Taking the Chisel to a Major Brick Wall: What we know about P. R. Joslyn
Part II
Last month’s column was devoted to the varied avenues of
research utilized in my attempt to identify the parents of my 3rd
great-grandfather, William “P. R.” Joslyn. That included a foray into
DNA testing graciously provided by my maternal uncle. The column covered
some of the most relevant research based on the best match that DNA
test provided in the hopes someone, somewhere may have the answer and
will respond. The research into that DNA match led to the grandfather
of one we identified only as DNA Primary (with respect for the other two
researchers who have expressed an interest in keeping their own
identities and that of their immediate relatives private.) Edward S.
Joslyn (often spelled as he must have pronounced it “Joyslin”) who was a
silversmith, watchmaker, jeweler. He was, by logical deduction, not a
sibling to our P. R. because of the age difference. Edward S. Joslyn was
born 1826 in Cohansey Township, New Jersey. P. R.’s birthdate,
according to Census records, appears to have been about 1760. That
66-year date range would indicate Edward S. Joslyn must have been, at
least, two generations removed from that of P. R. Perhaps, Edward’s
father was a nephew of our P. R. Only time will tell.
This column picks up with the findings twenty plus years of
research into P. R.’s life has provided. This is a compilation of all
the facts your author has been able to scratch out, both confirmed and
documented and surmised or logically assumed in order to help with the
research. Ancestry provides wonderful clues, but the dates and names and
places have to be provided in order for your Search results to be
fruitful. Therefore, many who look at my tree may find notations as to a
certain “fact” being an assumed fact, not to be depended upon as solid.
My firm belief is that we are missing a generation between William “P.
R.” Joslyn and the Colonel William of Deerfield, whom we propose as P.
R’s grandfather not his father because of the advanced age of both
William and Christiana by the time of his birth.
Recently, your author received an email from another
Joslin researcher, one David Joslin, who provided an exciting find: a
photograph of the ancient headstone he believed to be that of our
grand-matriarch Christiana Garrison Joslin, mother of William “P. R.”
Joslyn, wife of the Colonel William Joslin of Deerfield. The almost
illegible engraving on that headstone appears to say
“In memory of
Christiana daughter of Jacob (illegible) who departed this life December
(illegible) 1762 Aged 46 years and 28 Days”
The date of death could coincide with the possible
birth of William, a late in life child whose mother may have lost her
life in creating his. The dates, when checked against known facts in
William’s life, match the ages well, however, there are issues. Issue
ONE: the first child born of the union of the Colonel William of
Deerfield and Christiana, Jacob, who would have been born (given this
set of facts) at the impossibly youthful age of ELEVEN. Issue TWO:
Further research found this photograph to have been originally posted to
a tree belonging to Joseph Champney. The photo appears with the
following information:
“Garrison Christiana -
Upper Pittsgrove, Salem County, NJ - Birth: Nov. 17, 1716 Death: Dec.
15, 1762 Salem County New Jersey, USA Aged 46 years and 28 days 1st wife
of Joseph Champneys. Parents: Abraham and Katherine Garrison of
Cumberland Co, NJ”
A huge disappointment. But I have now removed the photo
from my tree lest other researchers be led astray. Our best
information is that she was born in 1702 and died in 1757.
SOURCE: http://www.myheritage.com/names/christiana_joslin
And, so it goes, as one promising lead after another
fades into a whisper of smoke. Thus, we rely on those facts that have
the best hope of finally unearthing that one clue that will be used to
chisel down the brick wall.
We left P. R. and his family in 1830, residing (per the
US Federal Census) in Berlin, Knox County, Ohio. From a study of
documented records for P. R. and his many children, we shall attempt to
create a timeline of travels, embellished with applicable facts and
stories.
1790-1810 (?) – NEW JERSEY:
Before beginning their migration from New Jersey, P. R. and
wife had children: It is believed our 2nd great-grandfather, Riley, was
the eldest. Census records indicate he was born about 1795 either in
New Jersey or, by one census record, in Pennsylvania. No birth record
has been discovered. IF the marriage recorded between a William Joslin
and Lois Bennett is for our William “P. R.” we can assume Lois Bennett
Joslin was the mother of Riley. Lois and her little baby boy William are
found to have died in Cumberland, NJ on 6 January 1797. Another
marriage is recorded 6 Mar 1798 for a “William Joslin and Sally Irwin”
in Cumberland County, New Jersey. The author has chosen to include both
marriages as POSSIBILITIES in order to further our research, but no
confidence exists as to their applicability to William “P. R.” Joslyn.
