Am I Related To Hannah Seeley Morris & Aaron Conarroe/Conrow Uncovering More

 A couple years ago I posted on the blogg. "Am I related to Hannah Seeley Morris?" This is a update to that post. 

For years have searched for this woman, without any luck. Can not find any records of her at all. No marriage, no Quaker records, no death records, haven't found her on a will. Same with Aaron Conrow/ Conarroe as being her husband. 

I have found is this:

There was a Aaron Conrow in Downe Township in Cumberland New Jersey. He shows up on tax records for June 1802, June 1803, Aug 1812, and Aug1815. He was also on the June 1793 Tax record for Chester Township in Burlington Co. New Jersey. I am not able to find him on a census records from 1790-1810. There were other Conrow's in the same town. I do believe they are related to Aaron. One person is Isaac, he was on the 1803 June tax record. There was also a Joseph on the 1803 June tax record and a Darling Conrow on the 1815 Aug tax record. Darling and Aaron was on a record called rateable property on 20 Jun - 20 Aug it shows Darling as a single man and blank for Aaron. 

I found what looks like Inventory amount for Joseph Conrow that died in 1814. looks like a Darling Conrow sworn for it as being adm'r for it.

I don't know how Darling is related to Joseph. Is Darling his brother? Is Joseph, Aaron brother or father? I don't have the answers right now. I haven't found any Quaker records of Aaron, or any stating if Joseph had any children. I did find him on Quaker records, but that is for another post.

 Back to Aaron, I did find that a Aaron went to Troy Athens Ohio, he was a census record for 1820-1840. That stated he was born in New Jersey and was born between 1761-1770. 

Is this the same Aaron Conrow that we have been looking for? I believe so. But there seems to be a twist ( or should I say more to the story) As I was researching for Aaron I kept seeing other researchers have Tabitha Mason as being married to him. I always discounted her, cause I was seeking a Hannah Seeley Morris. I ran across Tabitha in William Mason will and it states Tabitha Conrow 

                   

I am not able to find any marriage record of Tabitha being married to a Conrow/Conarroe. My theory is that Aaron married Tabitha before 1798 and after Joseph Conrow passed away they moved to Ohio. I believe their sons came with them. ( Ephraim, William and Samuel)  DNA on Ancestry has showed matches for their children.

Back to Aaron Conrow, I was able to find online that he signed a petition for Jesse Eldridge for a Tavern License from Feb 1810-May 1811. As I was looking at the other names on the petition I saw William Mason and a few other familiar names. William Mason has a daughter name Sarah Seeley Mason ( Tabitha Mason sister). Seeley is a name of interest to me. Due to the fact that Deliverance Conrow ( the supposed daughter of Hannah Seeley Morris) had a child using the same middle name. Her husband Mnason Bowen mothers maidens name is also Seeley. Sarah Seeley Mason married Jonathan Lore his father & mother is David Lore and Tabitha Sheppard. ( ohh the name Tabitha, which I haven't seen much of in the 1700s) Now the name Sheppard is one of the names that is on the petition. I have many DNA matches to this Sheppard and Lore family lines. I just don't know how I am related to them yet. 

Now lets talk about Hannah Seeley Morris. Has always been a great mystery. I believe now that the name and the story was made up. How do I think of this? Let me tell you. I ran across a story in the newspaper of my great grandmother being related to Robert Morris, that there were a claim for the money that he funded the war with and that the government was being sued. I have been researching this newspaper story to see what happen to the lawsuit. It seems to have started about 1898 maybe even earlier and it continued for many years. 

Here is one of the newspaper articles dated 13 Jan 1898.

Here is another article 10 Mar 1910

After reading some of the articles. It got me thinking that maybe our family may have been bamboozled into think we were related to Robert Morris. It also tells me where the rumors of him being related may have came from. I also found a article dated about 1816 of Levi Bowen ( son of Deliverance Conrow and Mnason Bowen) stating that they were waiting for the claim to go through congress. I haven't found anything that states they gotten the claim or if the relationship was proven. 

 This would certainly explain why I haven't found any proof that we are related to Robert Morris. That Hannah Seeley Morris was made up by others to try to get money from the government. 

