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Author: grsbls1
Surnames: LEE,FULTON,LATSHAW
Classification: queries
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http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.indiana.counties...
Message Board Post:
I have never found anything aboiut a Francis George LEE except as the SON OF John LEE b
1783.
Trouble is, I've not found any official record of John LEE b 1783, either. He
supposedly (according to info in the family files, Frankfort Library in Clinton Co., IN) ,
moved to IN spring 1837 with family, including wife ELIZABETH FULTON b Mar 1793, Dickinson
Twp, Cumberland Co., PA. (I have extensive info on this FULTON family, and they include
Robert, inventor of the steamboat. They also had an interesting Indian encounter.)
I have a list of 10 children attributed to John & Elizabeth, but they could just as
easily be from other LEE families. I have gone to obituaries and family histories as
clues for the placement of these children, but I'm still not sure. Here is their
list:
Eliz LEE b abt 1814
Francis George LEE b 13 Oct 1816 (m Catherine SHERIDAN)
Margaret Ann LEE b 1820 (m John Sheridan)
John LEE b 1822 m Elpha ___
Mary LEE b 8 Apr 1823 (m Jackson Douglas)
Isabelle LEE b 12 Dec 1825 (m Thomas LEE b 1821)
William Henderson LEE b 3 Jan 1829 (m Margaret Ann STRONG)
Agnes LEE b 1833 (m Jacob STRONG)
Rachel Theresa? LEE b 1837 (m Richard Raper NORRIS)
Absolom LEE - no further info - perhaps stillborn and named Absolom so they could mourn
him with biblical quotations???
Of the above list, it makes sense that Francis George LEE and Margaret Ann LEE were of the
same parents because they married apparent siblings. This is confirmed in the info you
sent. It also makes sense that William Henderson LEE and Agnes LEE were of the same
parents, for the same reason.
I have a Xerox copy of Isabelle LEE's (b 12 Dec 1825) obit (from the Frankfort
Crescent dated Weds, Oct 15, 1879), referenced in the pages you emailed to me (thank you
SO much!). The obit clearly states that her father "emigrated to this couty",
(meaning Clinton, IN) when Isabelle was 14 (about 1839). It further states, "In the
year 1845, while she was in the family of her sister in Frankfort, Mrs. Jackson Douglass,
she united with the Presbyterian church..." Isabelle WAS Mary LEE's b 8 Apr 1823
sister. The writer of the pages you sent incorrectly assumed that Mrs. Jackson Douglas
was Thomas LEE's sister.
Enlightenment came to me while reading in the family file at Frankfort, a scrawled note
that said "first cousins" next to Thomas LEE's marriage to Isabelle LEE.
I then realized that there was a large clan of LEEs who came to Clinton County from
Cumberland County, PA, more or less together. Just to confuse things, there are also Lees
who came by way of OHIO.
Trouble is, not all of them got into official records.
However, I've had better luck with the George LEE clan.
I started out tracing Thomas LEE b 24 Feb 1821, who m Isabelle LEE b 12 Dec 1825. Thomas
made the news more reliably than other LEEs. He belonged to the "Old Settlers"
organization of Clinton County. He was elected to a minor public office in Clinton
County, and I got his picture from a county history book. He was a farmer and a Church
Officer of the Frankfort Presby church 1886. According to his obit, he died in a wagon
accident while hauling shingles with his grandson. The load shifted, he fell off the
wagon (don't know whether he was sober), and was run over by a wheel.
I found Thomas b 1821 buried, presumably with the closest members of his family, at Old
South Cemetery near Frankfort. Here is the list of LEES from that cemetery:
Ellis M b 17 Aug 1864 d 7 Sep 1865, son of Geo McKinsey LEE b 10 Jun 1845 d 8 Apr 1910
& Mary L (FUDGE) LEE (George McKinsey LEE is the son of Thomas b 1821 and his first
wife, Louisa MCKINSIE.)
Isabelle b 12 Dec 1825 PA d 8 Oct 1879, 2nd wife of Thomas b 1821
James W., husband of E LEE b 16 Jan 1808 d 10 Apr 1862 Found him on ROOTSWEB as being from
Warren Co., OH, father Robert LEE from Washington Co.,PA, but no obvious link to us. Bro
of Leander, below.
