#52 Ancestors 2023 Week 27 The Great Outdoors: The Chesapeake Watermen of the Jones Family

My grandchildren Henry and Harper are descended from a long line of Chesapeake watermen through their mother's Jones family. I would like to highlight some of that heritage here.

Old Trinity Church

As best as I can determine, the immigrant ancestor of this line was William Jones, born in Wales about 1738 and died in Dorchester County MD about 1779.  

William and his wife Ann had a son John Jones, born in 1761 and baptized at Old Trinity Church, built around 1675 and one of the oldest church buildings in America still in use.  

John Jones married Elizabeth Tregoe at Old Trinity in 1794 and had seven children with her, including George R. Jones, the 6X-great grandfather of my grandchildren, born in January 1803 in the little village of Tobacco Stick (now Madison).  

This little village was also the birthplace of Harriet Tubman a few years later in 1822.  The map below shows the location, a little west of the county seat of Cambridge. As you can see, Dorchester County is very much a waterfront community and it is easy to understand why so many of the Jones men became watermen, sailors, and oystermen. 

Jones Brothers

George Jones married Elizabeth Tyler in 1823 and had seven children with her: David (1825), Jackson (1827), William (1830), Abel Abraham (1831) 4X-great grandfather, Martin (1837), Samuel (1838), and Sarah (1842). 

The family included three captains of Chesapeake sailing boats: Captain David Jones, Captain Jackson Jones and Captain Martin Jones. Captain Martin is standing in the picture at the right.  His brother Samuel is seated at the right.  I'm not sure who the third brother is. I'm guessing this picture is from the 1870's.

The 1850 Census of Dorchester County shows oysterman George Jones, age 40, with his father John Jones, age 80, his wife Elizabeth, age 38, and sons William, 19, Martin, 13, and Samuel, 10, along with 8-year-old daughter, Sarah. 

In 1853, Abel Abraham Jones married Mary Caroline Winsor. They had two children: William Henry Pearce Jones (1853) and Abraham Christopher Columbus Jones (1855). 

In 1860, George and Elizabeth are living in Dorchester County with their widowed son Abraham (my grandchildren's 4X-great grandfather) and his two sons William (6) and Columbus (5). 

Abraham Jones died in 1861.  He was a farmer, but he must have spent time on the water also since his death was caused by drowning. 

After the Civil War, oysters gained enormous popularity and the industry really took off to meet the demand.  Almost half of the world's oysters came from the Chesapeake Bay. 

About 1870, Captains David and Jackson Jones are credited with starting the oystering industry on Kent Island shown on the map above north of Dorchester County.  They both moved their families there. 

Using a two-masted schooner called a pungy, the brothers dredged for oysters and carried their catch directly to markets in Annapolis and Balitmore. The pungy was developed in the 1840's and was peculiar to the Chesapeake Bay. Its principal use was to haul freight like seafood and produce. 

William Henry Pearce Jones (3X-great grandfather) was also an oysterman as was his brother, Abraham. In 1874, William married Louisa Farland Cummings, the daughter of William  Cummings and Rebecca DeCourcy.  They had seven children: Milton (1874), William Albert (1876), Atlantic Rebecca (1880) Don't you love that name?, Lillian (1882), Cleveland Hendricks (1884), Spencer Cummings (1887) and Calvert Embert (1889) 2X-great-grandfather. 

The 1880 Census shows William Jones, age 26, oysterman, living on Kent Island with his wife Louisa, age 30, and children Milton (5), William (3), and baby Atlantic. 

By 1900, William and his family had moved to Baltimore where they lived on S. Charles Street.  William's occupation was listed as Sailor. Along with his wife Louisa, three sons--Cleveland (15), Spencer (13), and Calvin (10)--were in the household. Baltimore with its canning industry and fine port was a natural hub for oystermen. 

In 1905, William was recommended to serve as a Councilman for the 15th ward of Baltimore, though he had not been active in public service before. His occupation then was listed as "the rubber business." However, he never got to serve in that office as he died of cancer in August 1905 at age 51. His death certificate lists his occupation as waterman. He is buried in the Jones Family Cemetery in Queen Anne's County MD. 

Louisa Cummings Jones died in Baltimore in 1927 from pneumonia at age 78. She is buried in Loudon Park Cemetery. 

