Hackney
Hackney
This page is still under construction because efforts to research John Hackney have met with a brick wall and some of the sources still have to be numbered and moved to the end. This page is not intended to become a definitive, all-inclusive Hackney web site. It's main purpose is to offer as comprehensive information as possible about the ancestors of Rachel Hackney who married John Griffith in 1801.The sources that have been posted so far can be seen by clicking on each number in brackets, or you can see all the posted citations at once. Here is an explanation of the National Genealogical Society's Numbering System used on this web page.
I have not yet been able to research for myself the English ancestors of our Hackney line. After spending too many hours on the web, I could find nobody who has posted a definitive, proved, documented line. What has been posted, in some profusion, are a number of bits of raw data pasted together in various ways. However, all is not lost in the mists of time. Descendant John Hackney Fellows painstakingly compiled data from a wide range of Hackney descendants, and built a consensus on the following ancestry. I am grateful to him for sharing it with me. I hope in time to get some solid documentation for all this information. Even though this page is still under construction, I will post it now in the hopes of eliciting comments, corrections, or additions, via e mail to 
.
John Hackney Fellows's mother, aunts, and cousins were hooked by one of the genealogical frauds making the rounds nearly a century ago. This was the old chestnut that sons who came to the new world would be cut out of their father's will, but if you, a descendant thereof, would just send some money for legal fees, etc., a large chunk of the inheritance would be yours. They chased a rumor that a distant cousin in California had actually gotten a large amount of cash, but needless to say, they never saw a penny. They did, however, embark on some serious genealogical sleuthing. John took their work and contacted other Hackney researchers, creating a consensus on the data each contributed. What follows is built upon his work for the first generations.
Since 2007 two other Hackney researchers have contacted me and are graciously sharing data they have uncovered: Susan Martucci and Dena Wilson. My thanks to them, as new pieces are gradually found and fit together to track this family with multiple branches. However, this web page does not intend to track any lines other than my own.
Joseph HackneyA, was born 26 October 1651 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. He died 9 December 1737 in Old Street, London. Old Street runs from Goswell Road and Aldergate to Shoreditch and King's Land Road. It is south of the area of greater London called Hoxton, and west of Bethnal Green. Old Street passes near St. Luke's Hospital (which is now the Bank of England's Printing Works) and St. Giles Cripplegate. The old Quaker burial ground of Bunhill Fields (began use in 1665 and disused since 1852) is near.[1]
Joseph married Elizabeth JENNINGS, daughter of William and Sarah (__) Jennings, on 17 February 1674/5 in Leighton Monthly Meeting, Hempstead Parish, Herts. Elizabeth was born ca. 1654 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. She died 17 April 1731 in Hemel Hempstead, Herts. The LDS lists a number of microfilms of cemetery and Church of England records for Hemel Hempstead and St. Albans in Herts., but I have not had an opportunity to study them.[2]
Elizabeth (Jennings) Hackney's brother was Samuel JENNINGS, a merchant of Burlington, New Jersey, who signed his will 24 July 1708. It was proved 18 October 1709. In it Samuel mentioned his sister Eliza. Hackney, and his daughters Sarah, wife of Thomas STEVENSON; Anne, wife of William Stevenson; and Mercy, wife of John Stevenson. He also named grandchildren (all under age): Isaac PENNINGTON, son of Edward, deceased; Jennings and Elizabeth, the children of William Stevenson; Thomas Stevenson, son of John; and Anne and Sarah, daughters of William. Legacies for them were left in the hands of Philadelphia merchants Samuel CARPENTER and Richard HILL. He also mentioned "cousin" [i.e. niece and nephews] Susannah (Hackney) FOX, John Hackney, Samuel Hackney, and his friend Thomas ELLWOOD of Hunger Hill near Amersham, Buckinghamshire, and brother[-in-law?] Isaac MARRIOT (husband of Joyce OLIVE, the sister of Samuel Jenning's deceased wife). His executors were his three daughters and their husbands.[3]
I found no Hackneys in Besse's Sufferings for London/Middlesex or Hertfordshire (spelled by Besse "Hartfordshire"). This doesn't prove that the Hackneys were not Quakers, only that they had no brushes with the law that Besse recorded.[4] Obviously both Joseph and Elizabeth were Friends when they married in 1675.
