481-Of Oxenheath,Tonbridge,Kent,England m.1508 d.1531-,,,England)
  |  |  |-4. Henry HOWARD (b.1510-,Lambeth,Norfolk,England)
  |  |  |-4. Catherine HOWARD (b.1517-Of,Lambeth,Norfolk,England d.1541-Tower Green,Tower Of London,Middlesex,England)
  |  |  | sp: Henry VIII TUDOR King of England (b.1491-Greenwich Palace,Greenwich,Kent,England m.1540 d.1546-Whitehall,Westminster,Middlesex,England)
  |  |  |-4. Mary HOWARD (b.1519-Of,Lambeth,Norfolk,England)
  |  |  |-4. Isabel HOWARD (b.1523-Of,Lambeth,Norfolk,England)
  |  |  |-4. Joyce HOWARD (b.1521-Of,Lambeth,Norfolk,England)
  |  |  |-4. Charles HOWARD (b.1511-Of,Lambeth,Norfolk,England d.Unmarried,,,France)
  |  |  |-4. George HOWARD (b.1513-Of,Lambeth,Norfolk,England d.1575-Unmarried)
  |  |  +-4. Margaret HOWARD (b.1505-Of,Tisbury,Wiltshire,England d.1572-Tisbury,Wiltshire,Eng,England)
  |  |    sp: Thomas ARUNDELL (b.1506-Wardour Castle,England d.1552)
  |  |     +-5. Sir Matthew ARUNDELL (b.1535 d.1598-Wardour Castle,England)
  |  |       sp: Margaret WILLOUGHBY (b.1538-Wollaton,England)
  |  |        +-6. Sir Thomas ARUNDELL Earl of Wardour (b.1560 d.1639-Wardour Castle,England)
  |  |          sp: Anne PHILIPSON (b.1585-Calgarth,England)
  |  |           |-7. Anne ARUNDELL (b.1615 d.1649)
  |  |           | sp: Cecilius CALVERT 2nd Lord Baltimore (b.1605 d.1675)
  |  |           +-7. Matthew ARUNDELL (b.1609)
  |  |-3. Edward HOWARD (b.1476-Of,Norfolk,Norfolk,England d.1513-At Sea,Wexford,Leinster,England)
  |  |-3. John HOWARD (b.1482-Of,Norfolk,Norfolk,England d.1503)
  |  |-3. Henry HOWARD (b.1484-Of,Norfolk,Norfolk,England d.1513)
  |  |-3. Elizabeth HOWARD COUNTESS OF WILTSHIRE (b.1486-Of,Norfolk,Norfolk,England d.1537)
  |  | sp: Thomas BOLEYN Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond (d.1536)
  |  |  +-4. Anne BOLEYN (b.1501-Blickling Hall,Norfolk,Englan d.1536-Tower of London,London,Englan)
  |  |    sp: Henry VIII TUDOR King of England (b.1491-Greenwich Palace,Greenwich,Kent,England d.1546-Whitehall,Westminster,Middlesex,England)
  |  |     +-5. Elizabeth I TUDOR Queen of England (b.1533-Greenwich Palace,London,England d.1603-Richmond Palace,London,England)
  |  |-3. Muriel HOWARD (b.1486-Buckenham Castle,,Norfolk,England d.1512-Lambeth)
  | sp: Agnes TILNEY (b.1480-Of,Skirbeck,Lincolnshire,England m.1472 d.1545)
  |  |-3. John HOWARD (b.1516-,Ashwellthorpe,Norfolk,England d.1523)
  |  |-3. Henry HOWARD (b.1524-,Ashwellthorpe,Norfolk,England)
  |  |-3. Dorothy HOWARD (b.1511-Of,Lathom,Lancashire,England)
  |  |-3. Elizabeth HOWARD (b.1506-Of Ashwell,Thorpe,Norfolkshire,Engl d.1534)
  |  |-3. William HOWARD (b.1510-,Effingham,Surrey,England d.1572-,Hampton Court,Herefordshire,England)
  |  |-3. Lord Thomas HOWARD (b.1512-Ashwell Thorpe,Norfolk,England d.1537-Tower Of London,London,Middlesex,England)
  |  | sp: Lady Margaret DOUGLAS (b.1515-Harbottle Castle,Northumberland,England m.1536 d.1577-Hackney,London,Middlesex,England)
  |  |  +-4. Robert HOWARD (b.1537-Syon House,London,England d.1598)
  |  |    sp: Phillipa BUXTON (b.1539-England m.1574 d.1603)
  |  |     +-5. John HOWARD (b.1578-Brockdish Hall,Norfolk,Norfolk,England d.1642-Norwich,Norfolk,England)
  |  |       sp: Elizabeth LOCK (b.1580-? m.1606d.?)
  |  |        |-6. Matthew HOWARD (b.1609-Wardour,Wiltshire,England d.1659-Anne Arundel,Maryland)
  |  |        | sp: Anne HALL (b.1610-<,,,England> m.1631 d.1640-,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
  |  |        |-6. Anne Arundel HOWARD (b.1611-(came To Va 1637 Then To Md))
  |  |        |-6. Robert HOWARD (b.1608)
  |  |        |-6. Daniel HOWARD (b.1610)
  |  |        |-6. John HOWARD (b.1612)
  |  |        |-6. Thomas HOWARD (b.1614)
  |  |        |-6. Grace HOWARD (b.1616)
  |  |        |-6. Mary HOWARD (b.1618)
  |  |        |-6. Henry HOWARD (b.1620-Of A.a. Co.,Md.,Norfolk,Eng d.1684)
  |  |        |-6. Arundel Thomas HOWARD (b.1598-England)
  |  |        |-6. Samuel HOWARD (b.1626-Virginia)
  |  |        |-6. John HOWARD (b.1628-,,Virginia)
  |  |        |-6. Ann HOWARD (b.1634-Virginia)
  |  |        +-6. Elizabeth HOWARD (b.1636-,,Virginia)
  |  |-3. George HOWARD (b.1514-Of,Ashwell Thorpe,Norfolk,England)
  |  |-3. Richard HOWARD (b.1516-Of,Ashwell Thorpe,Norfolk,England d.1517)
  |  |-3. Katherine HOWARD (b.1497-Of,Ashwell Thorpe,Norfolk,England d.1554-England)
  |  |-3. Anne [Agnes] HOWARD (b.1514-England d.1558)
  |  +-3. Catherine HOWARD (b.1516-England)
  |-2. Margaret HOWARD (b.1445-Of,,Norfolk,England d.,,Norfolk,England)
  |-2. Anna HOWARD (b.1446-Of,Tendring,Essex,England bu.Wraxall Church,,Somerset,England)
  |-2. Isabell HOWARD (b.1448-Of,Tendring,Essex,England d.1485)
  +-2. Jane (Joan) HOWARD (b.1450-Of,Essex,Norfolk,England d.1508)