Several William Joslins resided in Cumberland County, NJ, at that time
and these marriages could apply to one or more of them. Many records in
the Cumberland New Jersey area were lost to fires. Only due to a
concerted effort on the part of historians and genealogists have
alternate records been located, scanned, indexed and provided online.
Long discussions have revolved around this issue of attribution of
maternity to these women. The only name most researchers agree upon as
the wife of P. R. is Rachael, whose maiden name has been lost to
posterity. It is the author’s belief Rachael Unknown (poor dear) is the
mother of all the children.
From records we find that P. R. and wife Rachael
(presumably) had more children while living in New Jersey. Places of
birth and approximate birth years have been gleaned from the available
records for these children: Riley (b. ca 1792-d. 1871) m. Eunice Evans,
Josiah (b. 1799-d. 1886) m. Margaret “Peggy” Carnahan on 9 Nov 1822 in
Knox County, Ohio, William (b. ca. 1802-d. 1880) m. Sarah Williams 1831
in Indiana, Daniel (b. ca. 1803-d. 1826?) whose relationship is surmised
and whose life is shrouded in mystery; and Sarah (b. abt Sep 1803-d.
aft 1873). Sarah married Jacob Kinney 7 Feb 1822 in Knox County, Ohio.
By the 1830 Census Sarah had given birth to six children. We have no
confirmed death date for Sarah, although a newspaper clipping dated 10
Jul 1873 found in The Cambridge City Tribune (Cambridge City, Indiana)
picked up from the Shelbyville Volunteer reports:
“Mrs. Kinney, widow of Jacob Kinney, who was so badly gored by a cow
some time since, that her life was despaired of, is rapidly recovering.
(Shelbyville Volunteer).
1810 – 1831/32 (?) OHIO:
(1820 US Census in Morgan, Ohio; 1830 US Census in Berlin, Knox County, Ohio)
After the family’s migration to Ohio, children continued to
arrive on a fairly regular basis. The dates and places of birth, as
for the first named children, have been determined by research into
Census, birth, death, marriage and other available records. The
children believed to have been born in Ohio are: Rachael (abt. 1810),
Rachael married John Barnhill on 24 Jan 1828 in Knox County, Ohio. It is
believed she and John moved to Stark County, Illinois before her death
about 1848, preceding his 2nd marriage.
Rachael Joslin Barnhill. Photograph originally submitted to
Ancestry.com by KaySchleich 22 Dec 2010 from the collection of her
grandmother, Hallie E. Barnhill Johnson. The photograph was marked
“Rachael Joslin Barnhill.” It is believed the photograph was taken in
Illinois in about 1838.
Next we believe Elizabeth arrived in 1811. On 20 Jan 1831
in Knox County, Ohio, Elizabeth wed Aaron J. Barnhill, brother to sister
Rachael’s husband John. Elizabeth named her firstborn son William Riley
Barnell. (* NOTE 1)
(* NOTE 1: It is believed Elizabeth adopted the old
Irish-English naming tradition and named this first son after her father
William and her eldest brother who we have as James Riley. The first
name of James arose when the author inherited a document showing William
Henry Joslin, Riley’s son, had enlisted two times during the Civil War.
On the reverse of that form appeared the handwritten note: “Son of
James Riley Joslin.” This month’s research, however, finally resulted
in the location of the death certificate for William Henry Joslin (again
Riley’s son.) This death certificate had been filled out “Wm. Hy.
Joslyn” by the attending physician, Dr. Johns of Pineville. The
informant for the completion of that death certificate was none other
than the author’s own grandfather, James Arthur “Artie” Joslin, who said
William Henry’s father was WILLIAM Riley Joslin. To add further mystery
to the information; however, was the fact that Dr. Johns had scratched
through the spelling of Riley several times, changing the spelling to
“RGley’ but also indicating the mother was Eunice Evans RGley. Ahh, the
puzzling matters we encounter in our research!
Is this a significant clue to the real name of William
“P.R.” Joslyn? Is it possible the nickname of P.R stands for “Papa
Riley” to differentiate between him and son William Riley who went by
Riley?)
1831 – 1835: - INDIANA
Although the next child born in Ohio appears to be Hetty
(b. 1812 in Ohio, d. before 1846?), her marriage marks one of the first
records of the family in Indiana. Hetty married Samuel Pope Meloy 19 Dec
1832 in Shelby County, Indiana just eight days after brother Isaac wed
Nancy Pate. Hetty’s last child, Lorinda, was born in Missouri in 1842.
