(II) Nicholas, son of Tristram Coffin, lived in Butler's parish, Devonshire, England, where he died in 1603.  In his will, which was proved at Totnes, in Devonshire, November 3, 1603, mention is made of his wife Joan, and five children, namely: Peter, Nicholas, Tristram, John and Anne.

          (III) Peter, eldest child of Nicholas and Joan Coffin, was born on the coffin estate, at Brixton, Devonshire, England, about 1580, and died there in 1627-28.  He married Joan (or Joanna) Thember, and their

Page 501

six children were born and baptized in the parish of Brixton, Devonshire, England, in the order following:  1.Tristram, mentioned below.  2. John, about 1607.  He was a soldier and died in the service from a mortal wound received in battle during the four years' siege of the fortified town during the civil war; he died within the town about 1642.  3. Joan, born in England, about 1609, and probably died there.  4. Deborah, died probably in England.  5. Eunice, born in England, came to Massachusetts Bay colony with her mother; married William Butter, and died in 1648.  6. Mary, married Alexander Adams, and had children:  i. Mary, ii. Susannah, iii. John, and iv. Samuel.  She died in 1677, or thereabouts.  Widow Joan, with her children, Tristram, Eunice and Mary, her two sons-in-law, husbands of her daughters, who were married in England, her daughter-ion-law Dionis, and five grandchildren, came to Salisbury in 1642.  She died in Boston in May, 1661, aged seventy-seven years, and in the notice of her funeral it is quaintly said that the Rev. Mr. Wilson "embalmed her memory."

          (IV) Tristram (2), eldest son of peter and Joan (or Joanna) (Thember) Coffin, was born in the parish of Brixton, Devonshire, England, probably in 1605.  He was of the landed gentry of England, being heir to his father's estate in Brixton, and he was probably a churchman after the time of Elizabeth.  He was married to Dionis (the diminutive of Dionysia, and afterwards written Dionys), daughter of Robert Stevens, of Brixton, England. It is a strange fact that the Christian name of the immigrant forefather of all the Coffins of America is repeated and multiplied in every family in every generation, while the name of the foremother, Dionis, is repeated but once in all the generations, and that was when it was given to the eldest daughter of Stephen, the youngest child of Tristram and Dionis (Stevens) Coffin, although when he married Jacob Norton, her name appears as Dinah.  It is not known on which of the early ships conveying emigrants from England to new England the coffin family took passage, but it is generally believed that it was the same ship that brought Robert Clement, the emigrant, who owned the ships "Hector," "Griffin," "Job Clement," and "Margaret Clement," and, if Robert Clement, the immigrant, took passage on one of his own ships, Tristram Coffin, the immigrant, was a passenger in the same ship, and both men settled in Haverhill in 1642.  The early settlers of Salisbury, which town was established October 7, 1640, commenced a settlement at Pentucket the same year, and the Indians deed for this land was witnessed by Tristram Coffin in 1642, and in 1643, he removed to the place which was established at the town of Haverhill, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony.  He settled near Robert Clement.  Tradition has it that Tristram Coffin was the first man to plough land in the town of Haverhill, he constructing his own plough.  He changed his residence to the "Rocks," the following year, and in 1648-49 removed to Newbury where he kept an ordinary and sold wine and liquors and kept the Newbury side of Carr's Ferry.  In September, 1643, his wife Dionis was prosecuted for selling beer for three pence per quart, while the regular price was but two pence, but she proved that she had put six bushels of malt into the hogshead while the law required only the use of four bushels, and she was discharged.  He returned to Salisbury and was commissioner of the town , and while living there planned the purchase of the estate of Nantucket, where he removed with his associates on account of religious persecution.   At least, Tristram Macy, who was the pioneer settler on Nantucket Island, "fled from the officers of the law and scarified his property and home rather than to submit top tyranny which punished a man for being hospitable to strangers ina rainstorm, even though the strangers be Quakers."  Macy returned to Salisbury and resided there in 1664, and when he left he sold his house and lands so that the story of his "fleeing from persecution" is spoiled and history gives the true reason for the migration, the search for a milder climate and better opportunity for cultivating the soil.  Early in 1654 Tristram Coffin took Peter Folyer (the grandfather of Benjamin Franklin) at the time living in Martha's Vineyard, as an interpreter of the Indian language, and proceeded to Nantucket to ascertain the "temper and disposition of the Indians and the capabilities of the Island,