Since the above pedigree was culled from various internet sites, I cannot vouch for its full accuracy and would be grateful for any corrections. In particular the appearance of the Arundell name amongst the sixth-generation Howards seems to owe something to the first theory of Matthew Howard's origins.
 
 

The Sandys and Gorsuch lines

There is another possible (though by no means certain) connection to some of the prominent families of Europe, assuming Captain Cornelius Howard married Elizabeth Gorsuch. (His wife or wives are listed variously as Elizabeth, Elizabeth Todd, Elizabeth Gorsuch, Elizabeth Todd Gorsuch, and/or Anne Dorsey.) If so, then Lucy Jane is descended from the Very Rev. Edwin Sandys, Archbishop of York during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, who was sympathetic to the puritan cause and helped to translate the Byshops' Bible, one of the predecessors of the King James Version. (The see of York is second in rank only to Canterbury in the Church of England.) There is some evidence that Sandys is descended from the earliest, pre-Stuart kings of Scotland, although this is disputed.

Here is the lineage traced from Archbishop Sandys:

1. Very Rev. Edwin SANDYS Archbishop of York (b.1519-Hawkshead Parish,Furnace Fells,Lancashire,England d.1588-Southwell,Nottingham,England)
sp: Cecilia (Cecily) WILSFORD (b.1516-Of,Cranbrook,Kent,England m.1558 d.1611-Cranbrook,Kent,England)
 |-2. William SANDYS (b.1565-Wilberton,Isle Of Ely,Cambridgeshire,England)
 |-2. Samuel SANDYS (b.1560-Of,Wickhamford,Worcester,England d.1623-Worcester,Worcestershire,England)
 |-2. Sir Myles SANDYS (b.1563-Wilberton,Isle Of Ely,Cambridgeshire,England d.1645-,Kent,England)
 |-2. Anne SANDYS (b.1570-Of Woolwich,Kent,England d.1629-Woolrich,Kent,England)
 | sp: Sir William BARNES (b.1568-Woolwich,Kent,England m.1586 d.1619-Woolwich,Kent,England)
 |  |-3. William BARNE (b.1593-Woolwich,Kent,England)
 |  |-3. Anne (Barnes) BARNE (b.1587-Of,Woolwich,Kent,England d.1633-,London,Middlesex,England)
 |  | sp: Sir William LOVELACE (b.1583-Bethersden,Woolwich C,Kent,Eng m.1610 d.1627-At Seige Of Grolle,Holland)
 |  |  |-4. Thomas LOVELACE (b.1614-Woolwich,Kent,England d.1689-Lovelace Plantat,On Staten Island,,New York)
 |  |  |-4. Sir Richard LOVELACE (b.1617-Of,Woolwich,Kent,England d.1658-London,London,England)
 |  |  |-4. Francis LOVELACE (b.1620-Shoulden,Kent,England d.1675-,,,England)
 |  |  |-4. Dudley LOVELACE (b.1627-Of Woolwich,Kent,England d.1686-Newington,Surrey,Ny)
 |  |  |-4. William LOVELACE (b.1625-Woolrich,Kent,England d.1644-Siege Of,Carmarthen,Wales)
 |  |  |-4. Anne LOVELACE (b.1610-Of,Lovelace,Kent,England d.1652-Virginia)
 |  |  | sp: Rev. John GORSUCH (b.1609-Of,Walkern,Hertfordshire,England m.1628 d.1657-Walkern,Hertfordshire,England)
 |  |  |  |-5. Elizabeth GORSUCH (b.1641-Walkern,Hertfordshire,England,Great Britain d.1680-Baltimore,Maryland)
 |  |  |  | sp: Capt. Cornelius HOWARD (b.1637-,Norfolk,Va m.1662 d.1680-,Anne Arundel,Maryland)
 |  |  |  |-5. Anne GORSUCH (b.1638-Walkern,Hertford,,England d.1694-Baltimore,Md)
 |  |  |  | sp: Capt. Thomas TODD (b.1619-Denton,Durham,England d.1675-At Sea)