John P. b 1816 d 9 Jan 1887 Indianapolis, IN According to obit, bro of Thos & Wm
Finley LEE
Leander b 8 Dec 1827 d 26 Sep 1870 Found him on ROOTSWEB as being from Warren Co., OH,
father Robert LEE from Washington Co.,PA, but no obvious link to us. Bro of James W,
above.
Louisa J. (MCKINSIE) b 6 Feb 1826 d 11 Jul 1850, 1st wife of Thomas b 1821
Lucretia (NORRIS) b 7 Jul 1830 Dearborn Co., IN d 19 Dec 1873 Wife of William Finley LEE b
1818.
Martha b 25 Mar 1831 d 19 Feb 1905 wife of Leander See Leander above.
Mary Dallas b 2 Mar 1848 d 12 Aug 1852 daughter of Wm Finley LEE b 16 Jun 1818 &
Lucretia (NORRIS) b 7 Jul 1830
Norris Bruce b 27 Jul 1857 d 19 Feb 1858 son of Wm Finley LEE b 16 Jun 1818 & Lucretia
(NORRIS) b 7 Jul 1830
Oris B 13 Dec 1870 d 31 Jul 1871 son of Geo McKinsey LEE b 10 Jun 1845 & Mary L
(Fudge) (George McKinsey LEE is the son of Thomas b 1821 and his first wife, Louisa
MCKINSIE.)
Sarah b abt 1793 Cumberland Co, PA d 12 Feb 1870 "wife of George." More about
her in a bit.
Thomas b 24 Feb 1821 d 6 Jul 1891
William Finley b b 16 Jun 1818 d 4 Jul 1895
(End of cemetery list)
We find Sarah LEE b abt 1793 living with John P b 1816 and Elizabeth LEE in the 1860
census, presumably because he is her son. Also, child George Bruce NORRIS living with
him, age 9. Orphan child of John P LEE's sister Rachel S LEE and her husband William L
NORRIS who both died 1852.
In the 1880 census, we find Elizabeth E (LEE) Baker,widow, keeping house for John P LEE,
whose wife had died. We presume she is yet another sister.
Per John P's obit, Wm Finley LEE and Thomas LEE are John P's brothers.
Sometime in the past I ran across a George LEE b 1824 who m a Nancy ____, and I stuck them
into this family. No proof.
Putting all of the above together, we construct the following family of children of Sarah
LEE b abt 1793:
John P LEE b 1816
Wm Finley LEE b 16 Jun 1818
Thomas LEE b 24 Feb 1821
Rachel S LEE b 10 Nov 1822
George LEE b abt 1824 (tentative)
Eliz E LEE
From here we head to Cumberland County, PA. The first amazing thing
we find is that a tiny crossroad was named for this family:
Cumberland Co., PA 1879 History by Hon John McCurdy:
In Southampton Twp there are three small villages, viz: Leesburg, Cleversburg, and Middle
Spring, the first and last of which are post towns. Leesburg took its name from George
Lee, who kept a tavern at that point in a log house which stood on the south side at a
distance of several rods from the Walnut Bottom road. This house was built by a man named
Conrad Muterspaugh, from whom Mr. Lee purchased prior to 1819, and continued proprietor of
it until 1822, when he died. This house and the farm-house of Mr. Adam Reese, with a house
which stood on the north side of the road, about two hundred rods below that of Mr. Reese,
were the only houses then standing within the present limits of Leesburg. The land to the
south and west of Mr. Lee's house was then covered with heavy timber, consisting of
yellow pine, white and black oak, with some hickory, nor was there any cleared land on
either side of the Walnut Bottom road from that point until within a mile of Shippensburg
except the !
Beltz and Rebuck farms.
1886 Dickinson Twp, Cumberland Co Hist:
Three generations ago the Lees, *(four brothers, Warren, Thomas, Holiday, and George),
lived on the Walnut Bottom Road...These men were large, fine physical specimens of men,
social, and who were fond "of the chace dancing, fiddling and hospitality."
Lee's Tavern burned down in 1916 ( a log building), and was demolished.
I have never been able to nail down these brothers very well, but because George owned a
tavern, he appears in the records. When he died, his wife, Sarah, took over the business.