Joseph was said to have been a wealthy wool merchant in Cheapside, London.
Children of Joseph and Elizabeth (Jennings) Hackney:
Circumstantial evidence supports the idea of Joseph and Elizabeth (Jennings) as the parents of our John, if for no other reason that they were Friends, and therefore more likely to have their children go to the Quaker settlement on the Delaware River. However, there was another John Hackney, born 26 November 1675 and baptized two days later at St. Mary Magdalene in Woolwich. The original church was built some time before the 12th century (possibly even as early as the 9th century), but because of its proximity to the Thames, the sandy soil was washing away, sometimes exposing bones in the graveyard. In the 1730s it was torn down and a new one built on higher ground. Note that this is the church in Greater London rather than one of the same name in Kent. The baby John was the son of Joseph and Mary (__) Hackney. [Facsimile of the holograph composite register, London Metropolitan Archives, Saint Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, Baptisms July 1670-May 1694 . . . p. 97/MRY, Item 001, Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1812, accessed 3/28/2013 on ancestry library via ProQuest.
John Hackney1, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Jennings) was born 12 November 1676 in Hemel Hempstead. He immigrated to Burlington in West Jersey, presumably married, and had a son. A John Hackney was listed as a Quaker in Burlington County in 1704, but I do not know just what the "Early Census Index" refers to (p. 371) that lists him. That is the sum total of our knowledge about him at the moment. Questions abound: did he remain a Quaker? When did he immigrate? Who was his wife? What did he do for a living? Did he have any additional children? When and where did he die?
There are NO real estate records for John, Joseph, or Samuel Hackney in Burlington County or in all of West Jersey in Basse's Book of Surveys, 1670-1727. I have found NO marriage record for John Hackney in Burlington County. Nor could I find one for him in the Burlington Meeting records, or in the Philadelphia, Salem, Falls, or Middletown Meeting records—if John married under the care of Friends. We have no proof that he did. A John Hackney was "married to Hanah [sic] his wife April the 11th 1726" in Talbot County, Md., but I have no idea if this was our man. [Historical Society of Penna., Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records, 1708-1985, 113, as digitized on ancestry library, through ProQuest, accessed 3/28/2013.] Thus far I have been unable to access wills, administrations, and inventories, or other court records for West Jersey.
However, John was mentioned in the will of his mother's brother, Samuel JENNINGS of New Jersey, signed in July 1708 and proved in October 1709, so John was presumably alive at that time.
Child of John and (__) Hackney (may be incomplete?):
Samuel Hackney1, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Jennings) was born 20 August 1678 in Hemel Hempstead. He died 5 May 1755 in St. Luke's Parish, Middlesex, England. Samuel married Mary __.
Samuel immigrated to Burlington in West Jersey, and settled his family there. But then returned to England, having been granted a certificate by Burlington Monthly Meeting on First Month [March] 4, 1716/7.[6] What was his wife's surname and when did they marry? Who were his children?
Samuel and Mary (__) Hackney probably had children, and they may have been named Jennings and William Hackney, born in the 1720s. Alternatively, if Samuel was very young when he married, his son may have been Samuel Hackney, b. 1700 in Burlington; d. 1762 in Northampton Co., N. Car.; m. Mary __; and had 5 children. Dena Wilson suggests that the former is more likely, and I tend to agree with her. [E mail, 4/4/2013.]
Just to keep things interesting, there were two other Hackney men living in Burlington County, New Jersey, at this time. I do not know how (or if) they connect to John and Samuel, above. They do not seem to be siblings, and cannot be sons. First cousins? Second cousins? If any reader can help, please contact me at .