Page 502

that he might report to the citizens of Salisbury what inducements were offered for emigration."  The land was secured that same year, and James coffin accompanied Thomas Macy and family, Edward Starbuck and Isaac Coleman, to the island later in the year, where they took up their residence. The Coffin family that settled at Nantucket, included Tristram, Sr., James Mary, John and Stephen, each being the head of a family.  Tristram coffin was thirty-seven years old when he arrived in America, and fifty-five yeas old at the time of his removal to Nantucket, and during the first year of his residence there he was the richest proprietor.  The property of his son, Peter, is said to have soon after exceeded in value that of the original proprietor, the family together owning about one-fourth of the island of Nantucket, and the whole of Tuckernock.  Tristram was appointed the second chief magistrate of the town of Nantucket, succeeding his friend, Thomas Macy, and at the same time Thomas Mayhew was appointed the first chief magistrate of Martha's Vineyard, their commissions being signed by Governor Lovelace, of New York, bearing date June 29, 1671; the two chief magistrates, together with two assistants from each island, constituted a general court, with appellate jurisdiction over both islands.  The appointment was made by Governor Francis Lovelace, of New York, and his second commision, September 16, 1677, was signed by Edward Andros, governor-general of the province of New York.  He died at his home on Nantucket Island, October 2, 1681, leaving his widow, Dionis, seven children, sixty grandchildren and  a number of great-grandchildren, and in 1728 there had been born to him on thousand five hundred and eighty-two descendants, of whom one thousand one hundred and twenty-eight were living. The children of Tristram and Dionis (Stevens) Coffin were nine in number, the first five having been born in England, as follows:  1. Peter, 1631;  married Abigail (Reynolds) Starbuck; died in Exeter, New Hampshire, march 21, 1715.  2. Tristram, 1632; married Judith, daughter of Edward and Sarah Dole, and widow of Henry Somerby; died in Newbury, Massachusetts, February 4, 1704.  3. Elizabeth, 1634; married in Medbury, Massachusetts, November 13, 1651; Captain Stevens, son of Edmund and Sarah (Dole) Greenleaf, and they had five children.  She died November 19, 1678, and her husband in 1690.  4. James, August 12, 1640, died in Nantucket, Massachusetts, October 30, 1642.  5. John, died in Haverhill, Massachusetts, October 30, 1642.  6. Deborah, born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, November 15, 1642, and died there December 8, 1642.  7. Mary, February 20, 1645, married in 1662, Nathaniel (1638-1719), son of Edward and Catherine (Reynolds) Starbuck, and they had five children.  8. John, mentioned below.  9. Stephen, born in Newbury, May 11, 1652, died in Nantucket, May 18, 1734. 

          (V) Lieutenant John Coffin, eighth child of Tristram (2) and Dionis (Stevens) Coffin, was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, October 30, 1647, and died September 5, 1711.  He removed with his parents to Nantucket in 1660, and after the death of his father settled about 1682-83 in Edgartown, and from him all the Martha's Vineyard Coffins are descended.  He was a lieutenant in the Edgartown militia, and had previously held minor offices in Nantucket.   He married Deborah, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Austin.  They had eleven children, born on Nantucket Island:  1. Lydia, born June 1, 1669; married (first) John Logan, (second) John Draper, (third) Thomas Thaxton, of Hingham, Massachusetts.  2. Peter, August 5, 1671, died October 27, 1674.  3. John, Jr., February 10, 1674.  4. Love, April 23, 1676, died unmarried.  5. Enoch, 1678; was chief justice of Dakes County; married Beulah Eddy, about 1700, and they had eleven children, all of whom lived to the ages of seventy-six and upwards.  6. Samuel, married, in 1705, Meriam, daughter of Richard, Jr., and Mary (Austin) Gardner, and died February 22, 1764.  7. Hannah, married Benjamin, son of Richard, Jr., and Mary (Austin) Gardner, and died February 28, 1768.  8. Tristram, mentioned below.  9. Deborah, married, June 18, 1708, Thomas, son of John and Deborah (Gardner) Macy, and died September 23, 1760.  10. Elizabeth.  11. Benjamin, born August 23, 1682. 