She operated Lee's Tavern 1824-1830, then moved to the Brick Tavern on Walnut Bottom
Road 1834, 5 miles from Shippensburg, Newton Twp. Presumably, she then sold the tavern to
move west with her children and their families.
We find a marriage record for George LEE and Sarah LATSHAW, 28 Mar 1811 at Big Spring
Newville Church (Presbyterian) in Cumberland County, PA. Sarah's father, Peter
LATSHAW Sr., is also listed as a tavern operator with Wm Roan 1801 - 1804, Dickinson Twp,
Cumberland Co., PA.
And, of course, I traced the LATSCHARS back to 1670 Switzerland, and the Mennonites.
The LEES have always been more difficult. There are lots of ifs, ands, and buts to their
lineage.
For example, there was a LEY family, German, in Cu Co., PA that could have spawned the
George who m Sarah LATSHAR. George LEE could be Francis George marrying Sarah FULTON, but
I found no record like that. In fact, I found no Francis George in PA at all.
I AM convinced that our LEES were Scots-Irish, not German LEYS, because of the
Presbyterian thing. They were still strong Presbys when they came to IN.
And it's been difficult to assign parents to George. I finally settled on a Thomas
LEE b abt 1743 who m Mary SPENCER 4 Oct 1771. But George's father could just as
easily (I think) be James LEE, for whom I found tax records:
Carlisle, PA tax lists:
James LEE
1769 tax list 1c, 1 lot
1776 tax list 1 lot, 2 h, 2c, 4 sh
1779 tax list; Cordwainer; 1house and lot; 1 vacant lot prop of Thomas Mccleary; 1 vacant
lot property of William Nelson; 2 h 2 c
Lot 55 [122-126 W. North St] 1788 James LEE cordwainer, sold by sherrif to David Lindsey
and lots 56 and 64.
Lot 64 [118 W South St] 1763 James LEE [shoemaker] nothing shown on sale... except with
the above lot.
But I do assume that the LEE ancestor for Cumberland Co, PA, most likely the immigrant
ancestor to the US, is John LEE. Here are his notes:
The Scots Irish came to Dickinson Twp, Cumberland Co., PA abt 1725, settling along
Conodoguinet and Yellow Breeches Creeks. The LEE family acquired the title to their lands
along the Walnut Bottom Road by the old English ceremony of livery of seisen, or feudal
investiture, the only instance of this kind known in Cumberland Co.
LEE - means "dweller at the meadow or open place in a wood, one who came from LEE
"- the name of various places in England
9 April 1733/4 land records "Blunston License issued" described John LEE's
200 acres south of Conedogwt Creek. Near Newville, Cumberland Co., PA
Family were Presbyterians.
Pioneers could not "officially" enter the Cumberland Valley (Current Cumberland
and Franklin Counties) until Samuel Blunston began to issue licenses to cross the
Susquehanna River in January of 1734. Blunston was a surveyor and Thomas Penn issued a
commission to him in 1733 to set up an "office" at the Harris
Ferry (current Harrisburg) to issue land licenses.
As to Presbyterian churches, Cumberland Valley had none in 1734. Middle
Spring and Big Spring Presbyterian churches were the first officially organized
churches west of the Susquehanna River, this was October 1738. The following
year, Silver Spring and Meeting House Spring Presbyterian Churches were
organized.
The exact reading of the Blunston License is," April 9th (1734) John LEE, 200 acres.
No survey returned. Joyning to John Callens Tract being first taken up by James
Berry."
It said nothing about the Walnut Bottom or Newville. However, in checking the Callens
Tract, which was next to the Givens tract, there was still no mention of Newville or
Walnut Bottom.
Newville did not officially begin until 1790.
There were ten licenses issued on April 9, 1734. Four of the ten licenses mentioned Dry
Spring and two mentioned LeTort Spring. When groups of pioneers arrived on the same day,
they were usually assigned to the same general area.
LeTort is near Carlisle, and Dry Spring (now called Mt Rock Spring Creek) runs from the
Ritner Highway (Rte 11) northward across Rte 641 (at West Hill) and into the Conodoguinet
Creek. My guess would be that John LEE settled somewhere along Rte 11. Rev. Wm Swaim, the
author of "Over the River-the Sam Blunston book" placed John LEE in the area he
called McFarlane which includes Rte 11 but not Walnut Bottom Road, which is about 2 to 4
miles south of the Ritner Highway..