 |  |  |  |-5. Charles GORSUCH (b.1642-Walkern,Hertfordshire,England d.1716-Baltimore County,Md)
 |  |  |  |-5. Daniel GORSUCH (b.1628-Bethersden,Kent,England,Great Britain)
 |  |  |  |-5. John GORSUCH (b.1630-Bethersden,Kent,England,Great Britain)
 |  |  |  |-5. William GORSUCH (b.1631-Bethersden,Kent,England,Great Britain d.1698-Eng)
 |  |  |  |-5. Katherine GORSUCH (b.1633-Bethersden,Kent,England,Great Britain d.1663-Bethersden,Kent,England)
 |  |  |  |-5. Robert GORSUCH (b.1635-Bethersden,Kent,England,Great Britain d.1720-,,,Md)
 |  |  |  |-5. Richard GORSUCH (b.1637-Bethersden,Kent,England,Great Britain d.1694-,Talbot,Va)
 |  |  |  |-5. Lovelace GORSUCH (b.1644-Of Walkern,Hartfordshire,England d.1703-,,,Md)
 |  |  | +-5. Frances GORSUCH (b.1648-Of Walkern,Hartfordshire,England d.(unmd))
 |  |  |-4. Joanna LOVELACE (b.1622-Of Woolwich,Kent,Eng. d.St. Catherines,London,England)
 |  | +-4. Elizabeth LOVELACE (b.1625-Of Woolwich,,Kent,, England)
 |  |-3. Miles BARNE (b.1600-Woolrich,Kent,England d.1670-Bishopsbourne,Kent,England)
 |  |-3. Robert BARNE (b.1594-Woolrich,Kent,England d.1629)
 |  |-3. Thomas BARNE (b.1589-Woolrich,Kent,England d.1629-Woolrich,Kent,England)
 |  |-3. John BARNE (b.1601-Woolrich,Kent,England d.1630-Woolrich,Kent,England)
 |  |-3. Anne BARNE (b.1604-Of Woolwich,Kent,England)
 | +-3. George BARNE (b.1595-Woolrich,Kent,England)
 |-2. Sir Edwin SANDYS (b.1561-Hawkshead,Furnesse Fells,Lancashire,Eng d.1629-Kent,England)
 |-2. George SANDYS (b.1577-Wilberton,Isle Of Ely,Cambridgeshire,England d.1643-Bexley Abbey,Kent,England)
 |-2. Rev. Henry SANDYS (b.1572-Woolwich,Kent,,England d.1626-Brettenham,Suffolk,,England)
 |-2. Samuel SANDYS (b.1572-<Woolwich,Kent,,England>)
 |-2. Margaret SANDYS (b.1566-Wilberton,Isle Of Ely,Cambridgeshire,England)
+-2. Thomas SANDYS (b.1568-Wilberton,Isle Of Ely,Cambridgeshire,England d.1634)

Among the people of prominence in the preceding list is the famous English poet, Sir Richard Lovelace, who wrote the poem "To Althea, from Prison," the most famous lines of which run as follows: "Stone Walls do not a Prison make,/ Nor Iron bars a Cage." Lovelace was a "cavalier" during the tumultuous 17th century, being loyal to the Stuart monarchs in their struggle with Parliament. He suffered for this, was sent to prison (where the poem was written), and eventually died a pauper. Sir Edwin Sandys, the son of the Archbishop, was a member of the council of the Virginia Company at the time the first settlement was established at Jamestown in 1607. Without citing evidence, one internet source indicates that Sir Edwin may have been responsible for importing the first African slaves into Virginia, while another states that he opposed the introduction of slavery into the new colony. But there seems to be general agreement that he was responsible for the establishment in 1619 of the first representative assembly in the Americas, the Virginia House of Burgesses. Both the Sandys and Lovelace families were heavily involved in the early settlement of Virginia. Archbishop Sandys was, once again, sympathetic to puritanism and was accused of harbouring "nonconformist" (i.e., not conforming to the Church of England) sentiments.

