Amanuensis Monday - Will of John Meredith, Queen Anne's County, MD

The will of John Meredith leaves his estate to his four children, John Meredith, William Meredith, Thomas Meredith, Sarah Cofton, and a grandson James Meredith. The will was signed on July 14, 1764 and probated in Queen Anne's County, MD.

One of the witnesses to the will was Henry Councell and the will mentions a tract of land called Tom's Fancy Enlarged that was named in land records for my Councill family. This copy of the will comes from MD wills, Vol. 31-32, available on Ancestry.com.

In the name of God Amen. I John Meredith, from Queen Anne County and the province of Maryland...

Item: I give and bequeath to my beloved son, William Meredith, eighty acres of land where he now dwells being part of a parcel of land called Tristram's? Ridge to be taken of said tract square ? to him and his heirs forever.

Item : I give and bequeath unto my beloved son John Meredith my now dwelling plantation being the remainder of any ? track of land called Tristram's Ridge with hundred acres of land thereto adjoining being part of a land called Tom's Fancy Enlarged to him and his heirs forever.

Item: I give and bequeath unto my beloved son Thomas Meredith one Negro named I? and one Negro named Co? to him and his heirs forever.

Item: I give and bequeath unto my beloved daughter, Sarah Cofton, one Negro, named ? and her child named ? to her and her heirs forever. Item I give and bequeath to my beloved grandson James Meredith, son of my son William Meredith one Negro girl named Rose? to him and his heirs forever.

Item: I give and bequeath unto my beloved son John Meredith all my wearing apparel and my sword and pistols.

Item: My will and desire is that should my son John Meredith die without issue? that then and in that case his part of my above named land should be divided up as follows Viz The dwelling ? called Tristram's Ridge to my son William Meredith being the remainder of the tract of land to him before bequeathed to him and his heirs forever, and the above mentioned ? acres of land being part of Tom's Fancy Enlarged to my son Thomas Meredith, him and his heirs forever.

Item: My will and desire is that after my just debts be paid and my funeral charges defrayed that the remainder of my estate to be equally divided between my above named four children Viz. William John Thomas and Sarah, and I do hereby constitute and appoint my beloved son John Meredith my sole executor of this my last will and testament hereby ? all other will and .. 14th day of July in 1764.

John Meredith

My 2x great-grandfather Francis Councill married Mary Ann Meredith, daughter of John Meredith and Elizabeth Hall. Mary's father John was born around 1800, so he is not the one named in this will. I suspect that the John Meredith that wrote the will is connected to my family, but I need to link up another generation or two to make the connection.

Amanuensis Monday is a popular ongoing series created by John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch.

Amanuensis Monday - Will of James Sparks

The will of James Sparks, signed March 21, 1775 leaves his estate to his wife July Sparks, sons Nathan, Daniel, John, Henson, and step-daughter Sarah Meredith. The will was probated in Queen Anne's County, MD.

From land records in Queen Anne's County, MD I knew that Daniel Sparks was the father of my 2x great-grandfather Samuel Sparks. The land records also name a brother of Daniel as John Sparks. It looks probable that James' sons Daniel and John are the same as the ones named in the land records. This would make James my 4x great -grandfather. I became aware of this will due to some shaky leaves on my Ancestry.com tree, so thanks to those that added it to their trees!

Maryland Wills, vol 40-41, 1774-1777, Image 156

Item, I leave unto my loving wife, July Sparks the use of my house and fifty acres of land on His Lordship's Manor that is under lease, during her natural life or widowhood, or the lease holds good.

Item, I give and bequeath to my loving son John Sparks one featherbed with a buckram tick and what furniture belonging to it.

Item, I give and bequeath to my loving son Daniel one featherbed with a plain linen tick and all its furniture there belonging.

Item, I give and bequeath to my son, Henson Sparks, one middle sized pewter dish and six pewter plates.

Item, I give unto my wife Juley Sparks one iron pot holding about six gallons. I also give to my loving wife Juley Sparks six yoes and lambs.