Thomas Hackney of Burlington County posted a bond for the payment of £50 sterling to John HOLLINSHEAD, also of Burlington County, on 22 August, 1693.[7] The very next day, 23 August 1693, Thomas signed his will. He mentioned his children: William Hackney of Thinedone (alias Findon), Northamptonshire, old England; Sarah, widow of Thomas EVANS of Wellingborough, Burl. Co.; Agnes Hackney of Burl. Co. He also left a legacy to Sarah, daughter of Thomas Hackney of Winick, Huntingdonshire, England. Executors were his daughter Sarah Evans, Edward COOPER of Northampton, Eng., and John ELINGTON, upholsterer of Wellingborough, Eng. The witnesses were John PAINE, John WILLS, and Thomas EVES.[8] It was not unusual to sign a will before embarking on a voyage. Thomas and his daughter Agnes who were granted a certificate of removal from Burlington Monthly Meeting in New Jersey on 5 Fourth Month [June] 1693 to a monthly meeting in England.[9] Thomas may never have returned, and his will was proved 10 April 1695 and is filed in Burlington Records, p. 25.[8]
William Hackney, yeoman of Chester Township, Burlington County, New Jersey, is mentioned in several documents. On 1 December 1701 Samuel JENNINGS, merchant of Burlington, signed a deed with Abraham HEULINGS of Chester, Burl. Co. for 700 acres that lay between the lands of Mathew ALLEN, George GREAVES, and William Hackney.[10] So William was a landowner. On 25 February 1701/2 Katharine SULLAVAN [sic], widow of Eversham Township, Burlington Co., named William Hackney, Abrm. HEWLINGS, and Thos. WILKINSON, all of Burl. Co., as trustees for her minor son Thurlas Sullavan, for a 178 acre plantation purchased from Thomas KENDALL on 29 December 1701, until Thurlas came of age, or if he died, in trust for the younger son Edward Sullavan and two daughters Mary and Rachel.[11] William signed his will 27 May 1704. In it he mentioned his wife Elizabeth and sons (both under 21) Thomas and William. (It was probably this Thomas Hackney who was granted a certificate of removal to Newtown Monthly Meeting [presumably between Camden and Haddonfield] from Burlington Monthly Meeting [Camden, NJ] on 6/7m/1714.[12] As their guardians William appointed Samuel JENINGS [sic], Francis DAVENPORT, Peter FRETTWELL, and Thomas GARDINER. He left a legacy to Burlington Quarterly Meeting. His wife was sole executrix. Witnesses were Isaac MARRIOTT, Will. STEVENSON, Henry GRUBB. It was proved 10 March 1712/3 and filed in Lib. I, p. 392. The inventory, made 10 March 1712/3 by Thomas EVES and Hugh SHARPE, included a "negro man £60" and came to £313.11.4.[13] The inclusion of similar names is intriguing. True, it was a very small population, but we've seen the close connection of Samuel Jennings, above. "Will. Stevenson" was first cousin of John and Samuel (William was the son-in-law of Joseph Hackney's wife Elizabeth's brother Samuel Jennings). Isaac Marriot[t] also witnessed Joseph Hackney's will. Coincidentally, Isaac was the father-in-law of Martha KIRKBRIDE, wife of Thomas Marriott and mother of Anna Marriott who married William PAXSON.
Joseph Hackney2, son of John and (__) Hackney, was born 19 September 1700 in Burlington, New Jersey.[1] Joseph died 18 March 1743/4 in New Castle Co., in what became Delaware. He married in 1731 Charity HARLAN, the daughter of Aaron and Sarah (HEALD) Harlan.
The marriage of Joseph Hackney and Charity Harlan in 1731 was recorded at Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church in Wilmington, in what became Delaware. This marriage would have been out of unity with Friends, among whom both Joseph and Charity supposedly had their "birth and education". But I have not found evidence that either of them were "dealt with" by Friends. Another difficulty is that apparently some marriages were recorded by the church even though they were not solemnized there. When he died in 1744 Joseph was "probably" buried in the Friends burying ground at "Old Centre" Meeting, New Castle County. At the time of her second marriage, Charity was a member in good standing of Centre Meeting. More research is needed, especially in Friends' records. My hypothesis at this point is that Charitay and Joseph were both Friends and married with Friends' procedure, and the record was just included by Old Swedes in its records in its effort to be a quasi-public repository.
The Swedish Lutheran Holy Trinity Church had been built in 1698-99, and still stands at 606 Church Street. After the last Swedish pastor left in 1791, the church became Protestant Episcopal. Yet apparently Anglicans had use of the church as early as 1731.
Joseph was a miller. In 1743 he was named Supervisor for roads for Kennett Township.[14]
Joseph apparently died intestate and on 30 May 1744 the administration of his estate was given to Charity Hackney.[15] He left six children, his seventh child, John, was born posthumously.