In 1847 Hetty is no longer found in any records and Samuel has
remarried. After Hetty, Phoebe was born in Washington Co., Ohio on 10
Apr 1813. Phoebe (Phebe) married Henry Ensley 23 Jul 1833 in Shelby
County, Indiana. She died 17 Sep 1902, in Elmore, Knox County, Illinois,
one of the few of the Joslin daughters to live to a ripe old age.
Isaac Joslin was also born in Ohio (1814 in, perhaps,
Morgan, Ohio where the family was enumerated in 1820), but married Nancy
Pate 11 Dec 1832 in Shelby County, Indiana.
1836-1846 – ILLINOIS (1840 Census facts: Name Wm Joshlin, Home in 1840:
Kane, Illinois. Household consisted of one free white male aged 20-29
and one free white male aged 70-79; one free white female aged 60-69 a
total of three (3) in the household, one of which was engaged in
agriculture.)
Obviously, due to the advanced age of Rachel (60 – 69 years by census),
no more children’s births can mark the family’s arrival in Illinois. It
should also be noted no record of Rachael exists after this 1840
Census. P. R. arrived in Kane County Illinois in 1836. The frontier was raw, without established conventions of
county clerks, records scrupulously maintained of births, marriages, and
deaths. We are in luck, however, because several Kane County, Illinois,
histories report P. R.’s story.
Illinois was first explored and claimed by Frenchmen, a
claim disputed strongly by the English who proclaimed the country,
coast to coast as property of the King of England. The French and Indian
wars fought 1754 to 1763 resolved the issue, for a period of time. The
Revolutionary War would once again challenge ownership, finally vested
in the newly formed United States of America.
“The coming of the pioneers, who swept like a wave over
the middle western states after the French and Indian war, reached
northern Illinois about 1830, during the first administration of Andrew
Jackson as president. The general population of the United States then
numbered about thirteen million having more than doubled since the War
of Independence; mostly by natural growth, the later foreign immigration
not having yet begun. The center of population was near the west line
of Maryland. It is now near Indianapolis, Indiana. Less than ten per
cent of the people lived in cities of over 8,000. Now over fourty-five
per cent are in such cities.” (Source: History of Kane County by Joslyn
& Joslyn, 1908)
|
Early Pioneers Arriving Kane County – 1830-1840 |
Thus, the first lands offered in Illinois were “Government
lands”. We are offered glimpses of the land by virtue of a letter
written 10 April 1840 by one Daniel Pingree to a friend back in his home
state: Excerpts from this letter bring to life the geography, the
attraction and the beauty of the countryside that beckoned to our
ancestor and his heirs:
“…in my opinion you could not find a better County in all the world for farming.”
“There are 3 kinds of Prairie, high rolling,
medium, and wet. The first mentioned has a rich productive soil
generally of a brown color consisting of loam with a mixture of light
colored sand, and in many places are knolls, natural mounds, elevated
from 10 to 30 or 40 feet with a regular oval shape, and sometimes
contain an area of 1 or 2 acres but generally much smaller. These are
composed principally of gravel and produce but little. This kind of
Prairie is excellent for all kinds of grain, but not very good for
grass. The natural grass does not grow very large and it is thought
from the trials that have been made that the English grass will not do
well; it is to dry. Another objection to them is a scarcity of water.
It can however be obtained by digging from 15 to 40 feet. So you see
that a farm composed wholy of this kind of Prairie would not be the
place for keeping stock to advantage.
“The soil of the Medium Prairie is much like the
Rolling as to the material of which it is composed. It is of a darker
color and as much richer as it is darker and is not interspersed with
any of the above mentioned knolls. It is generally slightly oval so
that the water which is not absorbed will run off sufficiently. It will
produce abundantly anything that a farmer wishes to put into the
ground. This kind of Prairie is generally interspersed with Creeks and
small Sloughs which afford a plenty of water for cattle etc. These
sloughs produce natural grass in any quantity almost; some of them I
think produce 4 or 5 tons per acre! Water on medium Prairie can be
obtained by digging from 10 to 25 feet.
“The Wet Prairie consists of a very rich, black
loam and is generally mixed with a light colored sand, and is
particularly adapted to the growth of Corn, it being too rich for wheat
and most of the other kinds of small grain, butt is great for grass both
natural and English.