Item, I give and bequeath to Sarah Marydith daughter of Juley Sparks an equal part of the rest of my personal estate that is to be divided amongst all the rest of my children.

And lastly, I leave my loving wife, Juley Sparks and my loving son Nathan Sparks my whole and sole executors of this my last will and testament. In witness whereof I have fixed my hand and seal this 21st day of March Anno Domini, 1775.

The entire will is transcribed in the Sparks Quarterly, along with an explanation of why James is most likely he son of William Sparks Jr. and Margaret Hamilton.

Source for will: Ancestry.com. Maryland, Wills and Probate Records, 1604-1998 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Amanuensis Monday is a popular ongoing series created by John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch.

Wedding Wednesday - John Meredith and Elizabeth Hall

Marriage license books from the Circuit Court of Queen Anne's County, MD are available online through the Maryland State Archives. The licenses are in scanned books and cover most years from 1817-1906.

The following license is for John Meredith and Elizabeth Hall. The date on the record is Feb. 5, 1823 and the officiant was Rev. Reed. A fee of $4.00 was paid. According to the information on the Maryland State Archives site, the date recorded by the clerk was the date of the marriage.

The entry is number 191 on page 64 of the book. The entries on this page are for 1824, so it appears the clerk may have made a mistake in recording the date.

According to a comment I received on a post about Francis and Mary Councill, John Meredith and Elizabeth Hall were the parents of Francis' wife Mary Meredith. They would be my 3x great-grandparents.

The commenter also mentioned that Mary's grandfather was Richard Hall and Mary had a brother named John Thomas Meredith. Mary and her brother were raised by Richard Hall after John Meredith died in 1830 and Elizabeth died in 1833. Thanks to H. Meredith for the information!

Mystery Monday - Meredith or Godwin?

I've posted about this census record before, but I'm taking another look at it in light of some new information.

1850 US Census, 3rd District, Queen Anne's County, MD

In the 1850 census for Queen Anne's County, MD, there are several people with different surnames living in the same household. Samuel and Susan Sparks are my 2x great-grandparents and they have a newborn named Martha Ann. Every tree I've ever seen for the family has Samuel and Ann Godwin as the parents of Susan Godwin, and Susan Godwin as the wife of Samuel Sparks.

There are a couple of marriage records to support this. From the marriage records for Queen Anne's County available on the Maryland State Archives site, Samuel Godwin married Ann Davis on March 23, 1824 and Samuel Sparks married Susan Godwin on July 16, 1849. There is a Rebecca Davis living with the family who is 6 years younger than Ann Godwin, so that indicates there could be a relation to the Davis family. There are also two Meridith children living in the household.

The new to me information is from the death certificate for my great-grandmother Arianna Sparks. I knew that Arianna was the daughter of Samuel and Susan Sparks and had thought that Susan's maiden name was Godwin. The death certificate says that Arianna's parents are Samuel Sparks and Susan Meredith! It's interesting that one of the Meridith children living in the Godwin household is also named Arianna, so it does seem like there is a relationship between the families.

 I can think of several possibilities for the difference in last names for Susan:

• The death certificate could be wrong. The informant was Arianna's daughter Ruby and perhaps she got the name confused with her other grandmother, Mary Ann Meredith, wife of Francis Councill.
• The death certificate could be correct and Susan's maiden name really was Meredith. That raises the question of why the Sparks and Merediths were living with the Godwins? I couldn't find any Queen Anne's marriage records for a Susan Meredith
• Susan could've remarried to a Meredith after Samuel Sparks died. This can be ruled out since Samuel died in 1899 and Susan's estate was filed in 1902 under the name Susan A. Sparks.
• Susan Meredith could've married a Godwin before her marriage to Samuel Sparks. I couldn't find any evidence to support this in the Queen Anne's marriage records.

For now, I'm leaning towards a mistake on the death certificate, although it's possible there was a marriage for Susan in another county. Investigating the Meredith children might shed some light on the relationship to the Meredith family, so I'll follow up on that in a future post.

