Bios of American Ancestors

Grandfather

E.(Elijah) Warde Blaisdell (1874 - 1944) born in Rockford IL, son of Hon. Elijah Whittier Blaisdell, Jr. (1826 - 1901) and his 2nd wife Elizabeth Jane Woodbridge Lawrence (1826 - 1911); artist, illustrator, cartoonist, columnist, and humorist; studied art at Art Institute, in New York and Paris; settled in artist colony Leonia NJ; working mostly in pen and ink, was one of first artist to draw anthropomorphic animals in human clothes (eg. rabbits in dress suits, bears in top hats); around turn-of-the-century regularly contributed art to magazines such as Harper’s, St. Nicholas and Life and illustrated several children’s books, including Annals of a Quiet Country Town (1902) by Julia Katherine Barnes, At the Big House (1904) by Anne Virginia Culbertson, Animal Secrets (1906), Beastly Rhymes (1906) by Burges Johnson,, Dorothy’s Rabbit Stories (1907) by Mary E. Calhoun, Old Man Coyote (1908) by Clara K. Bayliss; in 1906 had comic strip in the Boston Herald called Bunny Bright -- He’s All-Right; in 1920’s contributed humorous columns to Leonia Life (later North Jersey Life) newspaper; after meeting her once when both were vacationing in Rockford and conducting a courtship by post, married Viola Hull Fisher (1990 - 1964) in 1912; studied oil painting under Harvey Dunn; family moved back to Rockford in 1934 and later, in the ’40’s, resided in Tucson AZ; youngest of two daughters is Margaret Sutton Blaisdell (1920 - ), born in Rockford and wife of Norman C. Anderson (1920 - 2001), Rockford bricklayer (whose father, building contractor John McKenzie Anderson, emigrated from Rosemarkie, Scotland), parents of artist Stephen Warde Anderson  (1953 - )

Grandparents

Hon. Elijah Whittier Blaisdell, Jr. (1826 - 1901) born in Montpelier VT, son of Elijah Whittier Blaisdell, Sr. (1801 - 1876), a printer, publisher, and abolitionist, and Ann Maria Deacon (1801 - 1864) , whose family, Methodists, had emigrated to Montreal from County Wexford, Ireland; lived in Middlebury, then Vergennes VT; succeeded father as editor of Vermonter newspaper; postmaster of Vergennes, VT; married Frances Robinson in 1850 and had a son, Byron; moved to Stephenson County IL in fall of 1853, moved to Rockford IL in Jan 1854 after purchasing Rockford Forum newspaper, took younger brother Richard into partnership; after death of first wife, married Elizabeth Jane Woodbridge Lawrence (1826 - 1912) of Vergennes VT in 1854; organized mass meeting forming local Republican Party and on May 29, 1856 attended convention in Bloomington organizing Republican Party in IL, renamed newspaper Rockford Republican; met Abraham Lincoln in meeting of newspaper publishers and after hearing his antislavery speech at Springfield convention supported him for President; elected to state legislature for one term in 1858, voted for Lincoln in Senate race, spearheaded passage of bills to curb usurious interest rates and to allow married women to own property; studied law on his own and was admitted to bar (without having to take an exam!); in 1862 sold newspaper (after losing advertisers due to espousing unpopular causes); built successful law practice, taking many pension cases and suits against banks and railroads, in 1870 successfully sued Illinois Central Railroad on behalf of African-American woman who, because of her race, was ejected from “ladies only” car at Rockford’s train depot; campaigned for General Grant, but in 1880 left Republican Party and ran for U.S. House on Greenback Party ticket, espousing currency and labor reforms, woman’s suffrage, an income tax, and break up of monopolies; favoring Grover Cleveland, ran for Congress as a Democrat in 1884 and 1886; served many terms as Rockford alderman and was renowned as political orator;  lived in large house at 1240 North Church Street, Rockford, later sold to the Catholic church; engaged in land development, eg. building a block of office flats on North Main and Whitman Streets, owned large tract of land in west Rockford in area that is now Blaisdell Street; later turned to literary pursuits, in 1882 published popular novel The Hidden Record; wrote poems and a satirical play; after early death of two children, had 4 sons, all born when his wife Elizabeth was over 40 years old, the youngest being Elijah Warde Blaisdell (1874 - 1944),  born in 1874 when she was not quite 48; his youngest brother John (1839 - 1874) served as a sergeant in the Galena Regiment during the Civil War; another brother was Charles Wesley Blaisdell (1833 -1914), who was business manager of the Chicago Times and whose son, Frederick Elijah Blaisdell, (1864 - 1918) was the inventor of the Blaisdell pencil; great granddaughter of his son Byron (1851- 1918) was popular mystery author (Barbara) Elizabeth Linington “Queen of the Procedurals” (1921- 1988).