Page 503

          (VI) Tristram (3), fifth son of Lieutenant John and Deborah (Austin) Coffin, was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, died January 29, 1763.  He lived in Nantucket all his life.  He married February, 1714, Mary, daughter of William and Mary (Macy) Bunker.  Children:  1. David, born 1718.  2. Samuel, 1720.  3. Tristram, 1722; died 1796.  4. Jonathan, 1725, lost at sea 1755.  5. John, 1727, lost at sea 1755.  6. Richard, mentioned below.  7. Timothy, 1731.  8. Mary, 1733, married Jonathan, son of Robert and Hepzibah (Coffin) Barnard, and died in November, 1855.  9. Matthew, 1735, lost at sea. 1755.  The three brothers, Jonathan, John, and Matthew, were lost at sea when serving as sailors on the same whale-ship. 

          (VII) Richard, sixth son of Tristram (2) and Mary (Bunker) Coffin, was born in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, in 1729.  He was captain in the local militia of Addison, Maine, where he lived after his marriage to Mary cook, of Martha's Vineyard, and he served as high sheriff of Washington County.  He had a large family of children, including John, and Timothy, mentioned below. 

          (VIII) Timothy, son of Richard and Mary (Cook) Coffin, was born at Nantucket, Massachusetts, about 1782, and died in Brooklyn, New York, January 14, 1867.  He was by occupation a sea captain.  He married (first), august 14, 1810, Deborah Perin; (second) Eliza Goodridge.  Children, by first marriage: 1. Henry P., born August 4, 1811.  2. Owen, born June 16, 1813.  Children by second marriage:  3. Timothy, Jr., mentioned below.  4. James T., born in New York, April 11, 1833.  5. Eliza J., born in New York, January 1, 1836. 

          (IX) Timothy (2), son of Timothy (1) and Eliza (Goodridge) Coffin, was born in New York City, November 7, 1829, and died January 30, 1903, at Montgomery, New York.  Mr. Coffin spent most of his life in the city of New York, and for thirty years was a member of the Grain Elevating Company and applied himself very closely to his office duties.  In 1884 he retired from active business, and in 1887 he, with his family, removed to Montgomery and took possession of the estate which he had purchased in 1874, situated on the famous old state road, leading from Montgomery to Albany.  Here history and tradition lend an added charm to the favored locality.  In the long ago it was the Indians' great camping ground of the Walkill Valley.  From the grounds purchased by him one may look upon the changes that come upon the face of the valley, draped in the morning mists, in the golden haze of noonday or in the rosy glories of the sunset, watching the cloud shadows on the landscape, with the Shawangunk Mountains forming the background and the lofty Catskills to the northward.  Much thought, labor and expense were lavished upon the transformation of the charming country seat of the Coffins, now one of the most attractive homesteads, of the picturesque valley.  A memorial notice of Mr. Coffin published at the time of his death says:  "Mr. Coffin was scrupulously honest and truthful; generous to a fault, always ready to do a favor, and it could sincerely be said of him that he lived for others.  While Mr. Coffin was retiring in nature yet socially he was attractive to the most refined and intelligent.  He was a great reader and man of much thought, and was thoroughly conversant on the topics of the day."