As a widow, Charity married for a second time, Francis BALDWIN, also at Holy Trinity Church in Wilmington. She was disowned by Centre Meeting in Fourth Month [June] 1747 "for accomplishing her marriage by a Priest to one not in unity with Friends."[16] [See an explanation of Old Style dates.] Charity and Francis had four children.
Francis and Charity removed to the Shenandoah Valley. Charity's children, of course, had not been disowned for their mother's offense, so on 6 Tenth Month 1760 Aaron, Charity, John, and Joseph Hackney were granted a certificate of removal by Kennett Monthly Meeting to Hopewell Meeting in Frederick County, Virginia.[17]
Charity died in Berkeley County, in what became West Virginia, in 1764.
Children of Joseph and Charity (Harlan) Hackney
a) Aaron Hackney b. 29 June 1786 Orange Co., NC and d. 1 March 1828 in Blount Co., Tenn.; m. Jane JONES (1789-1842) in 1811 in NC. Their daughter was Elizabeth Hackney b. 24 Nov. 1818 Lost Creek, Jefferson, TN and d. 30 Dec. 1858 Amboy, Jasper, IA. Elizabeth became the 2nd wife of Seth HAMMER, (24 April 1813 Lost Creek, TN - 10 March 1881 Jasper Co., IA) following the death of Seth's first wife. Their daughter was Louisa Jane Hammer (1853 - 1928) and she married Benjamin B. Trout (1850 - 1932) both of Jasper Co., Iowa. The Hammers were also Quakers and Seth was the "second son of Elisha Hammer, who was born in North Carolina, and his wife Rachael, whose family name was Lewis. Elisha Hammer was a minister of note in the Society of Friends, also known as Quakers. The family settled in Jasper County, Iowa and named the location Hammers Grove about 5 miles northeast of Newton, the county seat."
Children of Francis and Charity (Harlan) Hackney Baldwin
Joseph Hackney, Jr.3 was born in New Castle County, in what is now the state of Delaware, on 25/3m March? May? 1743. He died 10 Second Month [February] 1817 in Frederick County, Virginia, and is buried in Green Springs Friends burial ground in Berkeley County, West Virginia. Joseph married 20 Seventh Month [July] 1768 Martha McCOOL or McCoole, the daughter of James and Ann (WRIGHT) McCool. Martha was born 31 Twelfth Month [December?] 1750 NS in New Castle County or else was born 28 February 1749/50? OS in New Castle County. She died 1 November 1843 in Frederick County, Virginia, and is buried at Hopewell Meeting. [See an explanation of Old Style dates.]
Joseph had moved west with a certificate of removal dated Tenth Month 1760 (he would have been seventeen years old that year) from New Castle County to Frederick County.[21]
Joseph and Martha were married in the Back Creek meeting house, Frederick County. This meeting house was said to have been somewhere around Gainsville on current route 532, northwest of Winchester. Back Creek was a preparative meeting under Hopewell Monthly Meeting. The marriage certificate for Joseph and Martha noted that the fathers of both bride and groom were deceased. Charity's mother Ann was now married to Thomas PUGH and both of them signed the certificate, along with Jesse, Elizabeth, and Job Pugh, perhaps children of Thomas. Martha's brothers John and James M'COOLE [spelling was not consistent] also signed, as did Joseph's brother Aaron and Aaron's second wife Hannah Hackney. In all, thirty four Friends signed the certificate as witnesses. No Baldwins signed.[22]
Joseph was an active member of Hopewell Meeting. At one time or another he served as an Overseer and Trustee. He was one of the men who had the care of the graveyard. As increasing numbers of Friends moved into the area, there was a need for additional meetings. Joseph was among those appointed in Eleventh Month 1782 to attend the opening worship at Westland Preparative Meeting. In First Month 1783 he went with three others to see if Monongahela was ready to have a meeting. In Eighth Month 1785 he and a small group visited Berkeley and recommended that a meeting be established there (Bullskin). In Twelfth Month 1796 Hopewell Friends reconsidered a request by Friends in the vicinity of Joseph Hackney's and approved that they hold a meeting there during the winter season when it was difficult to travel down off the ridge to Hopewell. They apparently already had a school there, because the following autumn they again requested permission to have a meeting in their school house for Friends "on or near the Ridge near Joseph Hackney's". It was about two miles northwest of Hopewell in the village of White Hall. By 1813 this meeting was called Lower Ridge while one near William Lupton was called "Upper Ridge". By 1817 it was reported that the building was becoming dilapidated.[23]