The life of an oysterman was not for wimps.  While the big boats could use dredges and gather larger catches, Maryland did not allow the use of dredges, so most of the catching was done by hand tonging using a pair of metal rakes attached to long wooden poles. A tonger could bring up about 8 bushels of oysters in a day. It was back-breaking work that required the oystermen to go out in all kinds of foul weather.  The customers wanted their oysters even in the winter. 

And there was the danger of oyster pirates.  There were fierce oyster wars between Maryland and Virginia watermen, not to mention watermen who came down from New England to try their luck in the Chesapeake, often resulting in violent disputes. There was even a special Oyster Police Force to try to keep the peace among the various players. 

Of William's five sons, three of them followed him into careers on the water. Milton became the captain of a fishing boat. William worked in a shipyard, and Cleveland became the captain of a private yacht in Florida. Spencer operated a bakery and the youngest son, Calvin, my grandchildren's 2X-great grandfather, worked in a hat factory and later as a carpenter. The picture below shows William's children with Calvin on the far right.

At age 18, Calvin Embert Jones married Margaret Whittington in 1907. (I have written elsewhere about her heritage.)  The 1910 Census shows Calvin, age 20, Margaret, age 19, and two daughters: Evelyn and infant Margaret. Their son, my grandchildren's great grandfather, Calvin Embert Jones Jr., was born in Baltimore on the 29th of May 1911. 

Calvin Jones Sr. died in October 1918 at age 29 during the Spanish Flu epidemic.  His death certificate lists his occupation as carpenter. 

Maggie Whittington Jones died in Baltimore MD in 1972 of heart disease. She and Calvin are both buried in Loudon Park Cemetery. 

#52 Ancestors 2023 Week 34 Newest Discovery: Grandmother Storer wasn't a Storer!

For a long time, Ann Truman Skinner, my 9X-great grandmother, was thought to be the daughter of Edward Storer, and the sister of astronomer Arthur Storer.  Well, some new research has placed her a different family--sort of. 

Since Arthur Storer's 1686 will specifically mentions his sister Ann Skinner, it was a natural assumption that Ann was a Storer and the daughter of Arthur's father, Edward Storer. But there were some complications with that assumption.  Ann Skinner's will was proved in Maryland in 1714 and her tombstone puts her age at death at 75, giving her a birthdate of 1639 more or less. Edward Storer married Marie Widmerpole in 1637 in Notthingham, England, so Ann must have been a daughter of that first marriage, right? Problem is, no one could find any documentation for that birth, or indeed of any children of that marriage. 

Edward married secondly Katherine Babbington in 1640 and had three children with her: Edward, Katherine, and Arthur (born posthumously), before his death in 1644. Katherine's brother, Humphrey Babbington, a fellow of Trinity College, mentions his sister and his nephews Edward and Arthur in his will in 1686, but no mention of a niece Ann. 

After Edward Storer's death, Katherine married a second time in 1647 to William Clarke of Lincolnshire and had three children with him: Joseph, Martha and John.

So, genealogists have been left with the assumption that Ann must have been a child of Edward Storer and Marie Widmerpole even though they couldn't prove this definitively. 

Until now.  In 2023, Robert Battle and John Brandon, doing research on the Clarke family, (See Below) discovered a baptismal record for Ann Clarke, daughter of William and Martha Clarke, baptized 10 December 1637 in Grantham, Lincolnshire. Light bulb goes on!

Take a look at the household of William and Katherine Clark when they married in 1647:

William's children from his first marriage to Martha--Joseph Clarke, age 13, Ann Clarke, age 10, William Clarke, age 6.

Katherine's children from her first marriage to Edward Storer--Edward, age 5, Katherine, age 4, and Arthur, age 3. 

Very easy to see why Arthur Storer regarded Ann as his sister since they grew up together from a young age. So, Ann was not actually a Storer by birth, but a Clarke.  This also explains another little mystery--why Ann named one of her children Clarke Skinner. 

Now, what do we know about the Clarkes, who have now moved into my ancestral line?

William Clarke was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England in 1609, the son of apothecary Rafe/Ralph Clarke. He followed his father into the apothecary profession (someone who made and sold their own medicines). William's sons followed him into that work.

During the English Civil War (a series of battles between Royalists and Parliamentarians), William sided with the Parliamentarians, who wanted a kind of constitutional monarchy.  When Grantham was captured by the Royalists, William was indicted for high treason, but fortunately for him, the town was recaptured by Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians, so William was released. 

William married first in the early 1630's to Martha (possibly Robson) and had seven children with her according to baptismal records, but only three lived past infancy: Joseph (1634) Ann (1637) and William (1641).