“The Timbered land is generally Oak-Barrens,
called by some Oak Openings. The Timber of the openings consists of
several kinds of Oak; viz: Black, Yellow, White, Pin, Red and Bull, and
in many places there are a plenty of Hickory or walnut trees,
occasionaly a small grove of Poplar. There are some groves of timber in
this section of the County that contain almost all the kinds of timber
that there are at the East with the exception of Spruce Hemlock and
Pine. The timber of the openings is short, many of the trees will make
but 1 rail cut, but some will make 2 or 3.
“There is an excellent opportunity in this
section of country to claim Government Land, this you can have for $1.25
per acre, and pay for it immediately after you settle on it if you
please, or you can have one years Pay Day if you choose. This is
according to the last Pre-Emption Act. The above are the conditions for
purchasing land that is already in market. Or you can settle on land
not in market and Pre-Emption it any time befoer the day of Sale…You can
buy claims of 160 acres where their is a log house and 10 or 15 acres
plowed and fenced for from $200 to $1000 and perhaps upwards just
according to location… People generally hold claims high but want of
money sometimes compels them to sell cheap. I know of one man who has
160 acres of Deeded Land with a pretty good log house on it and 4 or 5
acres plowed that he offers to sell for $400 and perhaps there are
chances equally good.
“There are some Prairie volay beer about as
large a decent sized dog. They do no harm with the exception of taking
some pigs an sheep they never touch a man. There are Land-Hile-Cranes
that Halloo so that they may be heard 2 or 3 miles. Prairie Hens about
the size of common hen. Wild geese, and ducks, foxes, Badgers. There
are no Wood-Chucks.
“I think if I were coming from Ky. to Ill. to
commence a farm that I should come in Spring. We are situated on the
State Road leading from Chicago to Galena which is called the Great
Western Mail Route from C. to G. We are only 43 miles from Chicago, and
7 West of Elgin on Fox River, and 3 west of Udina, our Post Office.
The Stage on this route passes our door 6 times in a week and there is a
great deal of Public Travel.” (Source: Letter written by Daniel
Pingree, Udina, Illinois, to Samuel C. Rowell, Lower Blue Licks,
Nicholas County, Kentucky)
|
Kane County Illinois – Taking Goods to Market |
From the History of Kane County, by Joslyn & Joslyn,
published 1908 we discover when P. R. Joslyn arrived. The county was
brand new. P. R. was a pioneer, ever forging his way Westward seeking
new land and better opportunities for his family. Kane County was
established in 1836, the year P. R. Joslyn arrived. This history
reports:
“In 1836 when Kane County was established this area
was part of the Pleasant Grove precinct. Today, Lily Lake residents
attend Burlington Schools, but are in located in Campton Township. Most
have a St. Charles address.
1835 - STEPHEN VAN VELZER claimed nearly the whole township. Settlers who followed were forced to buy land from him, or face controversy.
1836 - P.R. JOSLYN came from New Jersey
1837 - RILEY JOSLYN, son of P.R. JOSLYN arrived from New Jersey.
(Source: History of Kane County by Joslyn & Joslyn 1908 located on the website:
Kane Co History in rootsweb)
|
Harrington’s Ford on the Fox River - Illinois |
We are fortunate in that other histories paint a better
portrait of P. R. Joslyn and his strength of character in the face of
adversity.
“STEPHEN VAN VELZER appears to have made the
first location in the township and, unfortunately, made the
preposterous claim to an area of about twelve miles square. This must
have retarded settlement, as many quarrels resulted in consequence,
while a number of settlers paid him something for his pretended claim to
avoid contention. He came in 1835, as also did ALLISON BANKER. In 1836,
SOLOMON WRIGHT and his three sons, BALDWIN, ELISHA and D.C., and a
daughter who soon married BANKER, arrived from New York; also P.R.
JOSLYN from Indiana, who with his son RILEY, settled upon a portion of
Van Velzer's claim in defiance of his objection.”
(Source: Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois (Edited by Newton
Bateman, LL.D. and Paul Selby, A.M.) and History of Kane County Edited
by Gen. John S. Wilcox. Chicago; Munsell Publishing Company, 1904, pp.