Regarding James Berry, the first "owner" of the John LEE tract, I found him
getting a tract from Blunston a year later and it was located near the Susquehanna River.
In 1769 the Land Office at Carlisle began selling land in the New Purchase which included
a very large Penn Township - Now Snyder County
. . . each three hundred acres to be seated with a family within two years from the time
of survey, paying £5 sterling per hundred, and one penny per acre, &c.
My comments are drawn from the papers and 35 books that Rev. Wm. Swaim wrote during the
final 25 years of his life. Most all of his Presbyterian data was gathered from the
c1722-1740 Donegal Presbytery Minutes which are still in existence at the Presby.
Historical Society in Philadelphia.
Scot-Irish Presbyterians, who accounted for possibly 80% of the early Cumberland Valley
population, first formed "societies" and did not become part of a congregation
until a minister was assigned by Donegal Presbytery, and church
elders were elected. Therefore, the official founding dates were October, 1738, for Middle
and Big Spring, and 14 Nov 1739 for Silver Spring and Carlisle First (originally Meeting
House Springs). Conococheague and Falling Springs were established 16 Nov 1739, and one
day later, Rocky Springs Presby. Church was founded. There were no log meeting houses
built until 1737.
The construction contracts were found by Rev. Murray and they were dated 1769.
Prior to moving from Meeting House Springs into Carlisle, that congregation
"split" into Old Side and New Side congregations. In about 1750, Old Side built
a Carlisle church on the northeast corner of Hanover and Louther Streets.
New Side built a church on the southwest corner of Hanover and Pomfret, across the street
from the current Salvation Army.
Rev. Nevin, who much later preached at Mercersburg Presbyterian Church, was not an
ordained Presbyterian minister, his Presbyterian historical dates do not agree with the
Donegal Presbytery.
From January, 1734, and onward during the next fifty or more years,
the Cumberland Valley was settled by Scot-Irish Presbyterians. This extended from the
Susquehanna River to deep into current-day Franklin County. So they were the first
religious denomination to build churches in the valley. 1734 is too early for Meetinghouse
Springs at Carlisle; the Donegal Presbytery would not allow them to build a log meeting
house until 1737 and they were not officially organized until a minister was assigned in
1739. They did not build the First Presbyterian Church on the square until ca 1770.
The two oldest valley Presbyterian churches were Middle Spring, near Shippensburg, and Big
Spring at Newville. They shared the same minister, Rev. Thomas Craighead.
Meetinghouse Springs started about 1736-9 per Nevil.... depending on what you count as
getting organized.
First structure about 1736; First pastor was Samuel Thompson in 1739.
The present church in Carlisle has a date of around1770 but appently may not have been the
first structure. only the first "suitable" one.
Letter from John Armstong to Richard Peters.....
"Carlisle, 30 Jun, 1757.
"To-morrow we begin to haul stones for the building of a meeting-house, on the north
side of the square; -- there being no other convenient place. I have avoided the place you
once pitched for a church. The stones are raised out of Col. Stanwix's entrenchment:
we will want help in this political as well as religious work."
What happened with this endeavor is not mentioned.
The Donegal Presbyterian minutes, along with the 1734-1736 Samuel Blunston license book,
gives an account of the earliest settlements.
In two places, the "minutes" mention the settlement of New Town. In the 1736
minutes, "...Mr. Anderson is Appointed to preach in New Town on ye last Sabb. of
July." After much research, Rev, Swaim wrote a 197 page book on the
subject. His claim is that New Town was the precursor of Carlisle and was located along
the Letort Springs where five Indian trails intersected. In Carlisle, which is my
hometown. The vast majority of "historians" will not accept or
believe this study. Yet, ten of the first 100 Blunston licenses were situated along the
Letort Spring.
A major reason, at least one often overlooked, for being eager to "plant" the
Scots and the Germans west of the Susquehanna was to prevent the state of Maryland from
claiming this land. Some research into the "Cresap Border War" (can be found in
Google) will give some details of this activity.
(end of notes)
So now you know what I found on the Lees. If you tell me which branch you descend from, I
may have further info descending toward your family.
Bonnie Schermer
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