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Classification: Query
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/4h.2ADI/35.1267
Message Board Post:
Dear Killi:
I was poking around the Internet in the Kentucky areas and saw your query about the
Demaree family, on which I have done extensive research.
My mother was Lola Gladys Demaree (1900-1980). She descends from David des Marets (ca
1620-1693), a French Huguenot who immigrated to Staten Island, NY from Amsterdam in the
year 1664.
David des Marets was the progenitor for practically every Demaree family in America today;
the name spelled variously as des Marets, DesMarets, Demarest, Demary, Demory, Demaray,
Demaree, and on and on through various convolutions.
Most, if not all of the Demaree families in Kentucky descend from this David des Marets
above. David moved from Staten Island, NY to the northern tip of Manhattan Island, New
York City, known as Harlem. From Harlem, he and his family moved to New Jersey ca 1678.
Two generations of his descendants lived in and around New Jersey and New York.
The third and fourth generations of descendants, along with hundreds of other families in
what was known as the "Durch Migration" moved to York and Adams counties
Pennsylvania and thence, down the Ohio to Louisville and elsewhere in Kentucky. Subsequent
generations moved from Kentucky, to Indiana, Ohio, Missouri and all parts of the world.
My mother's father, William Henry Demaree (1864-1937) and his father, Samuel F.
Demaree (1834-1917) were born in Trimble Co, KY. Samuel's father, Abraham Demaree, Jr.
(1797-1884) was born in Shelby Co. His father, Abraham Demaree, Sr. (1769-1820) was born
in New York City. Petrus Demaree (ca 1737-1818), father of Abraham, Sr., was born in
Schraalenburgh, (Bergen County) NJ. Samuel Demaree (1707-aft. 1781), father of Petrus, was
born in New York City, NY. He and his sons, Petrus and John all went to the Dutch Conewago
settlement in Pennsylvania, and from there to the Dutch Colony in KY. Petrus and John were
granted land in KY for their service during the Revolutionary War.
If you are a Demaree descendant, it is quite possible that you tie into this line
somewhere around the time of Petrus or earlier.
My grandfather, William Henry Demaree migrated from Henry County to Lathrop, MO where I
was born in 1932. If you are a Demaree, and live in Kentucky, there is a reasonable
probably that we are related, albeit it distantly.
I would be happy to share whatever information I may have that could be of value to you,
but I would need to know more than contained in your post. Here are some of the details I
would need to determine if any of your ancestors in my database of almost 15,000
individuals are yours. Assuming your father was a Demaree, what was his first name, when
and where was he born? To whom was he married? What was your grandfather Demaree's
name, date and place of birth, his spouse, or anything else that would provide clues? We
can start with that, and if I find anything of worth, I'll reply promptly.
Please feel free to email me directly.
Sincerely,
Richard H. Kerr
24017 SE 47th Place
Issaquah, WA 98029
425-392-4386
KerrRichardH(a)aol.com