After Martha's death, the 38-year-old widower married again to Katherine Babbington Storer, 34-year-old widow of Edward and daughter of Adrian and Margaret Babbington. They had two more children together: John (1648) and Martha (1649). 

So, quite a lively household.  

And there was one more living in the household--Isaac Newton.  Yes that Isaac Newton. In 1654, young Isaac boarded with the Clarkes in order to attend the King's School in Grantham along with Edward and Arthur Storer. (Newton's mother was a friend of Katherine Babbington.) Newton carved his name into the boards of the garret where he slept.  Several biographers have suggested that it was lessons learned from William Clarke that first sparked Newton's interest in chemistry. Newton remained lifelong friends with his classmate Arthur. (More on Arthur, who was a well-respected scientist in his own right, here.) 

William Clarke eventually retired to Leicestershire, leaving his business to his son William. He died in 1671 leaving his estate to his wife Katherine, children Joseph, Martha, John, and William, and kinsmen, Humphrey Babbington and Dr. Joseph Clarke, his brother-in-law and brother, respectively. His step-son Edward Storer was one of the witnesses to the will. Ann is not mentioned in the will, probably because she was well-married and living in Maryland at the time. 

What became of Ann, my 9X-great-grandmother?  About 1658, Ann married Dr. James Truman, the son of Henry Truman/Trueman of Nottinghamshire, England. Ann and James had three daughters in England before migrating to Maryland: Martha (1662) my 8X-great-grandmother, Mary (1663), and Ann (1664).  James, Ann, and their three oldest daughters were transported to Maryland about 1666, following James's brothers Nathaniel and Thomas. It is believed that Arthur Storer came to Maryland with Ann and James's family. A fourth daughter, Elizabeth, was born in Maryland. 

Dr. Truman was a justice and commissioner in Calvert County MD in 1669-1670.  He died in 1672 leaving a considerable estate of L600, a large library and a house full of valuable furnishings. His will names his wife Ann, his daughters Martha, Mary and Elizabeth and his brothers Thomas and Nathaniel. Arthur Storer was one of the witnesses of his will. He is buried at the Truman estate--Trent Hall--in St. Mary's County MD, along with his two brothers.

Ann Clarke Truman married secondly Robert Skinner, a merchant and large landowner who had emigrated from Bristol England to Maryland about 1658.  At the time of this marriage, Skinner had two children from his first marriage: Mary and Robert. 

Ann and Robert Skinner had three sons: Clarke Skinner (1674), Dr. William Skinner (1676) another of my 8X-great grandfathers, and Adderton Skinner (1682). 

Robert Skinner died in 1686 at his plantation "The Reserve" near Prince Frederick in Calvert County MD (about where that red dot is on the map at the left). He left a will naming his wife Ann and children Robert, Mary, Clarke, William and Adderton.  

Arthur Storer was a witness to this will. He died the same year as Robert Skinner and leaves the residue of his estate to his "sister," Ann Skinner. 

Ann Clarke Truman Skinner died in Calvert County MD about 1714, leaving a will that named her children Martha Greenfield, Elizabeth Greene, and Clarke, William and Adderton Skinner. She is buried in the Skinner family cemetery near Prince Frederick. 

Here lyeth Mrs. Ann Skinner, first Relict of James Truman, Gent., afterwards of Robert Skinner who died 3 August 1717 [note: this date is an error since her will was proved in 1714] aged about 75 years, having lived near half the time a widow.

Martha Truman, my 8X-great grandmother married Col. Thomas Greenfield about 1680 and had eight children with him including Ann Greenfield Wight my 7X-great grandmother through my Sasscer line. 

Dr. William Skinner, my 8X-great grandfather married Elizabeth Mackall, the daughter of James Mackall and Mary Graham, in 1701 in Calvert County MD.  They had eight children including Mary Skinner, my 7X-great grandmother through my father's Scrivener family. 

So, it turns out that I am not a Storer descendant, but this new discovery has opened up a whole new line of ancestors in the Clarke family. 

With many thanks to the research of Robert and John:

Battle, Robert and John C. Brandon. Identity of Anne, First Wife of Robert Woodmansey, Schoolmaster of Boston, Massachusetts, and of Her Niece, Anne (Not Storer), Wife of James Truman and Robert Skinner of Maryland. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 177 (Winter 2023):67-84. (Requires Membership) Accessed 30 March 2023