Friends who were married under the care of the meeting had their certificates signed as witnesses by all who were present. Obviously Friends attended marriages of their own relatives. Martha and Joseph signed the certificate of Martha's brother, John M'COOLE and Eleanor LEWIS, daughter of Henry and Mary, on 14/3m/1771 at the "dwelling house" of Owen ROGERS in Hampshire County, Va. Joseph and Martha and their children Aaron and Hannah signed the certificate of Thomas ELLIS and their niece Margaret REES, daughter of Morris Rees (who had married Sarah Hackney), 21/10m/1772.[24]
Their son Aaron Hackney married Hannah BOND, daughter of Joseph and Eleanor (dec'd) on 13/9m/1798 at Hopewell. Witnesses signing included: Joseph and Martha, Joseph Hackney Jr, Charity SIDWELL, Ann ANTRIM, Mary Hackney, Rachel Hackney, Richard Sidwell, Martha Hackney, John Antrim, Ann McCoole, Katherine McCoole, Jesse WRIGHT, Mary GRIFFITH, and a lot of relatively recently married young people for a total of 63 signatures.[25]
Joseph and Martha's daughter Rachel and John GRIFFITH Junr. were married on 15/4m/1801 "at the Lower Ridge". Their certificate was signed by Joseph, Mary, Hannah, Aaron, Joseph Jr., Ann Antrim, James, Martha, Asa HOGE, Richard Sidwell, John Antrim, John Wright, Morris Rees, Cate McCoole, Marth [sic] MORGAN, John Antrim, Phebe BALDWIN, and Lewis McCoole, among others.[26]
Their son Joseph Hackney Junr. and Lydia SIDWELL, daughter of Samuel (dec'd) and Sarah, were married on 12/6m/1805 "at meeting and schoolhouse near Joseph Hackney's" signed by Joseph and Martha, Sarah Sidwell, Aron [sic] Hackney, Richard Sidwell, John Griffith Jur., Rachel Griffith, Sarah MILLER, Mary Hackney, Martha Hackney, John Griffith, John and Susannah WRIGHT.[27]
Daughter Mary Hackney married Levi SMITH, son of Joseph and Rachel (dec'd) on 21/9m/1826 at Hopewell. As Joseph was now deceased, the certificate was signed by Aaron, Joseph [Jr] Hackney, Rachel Griffith, John Griffith Jr, Susanna Wright, David Wright, Ruth REES, Thamasin SIDWELL, Jos. W. Hackney, Mary Ann Hackney, Martha SMITH, Martha Ann Griffith, Mary S. Hackney, Lydia Hackney, Eleanor W. Hackney, Aaron H. Griffith, James H. Griffith, Aaron H. Hackney, Martha MORGAN, Lydia ROSS , and Harriet Hackney, among others.[28]
Joseph and Martha were both recorded as elders. Among their other responsibilities for the care of the spiritual life of the meeting, elders were expected to attend many of the marriages held under the care of the meeting. A careful study of the signatures on these certificates gives clues as to both the social and relationship fabric of the meeting community, but also the obligations and responsibilities of the weightier Friends.
In 1800 they requested and received a minute from Hopewell to attend Yearly Meeting at New Garden, North Carolina, and, if way opened, some of their relatives in the South.[29]
Our Friend, Joseph Hackney, and wife informs that himself and wife have a prospect of attending the next Yearly Meeting at New Garden in North Carolina, and if way opens to visit some of their relatives in the South, which being considered is concurred with, they being Elders in good esteem amongst us, the clerk is directed to furnish them with a copy of this minute.
By mid-century, the Shenandoah Valley boasted a ferry across the Shenandoah near the Potomac, an iron furnace at Old Bloomery, and they had sufficient hemp, furs, and whiskey to export down the rivers or over the mountains. Estate inventories began to list imported luxury items such as china teacups, looking glasses, and silver spoons.[30] Our Joseph was a miller and a farmer.[31] He didn't get in at the very beginning of settlement, but with his family arrived at about the equivalent of the second generation. There was still plenty of opportunity, but the worst of the hardships were past. Or so it seemed.
