The Maude Deleilah James Tree Branches

The next set of articles I plan to produce will cover the James side of the family tree.

Maude Deleilah James was Chester Carson's mother and one of the wives of W.L. Carson.

Including Maude, I have information on seven generations of James' and twenty-seven people to describe. I hope you enjoy reading about these ancestors, beginning with the first installment on Monday.

If you missed them, you can read the articles I've already posted on Maude and her husband, W.L. Carson, at the following links:

William Lloyd Carson and Maude Delilah James

William and Maude, through 1930

Maude passes away, William leaves a record

William and his wives

Final Notes on William L. Carson

Royal Connections?

I recently found a family tree that, if you follow enough of the branches back, connects our family to Scottish Royalty.

Of course, without seeing any original records (what genealogists call Primary Sources), all of these links must be viewed with a bit of skepticism. But, if you want to see the tree, go to the The Large Version Of The Chew Family Tree website, then follow these links:

(You will start on the page that lists Benjamin B Truax, a Great-Great-Great Grandfather of Chester Carson)

Click on his wife, Rebecca Abagail Stillwell, then
Click on her father, Elias Stillwell Sr., then
Click on his mother, Abigail Hopton, then
Click on her father, Robert Hopton Sr., then
Click on his father, Arthur Hopton, then
Click on his father, Owen Hopton... keep going, click on:
his father George, then his father William, then his father John, then his mother Margaret Pert. You're getting close now.
Click on her mother, Joane le Scrope, then her father Sir Stephen le Scrope.
Click on his mother Juetta de Ros, then her father Sir William de Ros II.
You're back to about 1244 at this point.
Next click on his mother Isabella Avenal of Scotland, and then
William "The Lion" King of Scots

From here you can sort of browse around. There are a number of noblemen, kings, sirs, etc.

Are we really related? Maybe. A DNA test might be the only conclusive test, since so many records over the years have been either destroyed, misplaced, or misrecorded.

Memorable Photo Monday #14

I'm not certain of the year, but here is a photo of Kathleen and her daughter "Kit", taken in San Antonio, Texas. I have a few other photos, also labeled "San Antonio, Texas" but I don't know the people in them. My guess is that they are relatives of Chester.

Can anyone provide additional information (who lived in San Antonio, or the approximate year of the photo)?

Further Reading on the Truax Family

There are a number of web-sites that cover the ancestry of the Truax family. Here are two of my favorites:

Our Family Ties - Includes a series of articles on the family
Philippe du Trieux and His Family (a History) - An association of descendants of Philippe

Life in the New World for Philippe and Susanna

Philippe, Susanna (his second wife) and their children, almost certainly sailed to America aboard the ship The New Netherland. The family left for colony known as the New Netherlands on March 30, 1624 and arrived in May or June (1624).

You can read more about the early colony on this Library Of Congress page.

In 1638 Philippe was appointed to be a sheriff (known as the time as court messengers). In an early colony such as this one, his duties would be varied, in demand, and dangerous. According to official records, relations with the indians in the region were strained. For example, in 1643, Indians destroyed most of the bouweries on Manhattan Island, and two on Statten Island. They killed cattle, to reduce the amount of food, and the people who lived there. Then, in 1652, four people in Manhattan were murdered by indians. The next year, three more were murdered on Staten Island.

Philippe died during this period of unrest. Some records imply that he was almost certainly killed, along with his son and namesake, by Indians. Note: Alhough this son shared his name, he was from our ancestor's first marriage, to Jacqueline Noirett.

Philippe's family and friends had to endure continued violence until, on September 15, 1655, a pivitol confrontation occurred. An Indian was killed in New Amsterdam for stealing fruit from an orchard. In retaliation, a large war party of Indians responded, terrifying the occupants of New Amsterdam. A response was delayed, as nearly all the Dutch soldiers were engaged in a conflict with the Swedes. The Indians, sensing their opportunity, crossed the Hudson and burned the Dutch bouweries and plantations, killing or capturing anyone who had not fled. They then moved down Bergen Neck and over to Staten Island, which was also devastated. The following account describes the aftermath:

' . . . in three days' time about 50 Christians were killed and murdered, more than one hundred, mostly women and children, captured, of whom we afterward ransomed 60 to 70 at great expense, the rest being still in their hands, 28 bouweries and some plantations and about 12 to 15 thousand schepels of grain burned, 500 to 600 head of cattle either killed or taken by the barbarians;

. . . [they] have suffered through these barbarous Indians a damage of more than two hundred thousand gilders and more than 200 persons besides those who were killed or are still in captivity, have lost their possessions and have nothing left to procure food and clothing for themselves and their families must be a charge upon this city.'