Archbishop Edwin Sandys



The Elkins and Booth lines

Nancy Jane Elkins' ancestry is possibly as illustrious as that of her husband, David W. Wells. In fact, it may be that they are 14th cousins once removed to each other and are further related to each other in over one hundred additional ways. They may actually be somewhat more closely related than that. We shall begin with the Elkins line, as follows:

1. John ELKINS
sp: UNKNOWN
+-2. Ralph ELKINS (b.1639-England d.1690-St. Pauls Parrish,Stafford County,Viginia)
  sp: Mary (Ann?) ASHTON (b.1634-England)
   |-3. Richard ELKINS (b.1661-Stafford County,Viginia d.1735-King George County,Virginia)
   | sp: Elizabeth BRYANT
   |  |-4. Richard ELKINS II (b.1699-Stafford County,Viginia d.1751-Pittsylvania County,Virginia)
   |  | sp: Mary GALLOP (b.1698-Stafford County,Viginia d.)
   |  |  |-5. Richard ELKINS III (b.1726-Stafford County,Virginia d.1781)
   |  |  | sp: Mary (Elizabeth?) BUCHANAN ?
   |  |  |  |-6. Elijah ELKINS (b.1760-Montgomery County,Virginia d.1850-Lee County,Virginia)
   |  |  |  | sp: Jerusha BOOTH (b.1771-New York d.1856-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA)
   |  |  |  |  |-7. Joseph ELKINS (b.1789-Russell County,Virginia d.)
   |  |  |  |  | sp: Margaret (Elizabeth?) (b.1803)
   |  |  |  |  |  |-8. Nancy Jane ELKINS (b.1822 d.1887-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA)
   |  |  |  |  |  | sp: David W. WELLS (b.1815 d.1865)
   |  |  |  |  |  | sp: Jacob WELLS (b.1804)
   |  |  |  |  |  |-8. Mary "Polly" ELKINS (b.1824-Virginia,USA d.1875-Breathitt Co.,Kentucky,USA)
   |  |  |  |  |  | sp: Hiram CREECH (b.1827-Harlan Co.,Kentucky,or Lee Co.,Virginia, USA d.1865)
   |  |  |  |  |  |-8. Jerusha Jasmine Jincia ELKINS (b.1845 d.1916-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA)
   |  |  |  |  |  | sp: Henry BENTLEY (b.1845-North Carolina,USA)
   |  |  |  |  |  |-8. Rachel ELKINS (b.1826-Virginia)
   |  |  |  |  |  |-8. Elmer ELKINS (b.1831-Virginia)
   |  |  |  |  |  |-8. James ELKINS (b.1836-Virginia)
   |  |  |  |  |  |-8. John ELKINS (b.1838-Virginia)
   |  |  |  |  | +-8. Sarah ELKINS (b.1840-Virginia)
   |  |  |  |  |-7. Jesse ELKINS (b.1790-Russell Co.,Virginia,USA)
   |  |  |  |  |-7. John ELKINS (b.1798-Russell Co.,Virginia,USA d.1889-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA)
   |  |  |  |  |-7. James H. ELKINS (b.1803-Russell Co.,Virginia,USA)
   |  |  |  |  |-7. Thomas ELKINS (b.1804-Russell Co.,Virginia,USA)
   |  |  |  |  |-7. Nancy ELKINS (b.1811-Russell Co.,Virginia d.1893-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA)
   |  |  |  |  |-7. Larkin ELKINS (b.1813 d.1898)
   |  |  |  | +-7. Jeremiah E. ELKINS (b.1816-Lee Co.,Virginia,USA d.1898)
   |  |  |  |-6. Marvil ELKINS (b.1755)
   |  |  |  |-6. Richard ELKINS (b.1768-Montgomery County,Virginia)
   |  |  |  |-6. Drury ELKINS
   |  |  |  |-6. Zachariah ELKINS
   |  |  | +-6. William ELKINS
   |  |  |-5. John ELKINS (b.1728)
   |  |  |-5. Nathaniel ELKINS
   |  |  |-5. Archibald ELKINS (b.1735-Stafford County,Viginia d.1791-Montgomery County,Virginia)
   |  |  |-5. William Gallop ELKINS (b.1733-Stafford County,Viginia)
   |  |  |-5. Zachariah ELKINS (b.1737-Stafford County,Viginia)
   |  |  |-5. Benjamin ELKINS (b.1739-Stafford County,Viginia)
   |  |  |-5. Jeremiah ELKINS (b.1741-Stafford County,Viginia)
   |  |  |-5. Emanuel ELKINS (b.1743-Stafford County,Viginia)
   |  |  |-5. Ware ELKINS (b.1747-Stafford County,Viginia)
   |  | +-5. Elizabeth ELKINS (b.1749-Stafford County,Viginia)
   |  |-4. John ELKINS (b.1703)
   |  |-4. Ralph ELKINS (b.1706)
   |  |-4. Jean ELKINS (b.1708)
   |  |-4. Margaret ELKINS (b.1710)
   |  |-4. Priscilla ELKINS (b.1712)
   |  |-4. Benjamin ELKINS (b.1715)
   |  |-4. William ELKINS (b.1718)
   | sp: Mary WILLIAMS
   | +-4. James ELKINS (b.1690)
   |-3. John ELKINS (b.1674)
   |-3. Nathaniel ELKINS (b.1683)
  +-3. Mary ELKINS

There is some disagreement among sources as to the exact names between John Elkins and Elijah.

Note that Nancy Jane Elkins may have been married successively to both Jacob Wells and David W. Wells, who were first cousins to each other. I have seen only one piece of evidence indicating a marriage between Nancy and Jacob, but it fits with Lucy Jane's reminiscences concerning her mother's half-siblings, who bore the same surname as her full siblings. David and Nancy were Lucy Jane's grandparents. According to Lucy Jane, David was murdered by the "raiders of the Ku Klux Klan" on the day the Civil War ended, 9 April 1865. Nancy Jane is reported to have died of measles.