Elizabeth Jane Woodbridge Lawrence (1826 - 1911) daughter of Major-Gen. Villee Lawrence (1789- 1866) and Betsey Woodbridge (1790-1830), lived in Vergennes VT;  married Elijah Whittier Blaisdell, Jr.(1826 - 1901) in 1854 and moved to Rockford IL; had two children Villee (born 1856) and Maria (born 1859) who both died in childhood; after she was 40 had 4 more children, Henry, twins Shelley and George, and Elijah Warde Blaisdell (1874 - 1944); was 2nd cousin of Rockford agricultural implement manufacturer Ralph Emerson, Jr. (1831 - 1914) , father of artist and philanthropist Belle Emerson Keith (1865 - 1950).

James Oliver Fisher (d. 1906) son of Albert C. Fisher (b. 1827) of Kingston NY and Mary Augusta Reed (b. 1830), daughter of eastern PA farmer Orrin A. Reed (b. 1798), 3rd great-grandson of Capt. John Reed,  and Sophia Beckwith (1801 - 1881), granddaughter of Marvin Beckwith, Sr. (1737 - 1812); publisher in Kingston NY, later moved to Chicago and was western sales representative for Philadelphia stationery firm; daughter Viola Hull Fisher (1890 - 1964) was wife of E. Warde Blaisdell (1874 -1944)

Viola Dedelia Hull (1863 - 1953) daughter of Benjamin G. Hull (b. 1838) and Almeda Fassett (b.1842), a descendant of Patrick Fassett (1628 - 1713)who married in 1858 and lived in Meshoppen in eastern PA where he was a blacksmith and later owned a general store; attended finishing school; married James Oliver Fisher (d. 1906), after his death married Thomas L. Halbert who owned a sheep ranch in Wheatland MT and then Scotsman Alexander Davidson of Tucson AZ, who once ran a freight line between Tucson and Tombstone during the days of the Earps and the Clantons; daughter Viola Hull Fisher (1890 - 1964) wife of E. Warde Blaisdell (1874 -1944)

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Notable Blaisdell Ancestors

8gg - Ralph Blaisdell  (1593 - 1649), tailor from land-owning family in northwest Lancaster, England, came to America in 1635 on Angel Gabriel (which originally belonged to Sir Walter Raleigh), lived in York, Maine, later settled in Salisbury MA, where, as one of its founding fathers and a prominent citizen, he held many public offices, worked as a constable, lawyer, tailor, farmer, and tavern keeper.  Son Henry (1632 - 1705), also a tailor, who came to America when he 3, was a founder of Amesbury MA. (up the Merrimack river from Salisbury.)  Grandson Jonathan (1676 - 1748), a blacksmith, married Hannah Jameson (1678 - 1748), granddaughter of Salem witch Susannah North Martin (1621 - 1692).  Descendants include James Arness, Peter Graves, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Scott Brown.

8gg - Susannah North Martin (1621 - 1692), born in Buckinghamshire, England, family came to America in 1639, married blacksmith George Martin (1618 - 1686) of Salisbury MA (later, Amesbury) in 1646; had 8 children, dysfunctional family, had many quarrels with neighbors; convicted of witchcraft in 1669, but no sentence was carried out; described as outspoken, sharp-witted, vigorous, and neat, short and slightly plump;  left impoverished when her husband died in 1686 and failed to inherit any of her father’s estate; accused of witchcraft by Salem Village girls (how did they know her? -- she lived 25 miles away!), arrested, convicted, and hanged in 1692; accused by numerous witnesses of suckling an imp, hexing cattle, dematerializing and projecting her spirit; feisty testimony during her inquisition recorded by Cotton Mather, who professed that she was a genuine witch; subject of poem by John Greenleaf Whittier; family made no attempt to seek her rehabilitation, finally exonerated in 2001; descendants include Chester A. Arthur, Dick Cheney, Steve Fossett, and Matthew Modine.