I do not know the year of death for Susanna, but it was apparently sometime after 1654.

Who are you calling a Wallon?

Philippe du Trieux and his family were Walloons.

What is a Walloon?
During the Reformation (the 16th and 17th century) those in the Flanders region who aligned themselves with the Protestant movement became known as Walloons. The Flanders region consists of the confluence of people between northern France and southern Belgium. They spoke a French dialect.

These were times when Protestants in general, and Walloons specifically, were severely persecuted. Exile, torture, and death were sometimes the consequence of professing your alliance to the Protestant beliefs. As a result, thousands fled the area. They spread out across the known world, to places like Germany, England, Ireland, and North America. In a sense, those who tried to end their movement simply ensured its spread.

You sometimes see the Walloons identified alongside the group known as Huguenots. The terms may even be used interchangably. However, there are distinctions. Although Huguenots also aligned themselves with John Calvin's Protestant movement, they were originally from the central portion of France, as opposed to the Walloons, who lived closer to, or in, Belgium.

Among the Walloons who fled to North America were Philippe du Trieux and his family.

Philippe Antoni Du Trieux and Susanna du Chesne

Philippe Antoni Du Trieux and Susanna du Chesne were 7G Grandparents of Chester Carson. Here is the lineage:

Philippe Antoni Du Trieux and Susanna du Chesne
->Jacob Du Trieux and Elizabeth (Lysbeth) Post
-->Philip Truax and Sarah La Rue
--->LaRue Jacob Truax and Rebecca Abigail Stillwell
---->Benjamin B Truax Sr. and Perthenia Pittman
----->Benjamin Truex Jr. and Ezadiah Palmer
------>Stillwell Traux and Rachel Mann
------->John K Carson and Rachel Frances Traux
-------->William Bernard Lloyd Carson and Maude Deleilah James
--------->Chester Carson

Philippe du Trieux(1) was probably born at Roubaix, in northern France, in about 1586.

His wife, Susanna du Chesne was born in 1601, in Sedan, in the Lorraine region of France.

Philippe became engaged to Susanna on July 17, 1621 and they married in Amsterdam August 30, 1621.

Jacob and Elizabeth Du Trieux, Part II

Jacob Du Trieux married Elizabeth Post at the Dutch Reformed Church, in New Amsterdam, on September 26, 1674.

Jacob settled in Monmouth County of New Jersey. He obtained twelve acres in Middleton on March 7, 1676. In 1708 he expanded his holdings to 108 acres.

Jacob later moved to New Castle County, Delaware, and lived out the rest of his life. He died sometime after December 27, 1709, when he wrote his will, and June 21, 1710, when the will was executed.

Elizabeth outlived her husband, dying sometime after 1730.

Jacob and Elizabeth Du Trieux

Jacob Du Trieux and Elizabeth (Lysbeth) Post were 6G Grandparents of Chester Carson. Here is the lineage:

Jacob Du Trieux and Elizabeth (Lysbeth) Post
->Philip Truax and Sarah La Rue
-->LaRue Jacob Truax and Rebecca Abigail Stillwell
--->Benjamin B Truax Sr. and Perthenia Pittman
---->Benjamin Truex Jr. and Ezadiah Palmer
----->Stillwell Traux and Rachel Mann
------>John K Carson and Rachel Frances Traux
------->William Bernard Lloyd Carson and Maude Deleilah James
-------->Chester Carson

Jacob Du Trieux was born December 7, 1645 in New Amsterdam, New York.

Nearly ten years later, on July 8, his future wife, Elizabeth Post, was born in the same growning colony.