          He married, October 26, 1859, Anna J., daughter of Jacob and Eliza (Southard) Gridley, of Fishkill, new York.  Children: 1. Minnie A., died when fourteen years old.  2. Hattie, died when twenty-two months old.  3. Helen R, still living with her mother.

ROBINSON.     Robert Robinson, the founder of this family came, about 1850, with two brothers, David and Jonas, from Sligo, Ireland, to Mountaindale, Sullivan County, New York, where they settled as farmers.  Their mother's name before marriage was Kate Clark.  David afterwards became a Methodist preacher and preached for some years in Paterson, New Jersey.  He died in 1882; had children:  1. Louise, died young.  2. George, now living in Oregon.  3 & 4. Emma and Kate.  Children of Jonas:  1. William, killed in action in North Carolina, during the Civil War, in 1864.  2. David, badly wounded in the same fight.  3. Mary Ann, died young.  4. Samuel James, deceased, lived at Mountaindale.  5. Jennie.  6. John, a physician, has a sanitarium

Page 504

at Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Children of Robert:  1. Elias, died in 1871.  2. Margaret, living in Middletown, Connecticut.  3. Ann, living in Trenton, New Jersey.  4. Mary, living in Philadelphia.  5. Kate. living in Philadelphia, married Charles Hunter.  6. James, died young.  7. Robert. died young.  8. David, on whom further. 

          (II) David, son of Robert Robinson, was born April 27, 1841, and on august 18, 1861, he enlisted at Newburg, new York, in the Fifty-Sixth Regiment, New York State Volunteers, under command of Colonel C. H. Van Wyck.  He participated in the battles of Williamsburg, Virginia, May 5, 1862; Seven Pines, June 30, 1862; White Oaks; the Seven Days Battle; and Morris Island, South Carolina.  He was promoted to the rank of corporal, June 2, 1862, serving at that time under McClellan, and after the Seven Days battle was made sergeant.  After the above mentioned engagements he was on furlough, but re-enlisted in the Thirty-sixth Veterans Volunteers, February 20, 1864.  Later he was appointed lieutenant in the One Hundred and Fourth Colored Regiment, and took part in the battles of John's Island, July 7, 1864; Honey Hill, November 30, 1864; Devon's Neck, December 6, 1864.  In February, 1866, he was mustered out in South Carolina.  After the war he settled on a farm at Summitville, Sullivan County, New York, where he was postmaster under President Benjamin Harrison.  In 1901-02 he was a collector of taxes in the township of Fallsburg, Sullivan County, New York.  he is quartermaster of the Grand Army Republic Post at Monticello, and has been commander of Hammond Post, Grand Army Republic, at Summitville.  He now has a fine home in Monticello.  He married (first), in 1876, Laura J., daughter of Squire and Cynthia (Taylor) DeVoe, who died April 1, 1876; (second), in 1877, Eliza M. Attwell, who died in 1900; (third), in 1907, Mary Jane (Davis-Johnson-Townsend) Moore, daughter of Charles Edward Rossiter and Mary (Witham) Davis, who was born January 24, 1855, (see Davis Line)

(The Davis Line.)

          (I) ----------- Davis, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, came about 1790 from Providence, Rhode Island, to Albany, New York, where he had a fine home on the Bowery.  He was of Welsh descent and related to the sawing-machine inventory of this name.  Children:  1. William, born in 1794, married Rachel ---------, he was a financier, children:  1. Henry Luther.  2. Charles Edward Rossiter, of whom further.