The Indians abruptly disappeared from the Valley in 1754. With hearts stung by continued British dishonesty, goaded by seemingly friendly French who were engaged in a world war against the British Empire, the Indians returned for sporadic raids. General Braddock's defeat at Fort Duquesne did not make the Valley's inhabitants feel more secure. In the spring a war party of Indians came to Frederick, crossing the mountains at Mills Gap. They killed Patrick KELLY and his wife. Families who heard the news ran for John EVANS's fort near Martinsburg. Polly MARTIN, on her way to Strodes, met "little Joe Hackney, who told her that everybody had already gone to the fort, but she would not pay attention to him." She was captured by the Indians (she returned several years later). After a whole day and night crowded into the fort, with no visible activity outside, a party of men decided to go and collect Patrick KELLY's body to give it a decent Christian burial. While they were away the Indians attacked the fort. John EVANS's wife grabbed a gun and handed one to any woman who thought she could shoot. Those who couldn't fire were set to work loading guns to hand to others. She reportedly said, "You, little Joe Hackney, get that drum, and beat 'to arms' on it. Beat as loud as ever you can. Then everybody fire. Make it sound like a lot of men."[32] No Quaker "white feather" here.
George WASHINGTON was given command of the frontier, but without adequate supplies of any sort. He was finally permitted to draft men, and his first call netted 246, including seven Quakers who quietly informed him they were unable to fight. Washington was advised by Governor DINWIDDIE to make them work on constructing the fort, or confine them on bread and water. The Friends refused to work, and sat in the broiling July sun, meekly and stubbornly surviving on bread and water. Washington wrote in disgust, they chose "rather to be whipped to death than to lend assistance on anything of self-defense." He finally discharged them to the custody of friends.[33]
Slavery arrived after the peace of 1763, brought mostly by wealthy English. By this time many Friends had come to realize the sinfulness of enslaving fellow humans. In 1758 Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.[34]
Smallpox broke out in the Valley in 1771, but authorities refused to permit the risky innovation of innoculation.[35]
When the Revolution began, a contingent of volunteers from the Valley joined Washington at Boston. After the battle of Germantown, several hundred Hessian prisoners were quartered in Winchester. They were set to work to build stone houses and walls, and they also left the Hessian fly.[36] After the battle of Cowpens, there were 1,600 prisoners in the Valley.[37] During the war consistent Friends refused to bear arms or assist others in fighting. Some Friends, along with the ones exiled from Philadelphia, remained in custody in Winchester. Efforts to release them under bond failed when they refused conscientiously to swear. Their property was confiscated, but they did not bend. Finally Alexander White was paid £100 to go to Philadelphia and negotiate their freedom; his success relieved everyone.[38]
The war was followed by a period of instability and hardship: inflation, interstate duties, mounting debt, and high taxes.[39] With the new Federal Constitution trade revived, the natural agricultural richness of the Valley recovered, and prosperity seemed possible again.[40]
Another glimpse into the kind of participation in community life that was taken for granted was being called to serve on various juries. Joseph Hackney (it may have been Joseph, Jr.?) served on a coroner's jury that determined the cause of death of William STROTHER to be "by natural causes".[41]
Joseph died 10 February 1817, and was buried in the Green Springs Friends burying ground. Alternatively he died in 1826. Martha died a quarter century later, on 1 November 1843, and was buried at Hopewell meeting grounds.[42]
Children of Joseph and Martha (McCool) Hackney
a) Aaron H. b. 18/12m/1816; d. 18/1m/1870; bur. Hopewell; m. Sarah HETERICK, daughter of Robert and Mary; had 6 children (listed in Hopewell Friends History, 471).