7gg - Captain Samuel Foote (1635 -1690) son of merchant Pasco Foote (1604 - 1670) who came to MA in 1634; married Hannah (1643 - 1691), daughter of Richard Currier (1616 - 1686), ancestor of lithographer Nathaniel Currier; seaman and planter, maintained fort and was militia commander at Amesbury MA, was taken prisoner and tortured to death during Indian raid on Amesbury in 1690.

3gg - Parrit Blaisdell (1759 - 1836) born in Amesbury MA to Elijah Blaisdell (1740 - 1769) and Mary (Polly) Sargent (1734 -1806), enlisted twice to fight in Revolutionary War; in 1785 married Ruth Folsom (1759 - ?) , whose father was a first cousin of General Nathaniel Folsom,  and had 10 children, including the youngest, Elijah Whittier Blaisdell, Sr. (1801 - 1876); lived in Warner, NH, then Montpelier, VT, and, in later years, Fort Covington NY; drove stagecoaches, reputation as a teamster was legendary, merchant; fought in War of 1812, captured 4 British prisoners single handed, but lost an arm and an eye during cannon practice during 4th of July celebrations; brother Daniel served in US House of Representatives and was the great grandfather of educator Rev. James Blaisdell (1867 - 1957) who taught at Beloit College.

Notable Lawrence Ancestors

8gg - Gov. Thomas Dudley  (1576-1653) from Northamptonshire, England, father was Captain Roger Dudley (b. 1545?) soldier killed in battle sometime before 1588, [a 2nd cousin of Lady Jane Grey and son of Admiral Henry Sutton-Dudley (1517 - 1568), 2nd son of Sir John Sutton, 3rd Baron Dudley (1594 - 1553) and Lady Cecily Grey (d. 1554), granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth Woodville (1437 - 1492)] mother was Susannah Thorne (1558 -1677) who died young; educated and taught Latin by his maternal grandmother, Mary Purefoy (1520 - 1589) [who was descended from King Henry II and early kings of Portugal]; page in household of Baron Compton, in 1597 commanded his own company of soldiers at Siege of Amiens fighting for King Henry IV of France; clerk for Sir Augustine Nicolls, a judge who was a Puritan and also, rare at the time, honest; in 1603 married Dorothy Yorke (1582- 1643) [a descendant of King Edward III through Darcy, Greystoke, Ferrers families]; in 1616 was steward for Theophilus Clinton, 4th Earl of Lincoln; member of Massachusetts Bay Company in 1628; appointed Deputy-Gov of Massachusetts Bay Colony; he and family sailed with fleet (11 ships with 1000 passengers) commanded by Gov. John Winthrop;  arrived in Salem MA in 1630, but colonists settled in Boston area; founded Cambridge MA; governor in 1634, 1640, 1645, and 1650, deputy-governor, 11 times; moved to Roxbury in 1639; after death of wife, married Katherine Deighton in 1644; he and Winthrop, although they had disagreements and fallings out, were the indispensable men of the colony; was less flexible, less moderate in religious matters than Winthrop, but reputation as a severe hard-liner is not confirmed by the facts, was man of great integrity, honor, fairness, and devotion to civic duty; had 5 children by Dorothy Yorke (1582- 1643) included Paul Dudley, who married Winthrop’s daughter, poetess Anne Bradstreet, and Mercy Dudley (1621 - 1691) who married Rev. John Woodbridge VI (1613 - 1686), and 3 children by his second wife, including Joseph Dudley who served as governor; descended twice from King Edward III, spectacular noble and royal ancestry; large number of descendants, many of them illustrious, includes Oliver Wendell Holmes, Herbert Hoover, John Kerry, Humphrey Bogart, Tennessee Williams, Alan Ladd, Dick Clark, George Hamilton, Brooke Adams, Christopher Reeve, Kelsey Grammer, Paul Giammati, Ellen DeGeneres, Edie and Kyra Sedgwick, and Jodie Foster. 