Census Sunday - Francis and Mary A. Councill in Queen Anne's County, Maryland

Tracing my 2x great-grandparents Francis and Mary Ann Meredith Councill through the census has been a bit confusing. The names and ages of the children changed from census to census, but it looks like they may have used nicknames or middle names. All of the census records listed below were for District 3 of Queen Anne's County, MD.

1850 US Census, District 3, Queen Anne's County, MD

The 1850 census record has the family listed as Counall. The following individuals are listed in the household. I've added an estimated year of birth based on their ages.

Francis 35, 1815

Mary Ann 23, 1827

Mary 8, 1842

Frances 5, 1845

Sarah M 3, 1847

Richard James 2/12 months, 1850

This is the only census record where a Sarah is listed, although a Maria of about the same age is listed in 1860 and 1870. There is no mention of a Sarah or Maria in Francis Councill's will of 1886.

1860 US Census, District 3, Queen Anne's County, MD

This appears to be the same family in the 1860 census, although some of the names and birth years change. Both the 1850 and 1860 censuses were taken in July, so that doesn't explain the discrepancy in ages. The following individuals are listed:

Francis Council 40, 1820

Mary 32, 1828

Marietta 17, 1843

Frances 16, 1844

Maria 12, 1848 (maybe Sarah M. from 1850?)

Richard 10, 1850

Robert 8, 1852

John 6, 1854

Frank 1, 1859

 

1870 US Census, District 3, Queen Anne's County, MD

In 1870, the household has the following members:

Francis Council 55, 1815

Mary 45, 1825

Maria A. 19, 1851

Ric'd 20, 1850

Robert 17, 1853

John 13, 1857

Mary A. 10, 1860

Marietta, Frances, and Frank aren't listed here. Marietta got married in 1862 and I suspect that Frances was also married by 1870. Frank would've been too young to be married, so may have died young. Another child, Mary A. is added to the household.

1880 US Census, District 3, Queen Anne's County, MD

In the 1880 census, Francis and Mary are living with their grandsons, Fran. and W. Jas Booker. Their daughter Marietta married James Booker on December 18, 1862, so they are most likely her children. Marietta married Charles J. Weaver on December 28, 1878, so I don't know why the children are with their grandparents.

Francis Council 62, 1818

Mary 54, 1826

Fran. Booker, 12 1868

W. Jas Booker, 9 1871

The will of Francis was filed in December 1887 and the estate of Mary was probated in 1889. Their children Marietta Weaver, Frances Bramble, Richard, Robert, John, and Annie Dodd were left land and money in the will of Francis and the estate of Mary. Annie doesn't appear in any of the census records, so she may have been the Mary A. or Maria A listed in the 1870 census.

Sources:

• Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line], Image 35. Year: 1850; Census Place: District 3, Queen Anne's, Maryland; Roll: M432_296; Page: 198A; Image: 158
• Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line], Image 2.Year: 1860; Census Place: District 3, Queen Annes, Maryland; Roll: M653_479; Page: 34; Image: 34; Family History Library Film: 803479
• Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line], Image 124. Year: 1870; Census Place: District 3, Queen Annes, Maryland; Roll: M593_593; Page: 433B; Image: 312; Family History Library Film: 552092.
• Ancestry.com. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line], Image 3. Year: 1880; Census Place: Centerville, Queen Anne's, Maryland; Roll: 514; Family History Film: 1254514; Page: 402B; Enumeration District: 061; Image: 0425. Note: Census image says District 3.
• QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Marriage Licenses) 1817-1906 CE277, Maryland State Archives

Wedding Wednesday - Francis Councill and Mary Ann Meredith

The Maryland State Archives has digital copies of marriage licenses granted by the Queen Anne's County Circuit Court from 1817-1906. Click on the Link next to each set of years to open a PDF file with scans of the books. The records provide the names of the bride, groom, and officiant and the date of the marriage. There are gaps in the years available.

Francis Councill and Mary Ann Meredith, Maryland State Archives msa_ce277-1, Page 225

This entry is for the marriage of  my 2x great-grandparents, Francis Councill and Mary Ann Meredith. They were married in Queen Anne's County on July 8, 1840 by Rev. W. Larkins. The record also indicates that they paid $4.50 for the marriage license.