Although the above pedigree, reflecting more than one source, indicates that Nancy Jane's father Joseph was married to Margaret, one source indicates that Nancy's mother's name was in fact Elizabeth. It is possible that Joseph was married twice and that his children by Margaret are half-siblings to Nancy.  But I've found no concrete evidence of this thus far.

Nancy's paternal grandparents were Elijah and Jerusha Booth Elkins. The Booths originally came from England and helped to found the community of Stratford, Connecticut (not far from Bridgeport), during the early to middle 17th century. How Jerusha managed to get from New York to Virginia I do not know. There is likely an interesting story to be told as to how Elijah and Jerusha met, despite their distant geographic origins. The Booths are descended from a variety of aristocratic and royal families, including many of the same ones noted above. The Booth line, minus collateral ancestors, follows:


 

1. Adam de BOOTH (b.1255)
sp: UNKNOWN
  +-2. William BOOTH (b.1275-Barton,LAN,ENG)
     sp: Sebilla BRERETON (b.1279)
      +-3. Thomas BOOTH (b.Barton,LAN,ENG)
        sp: UNKNOWN
          +-4. John BOOTH (b.1329-Barton,LAN,ENG)
            sp: Loretta BARTON (b.1333-Eccles,LAN,ENG)
             +-5. Thomas BOOTH (BOTHE) (b.1355-Barton,LAN,ENG)
                sp: Elena (Ellen) de WORKESLEY (b.1359)
                 +-6. John BOOTH (b.1383)
                    sp: Joanna (Joan) TRAFFORD (b.1358)
                      +-7. Sir Robert BOOTH (d.1460)
                         sp: Dulcia (Douce) VENABLES (b.1396-Kenderton,CHS,ENG d.1463-Wilmslow,CHS,ENG)
                          +-8. Sir William BOOTH (b.1420-of Barton Eccles LAN d.1426)
                            sp: Maude DUTTON (b.1427-Dutton CHS d.1489)
                             +-9. Sir George BOOTH (b.1445-of Barton Eccles LAN d.1482)
                               sp: Catherine MOUNTFORT (b.1441)
                                +-10. Sir William BOOTH (b.1473-of Dunham NTT d.1519)
                                   sp: Margaret ASHTON (b.1471-of Ashton-under-Lyme LAN d.1504)
                                    +-11. Sir George BOOTH (d.1531)
                                      sp: Elizabeth BUTLER (b.1480-of Bowsey LAN)
                                       +-12. Sir George BOOTH (b.1515-Dunham,CHS,ENG d.1543)
                                         sp: Elizabeth TRAFFORD (b.1529-of Trafford LAN d.1582)
                                          +-13. Sir William BOOTH (b.1540-Dunham,Massey,CHS,ENG d.1579-Bowden,CHS,ENG)
                                            sp: Elizabeth WARBURTON (b.1546-of Arley CHS d.1628)
                                              +-14. Richard BOOTH (b.1578 d.1628)
                                                sp: Elizabeth BROOKS (b.1578)
                                                 +-15. Richard BOOTH (b.1607-Dunham Massy,Nettinghamshire England d.1687-Stratford,Fairfield County,Connecticut)
                                                   sp: Elizabeth HAWLEY (b.1607-Parwich,Derby,England d.1689-Stratford,Connecticut)
                                                     +-16. Joseph Deacon BOOTH Sr. (b.1655-Stratford,Fairfield County,Connecticut d.1703-Stratford,Fairfield County,Connecticut)
                                                      sp: Hannah WILCOXSON (b.1664-Stratford,Connecticut d.1701-Stratford,Connecticut)
                                                        +-17. Joseph Deacon BOOTH Jr. (b.1689-Stratford,Fairfield County,Connecticut d.1763-Stratford,Fairfield County,Connecticut)
                                                          sp: Rebecca MOREHOUSE (b.1693-Stratford,Connecticut d.1737)
                                                            +-18. Stephen BOOTH (b.1721-Stratford,Connecticut d.1769-Connecticut)
                                                              sp: Ester OSBORN (b.1721-Connecticut)
                                                                +-19. Stephen BOOTH Jr.
                                                                  sp: Nancy Ann COSBY
                                                                    +-20. Jerusha BOOTH (b.1771-New York d.1856-Wise Co.,Virginia,USA)
                                                                      sp: Elijah ELKINS (b.1760-Montgomery County,Virginia d.1850-Lee County,Virginia)

The parental connection between Richard Booth and Elizabeth Brooks, on the one hand, and the younger Richard Booth, on the other, is speculative. There is more than one plausible pedigree between Adam de Booth and the Stratford, Connecticut, Booths. However, there seems to be general agreement that the latter are descended from the former.



The Breretons, Morehouses and Warburtons are descended from the early kings of Scotland, the Princes of Wales, Norse chieftains, the Dukes of Normandy, the Plantagenet monarchs of England, the Carolingian monarchs, including Charlemagne, the Capetian monarchs of France, Byzantine emperors, the early grand princes of Rus, the counts of Flanders, and so forth. The Breretons intersect the Booth line in two different places, although only one of these is reflected in the table above. The Venables were the Barons of Kinderton in England. In fact, Nancy Jane Elkins is descended from many of the same noble and royal ancestors as her husband.
 