8gg - Major-General Robert Sedgwick (1611 - 1656) trained as a soldier in London; came to America in 1635 and settled in Charlestown MA; a principal member of the Military Company of MA in 1638; commander of Castle in Boston Harbor in 1641 and 1652 was a major-general commanding the colony’s military; Oliver Cromwell commissioned him a major in the British army in 1654 and ordered him to invade New Holland, but invasion was halted when the war with the Dutch came to an end, instead, on his own initiative, invaded French Canada and captured St.John’s Fort and Port Royal in Acadia; delighted, Cromwell appointed him governor of recently acquired colony of Jamaica in 1655 and made him commander-in-chief of its army with rank of major-general; died of fever soon after, though, in 1656, and was buried in Jamaica; son William (1643 - 1574), who deserted his wife, Elizabeth (1644-1681), daughter of Rev. Samuel Stone (1602 -1663, a founder and second minister of Hartford CN), was a ne’er-do-well and vagabond who also died in Jamaica; solid-citizen grandson Captain Samuel Sedgwick (1667 - 1735), a cooper and distiller from Hartford CT, was ancestor of Theodore Sedgwick, 4th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, his daughter, early 19th Century novelist Catharine Sedgwick, and great nephew John Sedgwick, a Union general who was killed during the Civil War, as well as Edie and Kyra Sedgwick.

7gg - John Leonard  (1615 - 1675) son of Thomas Leonard (1577 - 1638) and Lydia White (1587 - 1638) of Monmouth, Wales; came to Springfield MA in 1638; married Sarah Heald (1623- 1711) in 1640 and had 14 children; man of high social standing; although a friend of Indian chief Metacom (King Philip), he was killed during King Philip’s War when Springfield MA was burned on October 5, 1675 by Wampanoag Indians, also killed in the war was his daughter Lydia’s (1650 - 1683) husband of 7 months, John Dumbleton (1650 - 1675) (grandfather of Abigail Day (1713- 1770), the wife of Timothy Woodbridge (1709 - 1774)); numerous royal and noble ancestors include King Edward IV of England; descendants include Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Nancy Reagan, and Sarah Palin.

7gg - Rev. John Woodbridge VI (1613 - 1696) 6th in line of John Woodbridges who were ministers at Stanton, Wiltshire; son of Rev. John Woodbridge V (1575 - 1637) and Sarah Parker (1584 - 1683), daughter of Rev. Robert Parker  (1557 - 1600); studied at Oxford, but left, refusing to take oath of conformity, went to New England in 1634; settled in Newbury MA; planter and town clerk; in 1639 married Mercy Dudley, (1621-91), daughter of Gov. Thomas Dudley (1576-1653); in 1641 led a group of settlers who founded Andover MA on land he purchased from the Indians; schoolmaster in Boston in 1643; ordained as a minister in 1645; returned to England in 1647, his father-in-law had him take with him a manuscript of poems written by his wife’s sister Anne Dudley Bradstreet, published in England (without the author’s knowledge) as The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up into America, partly to show that Puritans honored intellectual and artistic  attainments in women; minister at various churches in Hampshire and Wiltshire; restrictive laws enacted after Restoration spurred his return to New England in 1663, served as assistant pastor to uncle Rev. Thomas Parker in Newbury MA, but resigned in dissent in 1670; became magistrate in Newbury; in 1682 published  a tract on currency and banking; contemplated suicide after death of beloved wife Mercy in 1691; highly respected as man of honor and learning; had 12 children, including Rev. John Woodbridge VII (1644 - 1691), who was a graduate of Harvard, a minister at Killingworth and Wethersfield CT, and married to Abigail Leete (1643 - 1711), daughter of Gov William Leete  (1613 - 1683) and Dudley Woodbridge, who was judge-advocate of Barbados; brother Rev. Benjamin Woodbridge, who returned with him to England, was 1st graduate of Harvard.

7gg - Gov. William Brenton (1610 - 1674) came to America from London (?) in 1633 to Boston with royal commission as a surveyor; held several public positions; then settled in Portmouth and later Newport RI; in 1658 was in Litchfield NH, but moved back to RI; in 1660 President of Rhode Island Colony and Providence Plantations, 1663-1666 deputy governor under new colonial charter, and 1666-1669 its 2nd governor; was very wealthy and built “The House of Seven Chimneys,” the finest private house in New England at Newport; in 1672 lived in Tauton, Plymouth Colony, but died in Newport; daughter Sarah Brenton (1644 - 1683) married Rev. Joseph Eliot (1638 - 1696), son of Rev. John Eliot  (1604 - 1690).