Transcriptions for the years 1817-1858 and 1865-1908 are available on Sandy's File Cabinet.

Military Monday - Documents of the American Revolution

The American Archives site hosted by Northern Illinois University provides free access to documents of the American Revolution covering the years 1774-1776. The site can by searched for documents or keywords and there is a detailed page on how to search.

I came across the site while doing a search for my Godwin surname and found a document listing the Minute Company that marched from Queen Anne's County, Maryland in 1776.

  

Included in the list were three men with my Queen Anne's County surnames: John Godwin, Thomas Meredith, and James Gould Sparks. One of the Corporals was Thomas Meredith Bryon, so there could be a connection there too. Very interesting to see that some of my families may have participated in the American Revolution. Now if I could just make that link back!

Surname Saturday - Godwin, Davis, Sparks, and Meredith

My Godwin, Davis, and Sparks families are from Queen Anne's County, Maryland.

The earliest record I have for these families is from the Index to Queen Anne's County, MD Marriage Records. The index shows that my GGG-Grandparents Samuel Godwin and Ann Davis were married on March 23, 1824 by Rev. Crouch in Queen Anne's County.

Their daughter Susan Godwin was married to Samuel Sparks on July 16, 1849 by Rev. Sumption.

This record from the 1850 census for Queen Anne's County shows an interesting group of families living together. Susan and Samuel Sparks are living with Susan's parents and have a baby daughter, Martha Ann. A couple of young girls from the Meredith family and Rebecca Davis are also living with the Godwins. Rebecca Davis is close in age to Ann Davis Godwin, so they might be sisters. Also of note is that Samuel Godwin's occupation is a sailor.

Godwin family in 1850 census for Queen Anne's County, MD

I am not sure where these Merediths fit into my family, but my GG-Grandparents Francis Councill and Mary Meredith were married on July 8, 1840 in Queen Anne's County. Both the Merediths and the Sparks had daughters named Ariana. Francis and Mary's son John Wesley Councill married Samuel and Susan Sparks' daughter Ariana, so it would appear that all of these families were close.

The previous page in the 1850 census has a Meredith and two other Sparks families, so those might provide some clues.

Sparks family on page before Godwins in 1850 Queen Anne's census

The Sparks family above also has a daughter named Martha Ann. Robert Sparks and his family are living nearby.

Another Sparks family on the same page of the 1850 census

I have a long way to go on sorting out these families. I'd love to hear from anyone else researching any of these surnames in Queen Anne's!

Surname Saturday - A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames

I recently ran across A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames With Special American Instances, written by Charles Wareing Bardsley while searching for information on my English surnames. I found the book on Ancestry.com, but the full text is available on Google books at A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames.

I've looked at several books with surname derivations, but this one adds some interesting records and commentary to many of the surnames. The book was published in 1901 after the author's death, so captures research done during the 1800s. This collection represents a lifetime of compiling and collecting information by the author. I can only imagine doing something on this scale before computers!

Here are a few examples from the book for some of my surnames. The numbers at the end of each entry are a count of each surname variation found in city directories such as London and New York.

Variations on my Chilcutt surname

My family spelled this name Councill, although I have seen Counsell and Councell in some of the earlier records. Council with one "l" is also common. I wish he had put his guesses here! This is one of those names that can be especially hard to search for since it has many variations and instances of the word council come up.

Family lore says that we have some Welsh ancestry, so perhaps it is through our Meredith line. I don't know too much about them yet. My ancestor Francis Councill married Mary Ann Meredith in Queen Anne's County, Maryland on July 8, 1840.

My family spelled this name as Sparks, but it's interesting to see that the name may have originated from Sparrowhawk. The earliest records I have on my Sparks family are from Queen Anne's County, Maryland.

I looked Creed up to see if it made any references to my Creedon/Creeden surname. The Irish Creedon surname was sometimes abbreviated to Creed, but I believe it has different origins than the English Creed. Bardsley's book did not include any references to Creedon.