Some prominent ancestors

Assuming, once again, the veracity of the links mentioned above, the direct ancestors of Lucy Jane include the following persons, listed below along with their relationship(s) to her:

     

Constantine IX Monomachos and Alexios I Comnenos, Byzantine Emperors

Significance of one's ancestry

How unusual is it to have aristocratic and royal ancestors? Probably not all that much. As mentioned earlier, I've discovered that my wife is apparently descended from many of these same people, including the illustrious Howard family, via the Calvert-Arundel connections. Thus if I were to print up charts showing the descendants of, say, William the Conqueror, Charlemagne and Alexios I, each of these would include, not only our own family, but the British/Canadian royal family, several other European royal families (reigning and in exile), and my wife's family as well. That means, among other things, that my wife is my 12th cousin 3 times removed, my daughter Theresa is also my 13th cousin twice removed (!), Sir Winston Churchill is my 17th cousin twice removed, and the Queen herself is my 13th cousin once removed. In fact, I am related to all of these people in more than 100 different ways each. Our distant cousins would include Ivan IV the Terrible of Russia, Constantine XI Palaeologus (the last Byzantine Emperor), quite a few American presidents, including George W. Bush and his father, and a huge number of other well-known historical figures too numerous to mention. I strongly suspect that even my parents, with their different ethnic backgrounds, are distantly related, probably through the Lusignan kings of Cyprus. But this hunch is based on statistical evidence rather than on known existing records. What is this evidence?

If we go back 20 generations, multiplying each successive generation by 2, each of us supposedly has 2,097,152 ancestors of that generation alone. After 30 generations each of us apparently has 2,147,483,648 ancestors of that generation. After 40 generations we each have 2,199,023,255,552. These numbers are clearly fantastic, because the numbers of human beings that have ever lived on earth fall well short of 2 trillion, and the numbers living 40 generations ago were much smaller yet. This means that if we go far enough back we are descended from the same fairly small number of people many times over, particularly if we have multiple lines originating in the same part of the world. For example, each of us in this line of the family is descended from Charlemagne in more than one hundred different ways through at least three of his offspring. Thus anyone claiming special status for being descended from royalty is making an exceedingly insignificant claim. It certainly will not put one in line for any thrones! The real pleasure in researching genealogy comes to those already possessing a love of history in general.

Coincidentally, shortly after I came to the above conclusions, confirmation appeared in an article by Steve Olson, "The Royal We", The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 289, no. 5 (May 2002), pp. 62-64. Citing Mark Humphrys, who maintains a website titled "Royal Descents of Famous People", Olson argues that "everyone in the world is descended from Nefertiti and Confucius, and everyone of European ancestry is descended from Muhammad and Charlemagne."

Anyone wishing more complete information from me or having additional information, including corrections, to give me can do so by contacting me at dkoyzis{at}redeemer{dot}ca.

Appendix

The following documents include the two personal reminiscences written by Lucy Jane Bentley Hyder in 1940 and 1945, the entries from the births and deaths pages in the Hyder family bible, and relevant obituaries.
 

Originally written
November 21, 1940
My maiden name was Lucy Jane Bentley. Born at Big Stone Gap, Virginia, October 2, 1875. My father's name was Squire Benjamin Martin Bentley. His father was named Benjamin Bentley, Sr., died in North Carolina. My grandmother on my father's side, her name was Mary Davis, Polly for short. Her father's name was Jerry Davis. Her mother's maiden name was Nancy Madcap [Metcalf?]. Jerry Davis and wife and the unmarried children moved from North Carolina to Illinois about the time of the Civil War, leaving two married daughters in North Carolina. Their names were Mary Bentley (my grandmother) and Fanny Bentley (who married my great uncle Squire Bentley, for whom my father was named.) When Mary Bentley's husband, Benjamin Bentley, Sr., died, she and her children moved to Big Stone Gap, Virginia, not long after the Civil War, until they all died there. The oldest son, William Rufus Bentley married Rachel Odem [Odum? Oldham?], who died shortly after. He then married Louise Bentley (a second cousin) of Letcher County, Kentucky. Her parents' names were Mary Bentley (maiden name, not my grandmother) and Davis Bentley.

The next oldest, Henry Bentley married Gerusha Elkins at Big Stone Gap, Virginia. The next son, Benjamin Bentley, my father, married Virginia Elizabeth Wells at Big Stone Gap, Va. The next son, Newton Thomas [sic] Bentley, married Jeanette Wells at Big Stone Gap, Virginia. Nancy Katherine Bentley, the youngest and only daughter married James Chandler of North Carolina at Big Stone Gap. They all lived and died there. My mother, Virginia Elizabeth Wells was the daughter of David and Nancy Elkins Wells. My grandmother's father's name was Joseph Elkins, who died very suddenly after the Civil War at Big Stone Gap. On the 9th day of April 1865, (the day the surrender was made) during the Civil War my grandfather, David Wells, and my uncle, Hiram Creech, were murdered (shot) by the Raiders of the Ku Klux Klan as they were sometimes called. They first removed his (David Wells') Sunday vest which he was wearing, and then shot him.