7gg - Gov. William Leete (1613 - 1683), grandson of Judge Robert Shute (d. 1590), MP and eminent jurist who served on the Court of Queen’s Bench ; from prominent gentry family of Cambridgeshire; born in Huntingdonshire, England; in 1635 married Anna Payne (1621 - 1668), daughter of Rev. John Payne of Sothoe, Huntingdonshire; educated as lawyer, law clerk in Cambridge; owing to persecution of Puritans, emigrated to America in 1639; founder of Guilford, New Haven, later moving to Hartford CN; held numerous public offices, Governor of Colony of New Haven (1661-1665) and Governor of Connecticut (1676-1683), a rigid Puritan, famous for sheltering former judges, Major-Gen. William Goffe and his father-in-law Gen. Edward Whalley, regicides of Charles I, when they fled to America during the Restoration; daughter Abigail (1652 - 1750) married Rev. John Woodbridge VII (1644 - 1691), grandson of Gov. Thomas Dudley (1576-1653).

7gg - Rev. John Eliot (1604 - 1690) from Herterfordshire, England, studied at Cambridge, came to Boston in 1631 and became minister at church in nearby Roxbury MA and founded Roxbury Latin School; began teaching Indians in 1646; learned Algonquin language from a native American tutor and translated written sermons into it; in 1663 published the Bible in native Massachusett language; hailed as “apostle to the Indians. helped set up “praying villages’ for Indians who had converted to Christianity, during King Philip’s War (1675) these were destroyed along with Eliot’s dream of peaceful coexistence with Christianized Indians; The Christian Commonwealth, written in the late 1640’s, a tract promoting a theocratic utopia and the first book published in America was, after the Restoration, banned in Boston and copies burned in 1661; in 1689 donated land for Eliot School in Jamaica Plains, Boston, on condition it would receive Indians and Negroes without prejudice;  saintlike figure who was the sunny-side of Puritanism, ever cheerful, optimistic, kind, and caring; was neighbor and close friend of Gov. Thomas Dudley, his granddaughter Jemima Eliot (1679 - 1705) married Rev. John Woodbridge VIII (1678 - 1718), Dudley’s great grandson.

7gg - Lieutenant Thomas Cooper (1617 - 1675) came to America in 1634, apprentice carpenter in Windsor CT, moved to Springfield MA in 1642, built the meeting house and served in many public offices and the local militia; practiced medicine and engaged in fur trading; had cordial relations with Indians, befriended them, traded with them, and knew their language; when Springfield was threatened during King Philip’s War, he rode to the Indian fort to talk peace and was killed, after which Springfield was burned on October 5, 1675; Spencer Tracy is a descendant. 

4gg - Colonel Charles Burrall (1720 - 1803)  born in Simsbury CT, son of William Burrall (d. 1723), copper refiner and younger son of Cornish baronet Sir Peter Burrall, came in 1715 to America in charge of 12 miners in unsuccessful venture to operate a copper mine in Simsbury CT, and his 2nd wife, married in America, Joanna Westover, from Somerset gentry family;  father died when he was young. hard-scrabbled youth, worked at various jobs, eventually buying a farm, one of first settlers of Canaan CN; after death of first wife married, in 1746, Abigail Kellogg (1728-1789) daughter of Deacon Benjamin Kellogg (1700 - 1776) and Abigail Sedgwick (1702 - 1743); appointed constable and rose in ranks of militia, 1776 made colonel commanding regiment of CT militia, at invasion of Canada, Bennington, Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Saratoga; despite ill health served during entire Revolutionary War, under Gens. Wadsworth, Schuyler, Gates, --  and Washington when, for a time, the regiment was attached to the Continental Army; member of CT’s Constitutional Congress; served in many public offices, was highly esteemed and acquired considerable wealth; had 4 sons and 5 daughters, who were famous beauties; eldest daughter by 2nd wife, Abigail (1747 - 1838), married regimental surgeon, Dr. Edward Sutton, with whom she had 3 children, but who died at Saratoga, later, in 1788, married Captain Nehemiah Lawrence (1734-1800) who had commanded a company in her father’s regiment and with whom had 2 children, including Villee Lawrence (1789 - 1866); granddaughter Eliza Rockwell was mother of Ralph Emerson, Jr., farm implement manufacturer from Rockford IL  who was the father of artist and philanthropist Belle Emerson Keith; descendants include Treat Williams.