          (II) Charles Edward Rossiter, son of ------------- Davis, was born in Providence, in 1797.  He came with his father to Albany and was engaged there in the pickling business.  He married, in 1838, Mary Witham.  Children:  1. Anna Maria, born in 1839, died in 1864, married William Sweeney, a native of Ireland; they lived in New York City; children:  i. William, died young.  ii. George W., manager and owner of the Hotel Victoria in New York City; he marred Anne O'Brien of Rochester, New York and their daughter, Alice, born March 10, 1886, married Herman Mergenthaler, son of the inventory of the linotype.  2. John Henry, born October 4, 1840, married in 1863, Anna Riker Hayward, of New York City.  He lived in New York City from the age of seventeen, volunteered in the Civil War, and enlisted in Company D, Seventy-first Regiment of New York, April 21, 1861, for three months.  After he was mustered out he volunteered again, in Company C, Fourth New York Mounted Riflemen.  He was wounded at Anandale, Virginia; was made corporal, and after discharge from the hospital, was offered an appointment as quartermaster-sergeant, but would not remain in the service unless he could fight.  After the war he was in the street car service for seven years, after which he made several ventures in the restaurant business.  In 1880 he bought an interest in a hotel, but this not proving successful, he became collector for a bottling concern and when he left the company in 1889 he was presented by them iwht a fine watch.    He is now a member of the Empire Chemical Company in New York City.  Child:  Adelaide Noble, born in May, 1865, married George Burns; children:  i. George D., born in 1887, a moving picture operator in New York City, ii. James Bailey, born in 1895.  3. Celia Anthony, born May 30, 1842, died in 1887, married George Crothers, of Boston.  4. Charles Edward Rossiter, born December 25, 1847, died in 1863.  At the age of fourteen he

Page 505

Went to war as a drummer, in the Second New York Volunteers, which was Sickle's brigade and was in the Seven Days' Battle; but a throat trouble compelled his return home after two years' service.  5. Rachel Abigail, born May 8, 1849, married September 9, 1867, William Fotheringham.  She lived in New York City from the age of five years; for thirty-five years William Fotheringham was collector for the Schultz Mineral Water Company.  Children, all deceased:  Edward, Charles, William.  6. Amelia Deborah, born January 12, 1853, married Timothy Regan, a native of Ireland.  He is a barber and for thirty-five years had a shop on Wall Street, New York City; in 1901 they came to Monticello, where he is engaged in the same business.  7. Mary Jane, born June 24, 1855, went, at the age of four with her mother to New York City, when her father died.  She married (first) in New York City in 1871, Benjamin Franklin Johnson, (second) Richard Townsend, (third) Alexander Moore, of New York City, who died November 20, 1898; he was a wealthy, well-known builder, and carpenter; she married (fourth) David, son of Robert Robinson, who was born April 27, 1841 (see Robinson II).  Children, both by first marriage:  1. Sadie, died aged six years.  2. George a., born November 19, 1875

BARNUM.     An investigation of the English ancestry of the Barnum family of America justifies the belief that the immigrant ancestor was son or grandson of Sir Martin and Judith (Calthorpe) Barnham.  His mother, or grandmother, was daughter of Sir Martin Calthorpe, lord mayor of London; Sir Francis Barnham, knight, of Hollingbourne, was either stepbrother, or uncle; and the wife of Francis, Lord Bacon, great lord chancellor and viscount, was either first or second cousin.  The alabaster monument of Sir Martin Barnham, which stands in all Saints Church, Hollingbourne Hill, England, is thus inscribed:  " Sacred to t he memory of Sir Martin Barnham.  Sprung from the old Southampton family of Barnhams, who married Ursula, daughter of Robert Rudstone, of Bouton, Nonchelsey, and had two daughters and one son.  On her death, he married Judith, the daughter of Sir Martin Calthorpe, Lord Mayor of London, by whom he had five sons and five daughters.  He is a man on every side of gentle birth, most happy in the extreme piety of his life and death alike; on whom God of the boundless riches of His mercy poured (piled upon him) of this world's gifts of nature, Grace and Honor, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.  He died 12^th December 1610, aged 60 years."  The name in Fairfield and Norwalk is spelled Barnam, but it may have been originally Burnham or Burnam, all of which are English names.  In Burke's "Encylopaedia of heraldry" is given the name Barnam and a coat-of-arms as follows:  Sable a cross between four crescents argent.