New Amsterdam was a Dutch colony at the southern tip of present day Manhattan, New York. The settlement began after the explorations of Henry Hudson. Part of the larger region of the New Netherlands, the town radiated out from it's most seaward and safe feature: its fort.

In 1845 the population hovered at around 500. According to Willem Kieft, the leader of the colony at the time, more than 18 languages were spoken by it's inhabitants. It's settlers were primarily Belgian (Walloons), Dutch, French Huguenots, Scandinavians, Germans, and English. The year Jacob was born was also the end of series of battles between the inhabitants and nearby Indians.

Coincidentally in 1855, the year of Elizabeth's birth, Indians around the colony attacked New Amsterdam, Pavonia, and Staten Island in series of conflicts known as the Peach War.

Jacob's family were Walloons, from the northern region of France, present day Belgium. Walloons, decendants of the Celts, spoke French, and associated themselves with the Protestant church during the Reformation. Repression while under Spanish control probably led the family to emmigrate to the New World.

I will have more on the emmigration of the du Trieux family when I discuss Jacob's father, Philip du Trieux. On Wednesday, I'll conclude the write-ups of Jacob and Elizabeth.

Philip and Sarah Truax

Philip and Sarah Truax were 5G Grandparents of Chester Carson. Here is the lineage:

• Philip Truax and Sarah La Rue
  
  • LaRue Jacob Truax and Rebecca Abigail Stillwell
    
    • Benjamin B Truax Sr. and Perthenia Pittman
      
      • Benjamin Truex Jr. and Ezadiah Palmer
        
        • Stillwell Traux and Rachel Mann
          
          • John K Carson and Rachel Frances Traux
            
            • William Bernard Lloyd Carson and Maude Deleilah James
              
              • Chester Carson

Philip was born to Jacob and Elizabeth Du Trieux in about 1676, in Middletown of Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Sarah was born somewhere in the same county, in about 1685.

Philip and Sarah were married in about 1703, in Middletown. Together they had at least five children (John, Philip, LaRue, Jacob, and Samuel).

Philip died May 25, 1734. The date when Sarah passed away is not known.

LaRue Jacob and Rebecca Abigail Truax

LaRue Jacob Truax and Rebecca Abigail (Stillwell) Truax were 4G (Great Great Great Great) Grandparents of Chester Carson. Here is the lineage:

• LaRue Jacob Truax and Rebecca Abigail Stillwell
  
  • Benjamin B Truax Sr. and Perthenia Pittman
    
    • Benjamin Truex Jr. and Ezadiah Palmer
      
      • Stillwell Traux and Rachel Mann
        
        • John K Carson and Rachel Frances Traux
          
          • William Bernard Lloyd Carson and Maude Deleilah James
            
            • Chester Carson

LaRue Jacob Truax was the third of five children born to Philip and Sarah Truax. His first name came from his mother, who's who's maiden name was LaRue. His middle name came from his grandfather, Jacob Truax. LaRue was born sometime in 1705, in Middletown of Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Rebecca Abigail Stillwell was born in about 1709, the fourth of six children to Elias and Ann Stillwell. I have found two birth locations for her: Hancock, MD (also the believed birthplace of John K Carson); and an unspecified town in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

LaRue and Rebecca were married in 1729, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Together they had nine children: Benjamin, Elizabeth, Samuel, John, Jacob, Obediah, Catherine, Phillip, and Cornelius. Our ancestor from these children was Benjamin.

LaRue died in about 1774, and was buried in the Ayr Township of Bedford (now Fulton) County, Pennsylvania.

Elizabeth outlived her husband, and passed away in 1795. She too was buried in the Ayr Township of Bedford (now Fulton) County, Pennsylvania.

Perthenia, Perthena, or Berthinia Truax?

Perthenia, or Perthena, or Berthinia? I've seen the name for Benjamin's wife listed each of these ways. My inclination is to use Pertenia, and keep the other spellings as alternatives for searching, but only because she is more frequently found this way, not because I know it to be more accurate.