4gg - Hon. Timothy Woodbridge (1709 - 1774) son of Rev. John Woodbridge VIII (1678 - 1718), minister at West Springfield MA (who died when a tree fell on him) and Jemima Eliot (1679 - 1705), granddaughter of “apostle to the Indians” Rev. John Eliot (1604 - 1690); 1736 married Abigail Day (1713- 1770), although had to pay a fine for “fornication before marriage” when their first child was born only 5 months later; had 10 children, including Enoch Woodbridge (1750- 1805), also had, as servants, a slave couple; from 1734 teacher at Stockbridge MA mission for Mahigan Indians, who called him Solohkuwauneh; in 1754 made lieutenant during French-and-Indian War; justice of the peace and judge, 1762 elected to state legislature, MA Superintendent of Indian Affairs; arranged various purchases of land from Indians; sided with colonials on eve of American Revolution.

3gg - Hon. Enoch Woodbridge (1750- 1805), youngest son of Timothy Woodbridge (1709 - 1774), grew up at Stockbridge MA, a mission for Mahican Indians; graduated from Yale in 1774; married Nancy Winchell (1745 - 1800) [great, great great granddaughter of Richard Treat (1584 - 1669)] by whom he had 8 children including Betsey (1790-1830) who married Villee Lawrence (1709 - 1774); officer in Revolutionary War, serving under General Ethan Allen (his wife’s 3rd cousin), General John Paterson, and as an aide to Gen. Benedict Arnold during invasion of Canada, also at battles of Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Hubbardton, Bennington, and Saratoga, wounded at White Plains, after which he was stationed at commissaries in Albany and Bennington; settled in Vermont after the war; practiced law and held various public offices, 1st mayor of Vergennes VT in 1794 and Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court; “a man of strict integrity and true benevolence ... believed to have died without an enemy.”

2gg - Major-Gen. Villee Lawrence (1789- 1866) son of Captain Nehemiah Lawrence (1734-1800) and his third wife Abigail Burrall (1747 - 1838); named after French Canadian merchant Cornelius Villee, husband of mother’s sister; family moved from Canaan CN to Vergennes VT in 1801 after death of father; 2nd Lt. in War of 1812, later rose to rank of Major-General commanding one of the two divisions of Vermont Militia; in 1814 married Betsey Woodbridge (1790-1830), daughter of Hon. Enoch Woodbridge (1750- 1805); representative in state legislature, mayor of Vergennes, judge; like cousins, the Lawrences of Boston, was in textile business, founder in 1835 of Vergennes Manufacturing Company and owned emporium selling cotton and woolen goods, wife died in childbirth in 1840, never remarried; 6 children include Elizabeth Jane Woodbridge Lawrence (1826 - 1911), wife of Elijah Whittier Blaisdell, Jr. (1826 - 1901),  Sarah, who married John Pierpont, Chief Justice of Vermont Supreme Court, and Charles B. Lawrence, distinguished Illinois attorney, abolitionist, personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, and, in 1870, Chief Justice of Illinois Supreme Court.

Notable Fisher Ancestors

10gg - Gov. Thomas Welles (1594 - 1660) from Warwickshire, England; with the party of Rev. Thomas Hooker that founded Hartford CT in 1636; magistrate; held many public offices including deputy governor of CT in 1654, 1656, 1657, 1659, and governor in 1655 and 1658; son Thomas Welles, Jr. (1625 - 1668) married Hannah Tuttle (1623 - 1683), a niece of William Tuttle (1607- 1673), daughter Ann (1619 - 1680) married Thomas Thompson (1610 - 1655) whose grandson Samuel Thompson (1676 - 1738) was married to Hannah Lathrop (1686 - 1760), a great granddaughter of Rev. John Lothrop; famous descendants include Gen. William T. Sherman, Amelia Earhart, John Wayne, Lucille Ball, Gerald Ford, Harry Reid, and Nancy Reagan.