I do not remember my great grandfather Wells' name, but my grandfather Wells had a brother James, Jack, Elington, and Brickey, also a sister, Agnes Wells Cooper. Brickey went to Texas as a young man. When I last heard from him in about 1923, he was 86 years old.

I had a brother, William, and a sister, Mary, usually called Molly. They are both now dead.


Written by my granddaughter as I told her.
Lucy Jane Hyder
Written by Joanne Korpinen
Written by Lucy Jane Hyder as best I can remember
June 10th, 1945.

My maiden name was Lucy J. Bentley, I was born in Big Stone Gap. (Virginia). Married Nelson Hyder in Big Stone Gap, Va. Jan. 23, 1896. My father's name was Squire Benjamin Bentley. Born in Yansey, N.C. My grandmother on my father's side, her maiden name was Mary Davis, Polly for short. Her father's name was Jerry Davis. Her mother's maiden name was Nancy Madcap [Metcalf?]. Jerry Davis and wife and 4 married daughters and their family moved to Maravin [?] Falls, Illinois. (1) The daughters Betty Simmons and Kate Robinson and Nancy Lackey, Salley [unreadable]. Her brothers William Davis and Pete Davis. They left 2 married daughters in N.C. Mary Bentley and Fannie Bentley. Jerry Davis moved to Illinois in the early '60's. Shortly after the Civil War Mary Bentley's husband died and her and her 6 children moved to Big Stone Gap, Va. 4 of her boys was young men they made their home there as long as they all lived. William Bentley the oldest son married Rachel Odem [Oldham?]. She died in a few years then he married his second cousin Louise Bentley at Whitesburg, Ky. The next oldest son Henry Bentley married Gerusha Elkins. Squire Benjamin married a niece of Gerusha Elkins, Virginia Elizabeth Wells at Big Stone Gap. Thomas Newton Bentley also married a niece of Gerusha, a sister of Virginia Elizabeth, Genett [Jeanette?] Wells. They was the daughters of David Wells and Nancy Elkins Wells. The only daughter of Benjamin and Mary Davis Bentley, Nancy Catherine Bentley, married James Chandler of N.C. (2) at Big Stone Gap, Va. (3) My mother Elizabeth Wells Bentley had 3 sisters, Lucy Ann Wells Scott, Genett Wells Bentley, Sommervill Wells, and 4 brothers, Jerry Wells, James Wells, Jonathan Wells, William Wells; 3 half sisters, Rebecca Wells Isom Pendleton, Rachel Wells Huff, and Peggy Wells. My mother's father had brothers 6, Elington, James, Dock, Bricky, Jackson, Janse, and 1 sister, Agnes Cooper. My great grandfather on my mother's side, Joseph Elkins, died suddenly after being caught in a wind storm.


Entries in the Hyder family bible

was born April 11, 1900 [? written in faint pencil; no name visible; possible stillbirth?]
Mary E[lizabeth]. Hyder was born Dec. 2, 1896
William Bennie Hyder was born Oct. 6, 1898
Johnie W[illard]. Hyder was born May 30, 1902
Emet Hyder was born April 25, 1901
Emma Hyder was born April 25, 1901
Frances Marie Hyder was born Sept. 10, 1904 [David Koyzis' grandmother]
Theodore R[oosevelt]. Hyder was born Jan the 26, 1907 [aka Jean Drew]
Walter Birdine Hyder was born Feb the 23, 1909
Virginia Helen Hyder was born April the 7, 1911
Ruby Mae Hyder was born Feb. 14, 1913
Cathrine June Hyder was born June 1, 1916
Hazel Lucile Hyder was born April 1st, 1918
Edward Carl Suydam was born Sept. 21st, 1918
Betty Lois Suydam was born Aug. 4th, 1923
Rose Mary Hyder was born Oct. 27, 1921
Donald Wayne Hyder was born Nov. 5th, 1923
Carol Marie Suydam was born Mar. 22, 1928
Bruce R. Suydam was born Aug. 29, 1925
Joanne Korpinen was born March 28, 1929
Virginia Hyder was born April 29, 1929

Sarah E. Bentley was born April 19, 1894
Ola Belle Bentley was born July 27, 1896
Mary Ethel Bentley was born Feb. 4, 1899
Roxie [?] Jane Bentley was born Jan. 27, 1901
William Edward Bentley was born May 8, 1903
Henry Dewey Bentley was born Jan. the 11, 1909
Edward Horace Honeycutt was born May the 16, 1915
Pearl Elizabeth Honeycutt was born Nov. 7th, 1918
Ruby Anna Mae Honeycutt born May 18th, 1921
Onalee Joyce Hyder was born Aug. 6, 1930
Teresa Jean Hyder was born Dec. 18, 1931
Joanne Korpinen March 28, 1929
Jane Marie Korpinen August 13, 1931
Virginia Mae Drew born April 29, 1929
Shirley Jane Hyder born April 14, 1936
Bennie Nelson Hyder born July 10, 1938
Stewart Jean Drew May 10, 1939
Lucy Jane Miller born May 28, 1939
William Steven Hyder born Jan. 27, 1942
Eugene F. Hyder born June 24, 1942