She lived only 40 years, and we know almost nothing about her daily life. All that we know about Perthinia can be listed very briefly:

As already reported, Perthinia was born March 16, 1741/42 in Burlington County, New Jersey. Her parents were William and Hannah Pittman. I have found Hannah's maiden name listed three different ways, and without some source documentation (a birth certificate, marriage certificate, family Bible, will, etc) I have no way to know which is correct. The three variations that I have found are: Hannah Kimble, Hannah Campbell, and Hannah Kimble Loker.

Perthenia married Benjamin Truax, Sr. on January 26, 1761, in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

She brought at least eight children into the world, then died October 31, 1781.

Next time, we'll begin looking at the parents of her husband, Benjamin Truax.

Benjamin Truax (Sr's) Will

Benjamin apparently knew that he was frail when he made up his Will on April 7, 1801; for he died a short 33 days later.

Benjamin probably wrote his Will at his home, as it was signed in Bedford County, PA. The name signed on the will is "Benjamin Trewex, Senior". Since the will was signed with only a B, plus a mark; and since the will contains a large number of mispellings, Benjamin may not have been proficient in his writing skills. This may explain the odd spelling of his name.

In the will, Benjamin names his sons, Samuel, Benjamin and William as well as daughters Rebecka and Pethethenian (sic). His son Benjamin and his son-in law Aaron Cleavenger were appointed executors.

He split his land and gave half to Samuel, and half to Benjamin. To his other son, and his daughters, he provided funds.

Below is a transcript of the will.

LAST WILL OF BENJAMIN TREWEX, SENIOR

In the name of the Lord God, I, Benjamin Trewex, Sen'r being at this time in sound sence, memory and reason, do macke this my last Will and Testament as follows, viz:

First, I commit my body to the earth and my spirit to the Lord that gave it after which I appint my funeral expence with every just debt to be paid. Next I give and bequeath unto my beloved sons Samuel and Benjamin all my mantion hous and plantation with all the appurtenances thereunto beloning to said land that is to say agreeable to a line I have fixed to begin the division. Line two rods below the Watering Place, known in the family by that name, and is within th ling meado fence then westward straight to a pair of bars in a fince running southward thence along said fence whch is the line through the said field so to continue the cors on thruogh a meado when through the meadow a space from th'meado fince then turning with that meado fince eastward continuing that course out to the line of said plantation the begining at said Wattring Place runing streight northward to my north line across the long gealde. The part eastward of the Division line shall be Samuel's part and west of said line shall be Benjamin's part also I give and bequeath unto my son Benjamin a certain feald that lieth out of the line of above mentioned partition called the sawmill feald over the beside his part of the divided land. Next I give and bequeath unto my beloved son William the sum of one hundred pounds in money also I give and bequeath unto my beloved daughter Rebecka the full sum of one hundred pounds in money also I give and bequeath unto my beloved daughter Peththeana the full sum of one hundred pounds in money and I do hereby order and appoint that as soon as conveniently can be after my deceas all and That all and everyof my movable effects and also my land in Belfast township be exposed to publick sale and to macke the moneys to appointed to be apaid and when the before mentioned demands and legacies are all discharged if any over plush money remains it shall then be eackqueally divided amongs all of my sons and daughters and I do hereby appoint my son Benjamin and Aaron Cleavenger my son-in-law to be my executors of this my last will and testament mad and signed this seventh day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and one as witness my and and seal.

Witness present
R. M. runyan
Jacob Swisher

his
Benjamin Trewex

(a handwritten letter "B")
Mark

The Adult Lives of Benjamin (Sr) & Perthinia Truax

Benjamin and Perthinia married on January 26, 1761, in Monmouth, New Jersey. It was as husband and wife that they helped settle Bethel, Pennsylvania; when Benjamin served in the Continental Line he was a father and husband.

Perthinia died on October 31, 1781, and is buried at the Tonoloway Baptist Church Cemetery, in Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania.

From U.S. Census records we can verify that Benjamin continued to live in Bethel Township after Perthinia passed away. For details from the 1790 and 1800 U.S. Census, see the articles on his son, Benjamin Junior.

Benjamin died in Bethel, on May 10, 1801. He too was buried at the Tonoloway Baptist Church Cemetery. He left a Will, which we will discuss next time.