10gg - Rev. John Lothrop (1584 - 1653) from Yorkshire; studied at Cambridge, received MA in 1609; ordained in Church of England; married Hannah Howse  (1594 - 1633) in 1610 and had 8 children; in 1624, advocating heretical idea of separation of church and state, renounced orders and became pastor of First Independent Church; in 1632 imprisoned with followers (either in Newgate or Clink prison); while in prison wife Hannah died and children forced to beg on the streets; released in 1634 on condition he leave country; arrived at Boston with family in Sept. 1634; settled for a time in Scituate, then in 1639 founded Barnstable MA where his original home is now the Sturgis Library, oldest existent library building in America; in 1635 married Ann Hammond (1616 - 1687) by whom he had 5 more children; children by first wife include  Samuel Lathrop (1623 - 1700), a house carpenter and builder, farmer, judge, and constable, who lived in New London and Norwich CT; children by second wife include Abigail Lathrop (1640 - 1722) who married James Clark (1639 - 1730), son of Thomas Clark (1599 - 1696)  and grandson of William Ring (1580 - 1629); known today for vast number of notable descendants that include Benedict Arnold, Eli Whitney, Ulysses S. Grant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Joseph Smith, William Bonney, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bette Davis, Shirley Temple, Ruth Gordon, Robert Ryan, Clint Eastwood, George H. W. Bush, Glenn Close, Brian Wilson, Mitt Romney, and Sarah Palin.

9gg - Matthew Beckwith (1610 - 1681) from gentry family in Yorkshire; was at Hartford CN by 1635, also lived in New London and Lyme; married Elizabeth Lynde (1625 - 1682) who was from a Anglo-Dutch merchant family, originally van de Linde, [her great grandfather was Simon Digby (1520 - 1570), a principal conspirator in the Rising of the North, a rebellion against Queen Elizabeth, was executed, drawn and quartered for treason in 1570]; merchant and importer making many transatlantic voyages; in 1660 he and partners had built first ship in CT, the barque Endeavour launched from New London, initiated trade with Barbados; Endeavour was later sold in Barbados for 2000 tons of sugar and then used in the slave trade; colorful character frequently sued for slander and involved in brawls; died when coming home from the tavern on a dark night, lost his way and fell off a cliff; famous descendants include Robert Benchley, William Hopper, Don Knotts, Harry Reid, and Chevy Chase.

9gg & 10gg - Mr. William Tuttle (1607- 1673) a gentleman of education and property, came to American from Northamptonshire, England, in 1635, a founder of New Haven CT in 1639 and owned a mansion on property that is now Yale University; wife Elizabeth tinged with insanity: in 1677 son Benjamin, aged 28,  quarreled with his older sister Sarah, then killed her with an ax, was hanged, daughter Mercy (b. 1650, 11th child), who was accused of stealing and drinking liquor when she was 14, killed her 17 year old son with an axe in 1691, but escaped execution during change in governorship; sane offspring include John whose daughters Elizabeth (1666- 1724) and Hannah (1655 - 1708) married John Reed (1660 - 1724) and Samuel Clark (1654 - 1730) respectively; many brilliant and somewhat unbalanced descendants, including Rev. Jonathan Edwards and his grandson Aaron Burr, as well as Cecil B. DeMille, Ernest Hemingway, Winston Churchill, Humphrey Bogart, Gerald Ford, Bob Newhart, Annette Benning, Robert Gates, and Margaret Warner.

8gg - Captain John Reed (1633 - 1730) soldier at 16, distinguished service as officer in Oliver Cromwell’s army, after Restoration came to America in 1660, married Ann Samson, lived in Providence RI, Rye NY, and Norwalk CT, served in CT House of Representatives, became lawyer in 1709, son John Reed (1660 - 1724) also an attorney, married Elizabeth Tuttle  (1666- 1724), granddaughter of William Tuttle (1607- 1673).  Descendant Orrin A. Reed (b. 1798) was grandfather of James Oliver Fisher (d. 1906).

5gg - Ens. Marvin Beckwith, Sr.  (1737 - 1812), from Norwich CT, son of Reynold Beckwith (1706 - 1796) and Martha Marvin (1710 - 1757) , who were 1st cousins, great great grandson of Matthew Beckwith  (1610 - 1681);  in 1759 married Abigail Clark (b. 1739), a descendant of William Tuttle (1607- 1673) (her grandparents Samuel Clark (1673 - 1754) and Mary Brown (b. 1675) were ancestors of Winston Churchill); from 1778 served as ensign in CT regiment in Revolutionary War; grandfather of Sophia Beckwith (1801 - 1881), grandmother of James Oliver Fisher (d. 1906).