Emmit Hyder died April 26, 1901
Emma Hyder died April 26, 1901
S[quire]. B[enjamin]. Bentley died March 11, 1903
W[illiam]. E. Bentley died March 6, 1906
Lillie B. Bentley died Nov. the 1, 1908
[Virginia] Elizabeth [Wells] Bentley died Dec. 8th, 1917
Ethel Bentley Sowards died Aug. 1919
Richard Suydam died March 11, 1933
Mollie Bentley Honeycutt died Dec. 1, 1934
Dewey Honeycutt died March 11, 1934
Mary Shepherd died June 2, 1925
Edna Birchfield died Oct. 15, 1927
Virginia Helen Hyder Kingsland died May 25, '45
Lucy Jane Hyder died Nov. 7, 1948
Nelson Hyder died May 29, 1959
Elizabeth Suydam died March 23, 1968
Bennie Hyder died April 5, 1968
Jean Drew died Jan. 2, 1974
Jim McLaughlin died Feb. 22, 1973
[Frances] Marie [Hyder] Gibson died Nov. 3, 1975 [Koyzis' grandmother]
Hazel Hyder Meyers died Oct. 29, 1977
Joseph Kasenow died Nov. 16, 1977
Theresa Hyder Coleman passed away Feb. 4, 1980
Sinda Hyder passed away Sept. 1981

Lucy Jane and Nelson Hyder, 1940s


Adrian Daily Telegram, page 2

Tuesday, June 2, 1925
Mrs. David Sheppard, 81 Died This Morning at
North Street Home
Mrs. David Sheppard, aged 81 years died this morning at 1 o'clock at her home, 1210 North Street, from a complication of ailments induced by her advanced years. She is survived by her husband and two daughters, Mrs. Pearl Nachtrieb and Mrs. Edna Birchfield of Adrian and three sons, John at home, Cinclair of California, and Nelson Hyder of Adrian. The funeral services are to be held Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the home with the Rev. John Timbers of the Free Methodist Church officiating, and the burial is to be made in Oakwood cemetery.


Death records--County clerk's office, Lenawee
County Courthouse
Mary Shepherd died 6-2-25 aged 81 years. 1 mo. 26 da.
Cause of death--arterio sclerosis
place of birth--Tennessee
father's name - Hyder
mother's name - Bean
 

Nelson Hyder died May 29, 1959
no parents given
 

Alexander B. Birchfield 2-20-37 age 54 yrs. 4 mo. 14 da.
place of birth--N. Car. cause of death- pneumonia
father - Sam Birchfield - born - Tenn.
mother - maiden name-Edna Hughes - born - W. Va.
 

Samuel Birchfield, Jr. 12-9-41 5 mo. old
cause of death - respiratory disturbance
born - Michigan
father - Samuel Birchfield - Tenn.
mother - Tessie Buchanan - N. Car.


Copied from the headstones at the Riverview Cemetery, East Stone Gap, Virginia, 1976 and 1996:
 
S.B. Bentley
   Born
Nov. 15, 1849
   Died
Mar. 11, 1903
Elizabeth Bentley
 July 25, 1854
 Dec. 8, 1917
  At rest  (tombstone also says Mother)

Mollie A. Honeycutt
 July 12, 1881
 Dec. 1, 1934
“Asleep in Jesus,
Oh how sweet.”

W.E. Bentley
 Jan. 3, 1873
 Mar. 6, 1906
“May he rest in peace.”

Lillie B. Bentley
 Nov. 3, 1877
 Nov. 1, 1908
“Gone but not forgotten.”

Mary Ethel Sowards
 Feb. 4, 1899
 Aug. 28, 1919
 

FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS
   A dozen photographs or so
   Sit upon my chest of drawers
   And brass-enframed familiars show,
   Who utter not a word, of course.
   But what they tell me, just the same,
   Is every bit as audible
   As if the years that went and came
   Were living in the present still.
   And though they somewhat stiffly gaze
   At me from frozen moments that
   Are ever locked for endless days
   By movement of the shutter's snap,
   Their faces countless tales relay
   Of lives that, over decades' span,
   Have touched my own in some small way
   And helped to make me who I am.
   For these portrayed are kin to me;
   My blood is theirs and theirs is mine,
   And others in me often see
   What once they saw in former time:
   That in my eyes live other eyes
   Which sparkled long before my birth;
   That from my throat an echo cries
   Of him whose voice once filled the earth.
   And as God granted me to breathe
   My life into a little one,
   May she rejoice when someone sees
   Myself in her in years to come.
 
     © David T. Koyzis, 1981, rev. 2003



Notes:

1. Unknown. In actuality they settled at Smyrna Hill, near Cave-in-Rock, Hardin Co., Illinois.

2. Marie Hyder Gibson once visited the James Chandlers. They lived up in the mountains and hadn't been to town in 18 years. Their house couldn't be reached by car. [JMK]

3. Though it mentions Mary Bentley's children as being six in number, only five are mentioned in the body of the article. [JMK]

Crests courtesy of  http://www.freecoatsofarms.com/

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