          (I) Thomas Barnum appears on the records of Fairfield, Connecticut, February 28, 1673, when he purchased a parcel of land at Maximus, being estimated at three quarters of an acre in extent.  Another record at Norwalk April 30, 1678, mentions his saying that he had been granted a plantation of three acres.  In 1671 he was a holder of land there, and in 1687 they were valued for assessment at forty pounds.  At the town meeting November 8, 1681, he was "appointed for to oversee and to keep good Decorum amongst the youth in times of exercise on the Sabbath and other Publique meetings; and the Town doe impower him if he see any disorderly, for to keep a small stock to correct such with; onely he is desired to doe it with clemency; and if any are incoridgable in such disorder, he is to present them either to their parents or masters; and if they do not reclaime them, then to present such to authority."  He was among the first settlers of Danbury, Connecticut, on lands which had been purchased from the Indians, and was living there in the spring of 1685.  He died there December 26, 1695, about seventy years old.  His estate, amounting to 330 pounds, 4 shillings, and 4 pence, was divided among five sons and five daughters.  There seems to be no record of his first marriage.  He married (second) Sarah, widow of John Hurd, of Stratford, and daughter of john Thompson, the first of the name in Stratford.  Children:  the first four record in Fairfield:  1. Thomas, of whom further.  2. Francis, born in 1871.

Page 506

2. John, February 24, 1677.  3. Hannah, October 4, 1680.  4. Ebenezer, May 29, 1682.  5. Richard, and four daughters whose names are not known. 

          (II) Thomas (2), son of Thomas (1) Barnum, was born July 9, 1663, in Fairfield, and removed to Danbury, with his father's family.  He died soon after December 17, 1730, the date of making his will.  His estate was valued at 190 pounds, 5 shillings and 2 pence.  He married Sarah, daughter of Samuel Beardsley, of Stratford society.  Children:  1. Thomas.  2. Ebenezer.  3. Joshua.  4. Sarah.  5. Esther.  6. Mary.  7. Ephraim, of whom further.  There was another daughter who married a Wilkes, but her Christian name is not preserved.

          (III) Ephraim, son of Thomas (2) and Sarah (Beardsley) Barnum, was born about 1710, died August, 1775.  He lived in that part of Danbury which is now Bethel, where he was a farmer.  His wife's name was Mehitable, and they had children:  1. Ephraim, born august 28, 1733.  2. Matthew, of whom further.  3. Elijah, February 1, 1738.  4. David.  5. Comfort.  6. Philip.  7. Samuel   8. Ruth, married John Bassett.  9. Rachel, married Benjamin Hickok. 

          (IV) Matthew, son of Ephraim and Mehitable Barnum, was born in 1736 at Bethel, where he passed his life engaged in farming, and died in 1805.  The valuation of his property in the grand list of 1793 was 75 pounds, 12 shillings, and 9 pence.  He married, and among his children was a son, Matthew (2) of whom further.

          (V) Matthew (2), son of Matthew (1) Barnum, resided in Bethel, and married Rhoda Star.  His property was valued in the grand list of 1793 at thirty-seven pounds, two shillings and six pence.  Among his children was a son, Platt, of whom further. 

          (VI) Platt, son of Matthew (2) and Rhoda (Star) Barnum, was born February 19, 1790, died April 23, 1831, in Thompson, Sullivan County, New York.  He settled about 1810 and lived there until his death, engaged in farming.  His farm was in the Neversink valley and is known as the O'Neil farm.  By their request the bodies of himself and wife were buried on their own land adjoining the cemetery.  He married Althea, died August 27, 1863, daughter of Abel (2) Barnum, whose line of descent comes down from Thomas (2) through his son Francis, who married Deborah Hoyt, and had six son, and one daughter.  His sixth son, Abel (1), was born 1703, achieved distinction as captain in the War of the Revolution.  He was the father of Abel (2), whose children were Ira, Daniel Turner, henry and Althea, wife of Platt Barnum.  Mr. and Mrs. Barnum had three sons and five daughters, among them, Lewis Henry, of whom further.