Notable Hull Ancestors

10gg - Mr. Richard Treat (1584 - 1669) from Somerset, England, came to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637; among first settlers of Weathersfield CT later that year; man of high social stature; held public offices, was a patentee of Connecticut’s colonial charter; son Robert was governor of CT, other children include Honor (1615 - 1705) who married Deacon John Deming (1612 - 1705), and Johanna (1618 - 1694) who married Lt. John Hollister (1612 - 1665), chief of the Wethersfield militia; famous descendants include Humphrey Bogart, Alan Ladd, Lee Meriwether, Gerald Ford, Russ Tamblyn, Treat Williams.

10gg - Mary Durrant Ring (1581 - 1631) in 1601 married William Ring  (1580 - 1629), a weaver from Suffolk, England; by 1614 part of Separatist community of Englishmen living in Leiden, Holland; family on board Speedwell when it left Delfthaven on June 22, 1620 bound for New World accompanying Mayflower, leaks caused it to go into port at Dartmouth and never made the voyage; family returned to Holland; after death of husband in 1629 she and 3 children came to America on the Mayflower’s 2nd voyage and settled in Plymouth Colony; daughter Susannah Ring (1611 - 1664) married Thomas Clark (1599 - 1696), a man of considerable property who came to Plymouth on the Anne in 1623 and remained to become patriarch of colony [their son James Clark (1639 - 1730) married Abigail Lathrop (1640 - 1722), daughter of Rev. John Lothrop  and  Ann Hammond]; famous descendants include Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Jennings Bryan, Raquel Welch, and Meryl Streep.

9gg - Rev. Joseph Hull (1595 - 1665) from Somerset, England; graduated from Oxford in 1615, ordained in 1619, a respected, but cantankerous nonconformist, expelled from Church of England in 1635; immigrated to America, brought congregation to Weymouth, then Hingham MA, but expelled by Gov.Winthrop from Massachusetts Bay Colony; moved to Plymouth Colony, then founded York (in what is now Maine), returned to England, then returned to America, settling in New Hampshire, (always fervently preaching till he wore out his welcome); son Benjamin Hull (1638 - 1713) was one of earliest settlers of Piscataway NJ and owned an inn there.

7gg - Patrick Fassett (1628 - 1713) a lowland Scot, probably originally called MacPherson, who fought with Scots Royalists against armies of Oliver Cromwell, taken prisoner at Battle of Dunbar in 1650; after harsh imprisonment, sent to Charlestown MA in 1652 as an indentured servant; worked off indenture and settled in Billerica MA; married Sarah Reyley (1644 - 1700) in 1664 and had 9 children; was successful farmer who acquired considerable property; ancestor of Almeda Fassett (b.1842)  

6gg - Captain Jacob Buss (1735- 1821) born in Northampton Co, PA, son of Johannes Jacob Buss born in Ramruth, Darnstedt, Hessen, Germany and Maria Catherina Ritter, who were married in 1728 and in 1732  sailed on Pennsylvania Merchant from Rotterdam to Philadelphia; during Revolutionary War commanded company of German immigrants from Easton Township, Northampton Co, PA, 1777 - 1783; daughter Christina Buss (1772 - 1832) married Conrad Kintner (1762 - 1849), parents of Elizabeth Kintner (b. 1793) who married Jacob Smith (1793- 1856)

6gg - Johann Christian Schmidt (1739 - 1806) immigrated with family from Wurttemberg, Germany to America in 1743; settled in Northampton CO, PA, changed name to John Smith,  was cooper and veterinarian; in 1760 married Catherine Odenwelder (1742 - 1797) who immigrated from Weinheim, Germany; served as private in Revolutionary War; 15 children, son Philip Smith (1771- 1859) was father of Catherine Smith (1795 - 1848), wife of Benjamin Hull (1788 - 1864).

4gg - Benjamin Hull (1788 - 1864) 3rd great grandson of Rev. Joseph Hull (1595 - 1665); married Catherine Smith (1795 - 1848), lived in Sussex Co NJ; officer in War of 1812; merchant, postmaster, state representative, justice of the peace, in 1835 partners in lumber mill in Sussex Co., NJ with Jacob Smith (1793- 1856), son of Michael Smith, a miller from Northampton Co. PA; son Philip Hull (b. 1812), youngest of 10 children, married Jacob’s daughter Susan Smith (b.1814), moved to Wyoming Co. PA, and were the grandparents of Viola Dedelia Hull (1863 - 1953).