705-707)
“P. R. Joslyn, a kind of migratory character,
but a good man withal, settled in the town in the early part of 1836. He
was originally from New Jersey, but had lived in Ohio, Kentucky and
Indiana. From the latter State he came to Burlington. He had some
difficulty with Van Velzer, in regard to his claim, who attempted to
collect a sum of money from him as a bonus for the privilege of settling
on it. Upon inquiry, he learned that Van Velzer had no just grounds for
such demands, and so he settled upon the claim selected, in open
defiance of him. His son, Riley Joslyn, came the next season, and took
up a claim in the township.”
And later in that same History, the following appears:
“THE FIRST DEATH.
Each moment, in dying. bears with it a dead human
being. Flowers perish and spring again, suns set at eve and rise again
in the east, but the dead render not up their dead to mortal eyes.
Death, the grand leveler of human greatness and human ambition, entered
the infant settlement at an early period of its existence. Van Velzer's
wife was the first victim of the grim tyrant. She died in 1837, and was
buried amid the wild flowers of her prairie home. A native of the sunny
South, her tender frame was unable to withstand the fierce winds of a
colder clime. Others of the early settlers in time followed her to the
better land. Joslyn, perhaps, was one of the first, and died about
1846-7.”
From another source another interesting tidbit emerges:
“The first death in the settlement was that of VAN VELZER'S wife, in
1837. She was a Southern woman and brought with her a Negro slave who
served her mistress faithfully but soon after her death, the slave
returned to her old home in the the sunny South land.”
(Source:
Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, ibid.)
Yes, the life was difficult, the privations many, the
adjustments to life on the prairie versus city life back on the cultured
Southern plantations would have been hard on a woman not accustomed to
any hardship at all. After traversing the plains and the prairies,
making their way through the forested lands still occupied by many an
Indian angry at the White Man for taking their lands, the travelers had
to live for awhile in the ancient version of an RV park. Note the living
accommodations illustrated in this painting from the Kane County,
Illinois Genealogical website:
|
Settlers Arriving from the East – First Homes |
Future Research Avenues
Our research has shown William “P. R.” Joslyn migrated from
New Jersey, to Pennsylvania, to Ohio, Indiana and into Illinois. But
this last quoted history indicates he also “lived in Kentucky.” One of
my early research cohorts was Joyce Schumacher who had become fascinated
with a Joslin family in Kentucky whose children’s names were almost
identical to our family lines’. After Joyce’s death came the
opportunity to submit DNA and hope for results in closing those gaps in
our knowledge of our personal history. My maternal Joslin uncle was kind
enough to submit his DNA for that very purpose. As discussed in the
first Part of this story, that DNA provided the closest match with one
Westcott Campbell Joslin who started life in Camden, New Jersey, but who
is linked to Paducah, Kentucky through the travels of his
great-grandfather, Edward S. Joslyn (often spelled “Joyslin” perhaps
because of the New Jersey accent). In fact a search through the Census
records resulted in a possible “find” – an Edward Joplin where
inspection of the original handwriting appears to be Joyslin, in
Garrard, Kentucky:
Name Edward Joplin (looks like Joyslin)
Home in 1840 (City, County, State) Garrard, Kentucky
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9: 1;
Free White Persons - Males - 60 thru 69: 1;
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29: 2;
Free White Persons - Females - 60 thru 69: 1;
Persons Employed in Agriculture: 4;
Persons Employed in Manufacture and Trade: 1;
Free White Persons - Under 20: 1;
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: 2;
Total Free White Persons: 5;
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves: 5.
There is also a very interesting connection between
John Chapman, better known as “Johnny Appleseed” whose travels mirror
the dates and places quite eerily of our P. R. Joslyn. Preliminary
research finds a further connection: Nathaniel Chapman, father of John
Chapman, lived in Leominster, Massachusetts, was a Revolutionary War
hero who served with General George Washington at Valley Forge. He
served under our Joslin relative, John Joslin:
Nathaniel Chapman, Leominster. Private, Capt. John
Joslin's co. of Minute-men, Col. John Whetcomb's regt., which marched on
the alarm of April 19, 1775, to Cambridge; service, 11 days; reported
enlisted into the army; also, Capt. David Wilder's co., Col. Asa
Whitcomb's regt.; muster roll dated Aug. 1, 1775; enlisted April 26,
1775; service, 3 mos. 13 days; also, receipts for wages for Aug. and
Sept., 1775, dated Prospect Hill; also, company return (probably Oct.,
1775).
(SOURCE:
wikitree.com/Chapman).
It seems your author’s research into the life of William “P. R.” Joslyn may have just begun!
Researched and compiled by Melinda Cohenour
Click on author's byline for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.
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