          (VII) Lewis Henry, second son of Platt and Althea (Barnum) Barnum, was born February 7, 1824, in Thompson, died in that town July 14, 1908.  He married, March 14, 1850, Elizabeth Millspaugh, born January 25, 1818, died November 12, 1873.  Children:  1. Nancy Augusta.  2. Georgia Amanda, of whom further.  3. Herbert Eugene.  4. Henry Weston, M. D.

          (VIII) Georgia Amanda, daughter of Lewis Henry and Elizabeth (Millspaugh) Barnum, was born in 1853.  She is now the wife of Alexander T. Neil, of Monticello, New York (see Neil Line.)

(The Neil Line.)

          This is an old Scotch name and has many representatives scatter throughout the United States, most of them having come to this country since the Revolutionary War.  The family herein traced has been identified with Orange and Sullivan Counties, New York, from the time of its arrival in America. 

          (I) Thomas Neil, of Scotch ancestry, came from Northern Ireland, and settled in Monticello, Sullivan County, New York.  He had a son, William. 

          (II) William, son of Thomas (1) Neil, came to Newburg, New York, in 1836, with four sons, among them Thomas (2), of whom further, and a daughter, who became the wife of John Datz, and lived in Monticello, New York. 

          (III) Thomas (2), son of William Neil, was born July 11, 1821, in Ireland, died March 6, 1894, in Monticello, New York.  He settled early in life in Monticello, where he was a carpenter and builder, and took an active part in the conduct of its affairs, serving many years as justice of the peace.  He married, July 3, 1850, Susan E., daughter of Isaac and Clarissa Acker, of Monti-

Page 507

cello.  Children:  1. Alexander T., of whom further.  2. Clarissa, died unmarried.  3. Isaac, residing in Oklahoma.  4. Thomas, living in Jersey City.  5. Susan, wife of Joseph Bird, residing in Yonkers, New York.  6. John, died unmarried.  7. Agnes, wife of Charles Phillips, of Yonkers. 

          (IV) Alexander T., eldest son of Thomas (20 and Susan E. (Acker) Neil, was born June 26, 1851, in the town of Thompson.  He received his education in the district school at Bridgeville, Sullivan County.  Ever since attaining his majority, he has been engaged in the grocery business, having spent twenty-one years of this time in Yonkers, New York, whence he removed to Monticello, in 1894.  Like his father, he has been active in political movements, being a Republican in principle, and served eight years as justice of the peace.  He was one of the board of sewer commissioners for one year. 

          He married, November 1, 1876, Georgia Amanda, daughter of Lewis Henry and Elizabeth (Millspaugh) Barnum, of Fairfield, New York (see Barnum VIII).

SEARS.    The several attempts of genealogists to trace the pre-American ancestry of the Sears immigrant have met with discouraging obstacles and few satisfactory results; while it seems to be pretty well established that the family is one of great antiquity there has always existed a doubt regarding its origin, and there are those who are disposed to place it among the old Holland families and bring forth Dutch intermarriages in support of their reasoning.  In these annals no attempt is made to investigate the subject of the origin of the family of the Sears immigrant, for it is not known when or where he was born, and nothing of his parentage, although there are various traditions and vague conclusions regarding his forebears.  The family in America is fully strong enough in every material respect to stand forever without the warrant of distinguished pre-American lineage.  But in regard to the apparent lack of earlier data the Sears family is only one in the long list of our best colonial families whose history back of the immigrant is unknown, and the absence of definite knowledge of his ancestors is not to be taken as evidence of doubtful or obscure origin, for the simple truth is that it has been found impossible to trace his lineage in the mother country. 

Top

Mardos Memorial Library

Transcribed by Holice B. Young

Html by D. J. Coover

Copyright © 2000 - 2003 D. J. Coover All Rights Reserved Webmaster: D. J. Coover