b) Lydia, d. 19/1m/1888; bur. Hopewell;
c) Sarah Ellen, d. 29/12m/1891; bur. Hopewell
d) Rebecca Jane, d. 22/3m/1910; bur. Hopewell
e) Joseph, b. 22/11m/1821; d. 8/3m/1901; bur. Hopewell
Rachel Hackney4 was born 6 December 1780, in Frederick County, Virginia, the fifth child and third daughter of Joseph and Martha (McCool) Hackney. She died there 20 Third Month 1863. On 15 April 1801 at the Lower Ridge meeting house under the care of Hopewell MM she married John GRIFFITH. The signatures on their marriage certificate were in three columns. Traditionally the family signed on the right, so the placement of names is a helpful clue.[50]
| Mary Smith Ann Eyre Eliza Antrim Mary Crumbly John Dillon Abraham Woodrow Mary Rees Enoch Rees Jonathan Morris Charles Kidd William Healfer Lewis McCoole John Thompson |
Susanna Wright Ruth Downing Henry Crumbly Thomas Rees Morris Rees Cate McCoole Marth [sic] Morgan Nathaniel White Isaac Smith John Antrim Richard Barrett Jonathan Barrett Phebe White Hannah Rees Phebe Baldwin |
John Griffith Joseph Hackney Mary Griffith Mary Hackney Aaron Hackney Joseph Hackney Jr. Ann Antrim James Hackney Martha Hackney Asa Hoge Richard Sidwell John Antrim John Wright |
So, starting at the top of the right hand column, John Griffith is the groom's father. Next comes the bride's father, followed by the groom's step-mother, Next come siblings of the bride: Mary, Aaron, Joseph, Jr., Ann (Hackney) ANTRIM (and her husband John farther down the column), James, and Martha. Charity wasn't there (perhaps busy with motherly duties) but her husband Richard SIDWELL came. John WRIGHT was a relative of the bride's grandmother, Ann (Wright) McCOOL PUGH. I'm not sure where Asa HOGE fits into the family. Other relatives of the bride's mother are sprinkled through the other two columns.
Many years later, Rachel was remembered as "a young woman of good understanding, and of deep, earnest piety" whose own "consistent religious deportment" confirmed and strengthened her husband's Christian course.[51]
Rachel and John had ten children, all of whom were probably rocked in this cradle that has come down through the family of Martha Ann, their oldest daughter to have children of her own. By the early twenty-first century the cradle had lost the tip of one rocker, and the top of one side. It seems surprisingly flimsy, with only slats to support a mattress.
At the time of the separation in 1828, the majority of Friends joined with the Hicksites. However, the Griffiths and Wrights aligned themselves with the Orthodox branch. Later, Rachel's obituary was in the Orthodox Friends' Review, and her daughter, Martha Ann, was a faithful Orthodox member of Northern District Monthly Meeting in Philadelphia.
Rachel and John were active, highly esteemed members of Hopewell Meeting, serving first as overseers, then as elders.[52]
Rachel died in the midst of the Civil War on 20 March 1863 in her 83rd year. She was “calm, patient and resigned during her last illness”. Her obituary in the Friends’ Review reads:
As a member of religious society, she was consistent and exemplary; as an Overseer in the Church, she discharged its duties with fidelity, tenderness and love; as an Elder, in which station she served for many years, she was an example of watchful care and uprightness, zealous for the Law and the Testimony, and deservedly honored as a mother in our Israel. Naturally diffident and unobtrusive in her manners, the depth of her hidden religious life was best known and exemplified in the bosom of her own family. Few were better versed in sacred Scripture, and none, perhaps, more firm in the faith, or unfaltering in belief in the doctrines of the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. . . .
Though so advanced in age, she will be greatly missed in the little meeting of which she was a useful member, and. when of ability, a faithful and diligent attender. Calm, patient and resigned during her last illness, the closing scene was serene and peaceful, and though she had but little to say, no doubt remained that her peace was made, and that the reward of the righteous is her portion forever in the mansions of the blessed.[53]
Children of John and Rachel (Hackney) Griffith:
To continue the story of this branch of the family, go to the McCool, or Griffith page; the Wright and Jennings pages have not been posted yet, or you may go back to the Harlan page.
If you have additions or corrections to this web page, I would be delighted to hear from you. Contact me via e mail at .
See a chart of the Collateral Lines that marry into the Griffith Line featured on this web site. My hope is that someday these collateral lines will eventually be included on this web site in connection with the Griffith family (only some of them have been posted so far): Balderston, Bancroft, David, Davis, Duck, Faulkner, Ferrée, Hackney, Harlan, Heald, Janney, Jennings, John, Jones, Lewis, McCool, Smith, Warembauer, and Wright.
Go to the index of other lines that are or someday may be included in this website (not all of them have been posted yet).
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