One thing I can say is that there is a Hannah Seeley, she was married to Mnason Bowen that was born about 1772, they had a son name Mnason Bowen that was born in 1796 and married Deliverance Conrow. I found a wills and marriage records and found were Hannah Seeley and Mnason Bowen was buried at. I have DNA matches on Ancestry to the Seeleys as well as with the Bowens. They all came from Fairfield, Cumberland, New Jersey, which isn't too far from Downe Township Cumberland Co. I have not found any DNA matches to Robert Morris proven children or their descendants. 

The sad part is now we are back at square one of who is Deliverance Conrow mommy? Is it Tabitha Mason, or someone else? Deliverance was born before 1800 and was married in 1816 in Cumberland Co. 

I am hoping that I can use DNA to figure it out and hoping to find some records stating who is Deliverance mommy. My Mtdna has came up nada, my matches are way too far back into time to figure it out. I will continue using my autosomal DNA matches to try to connect the pieces. 

If anyone is reading this and is related to Deliverance Conrow and Mnason Bowen and Mary Conrow ( Deliverance Conrow sister) that married Ichabod Lore has taken a DNA test on Ancestry, please contact me. I would like to compare our matches. I am looking to see if we might be related to the Sheppards, Lores, Mason's and Milford's of Cumberland Co. New Jersey. 

McKain Research

For the past couple weeks I have been chasing the McKain's side of the tree. I recently found some information that was written by Vernie Dawson Lee in regarding the McKain's side of our tree. I am related to my 3rd great grandmother Clarenda McKain was born in 1779 in Maryland and died 26 April 1860 in Wells, Jefferson, Ohio. She married 11 February 1796 to Benjamin Roberts.

Vernie believed the McKain's were from Argyleshire ( Argyllshire is the present name) Scotland and moved to Londonderry Ireland, which is across the bay about 50 to miles. She believe that Rev. William McKain left with his sons John, James and William and sough asylum from religious and political persecution in Londonderry Ireland in the late 1600s.

She claim that Rev William son John was a defender of Londonderry, Ireland in the years between 1668-1669. And that we decent from John through his son John son William who married Ann ( last name unknown) in Edinburgh Scotland. William had a son name William born about 1755 and he was born in Edinburgh also. They both came to America and may have landed in Virginia or Maryland. William Jr. married Ann Fugate in 31 July 1779

In 1790 in Frederick Maryland, there is a census record for a William McKain 

Which states 2 males over 16 yrs old and one male under 16 yrs old and 2 females. Also on the next page prior there is a William Roberts which states 3 males over the age of 16 and 2 males under 16 yrs old and 2 females. Not sure if this William Roberts is related to Benjamin Roberts who married Clarenda McKain. I have learn to look at the census record to see if I can see any other family members on it. This census record is hard to tell due to it being in alphabetical order. I am not able to tell if they were neighbors or not or how close they lived from each other. 

According to Vernie, William McKain moved to Western Pennsylvania. That the family settled in Huntington County, Pennsylvania before 1790 and then moved east of  Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and then moved about 1790s into Jefferson County Ohio. Where William died when his son David was 9 years old in 1802. David was born in 1793 in Virginia, and he was a baby when the family came to east of Pittsburgh. It is thought of that the family came from Huntington County Pennsylvania which at that time period it was considered Virginia. It is believed that David might have been born in Winchester Virginia. William and Ann were in the area, that they bought land in 1769 and sold it in 1772. The location of the land is in Garrardstown, Berkeley County West Virginia ( was Virginia). 

Vernie believed David may have been born in Huntington Pennsylvania.  

Vernie stated that the original spelling of the last name was MacKain and was changed to McCain  when William was in Western Pennsylvania due to a Catholic priest spelled the last name McCain and William change it to McCain. 

Moses M Roberts 1810-1839

Researching Benjamin Roberts children, we really didn't know what happen to Moses Roberts until recently, when cousin Sally found this that was written by Vernie Dawson Lee.

Moses Roberts, a son of Benjamin Roberts, and his wife, Rebecca (Ball) Roberts emigrated to Illinois and settled near Danville. He was a Methodist Episcopal Minister and Circuit Rider, riding through the country near Danville, Illinois. The following report was received from the Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Illinois, regarding Moses Roberts: "1836----Moses Roberts, a native of Jefferson Co. Ohio, was received on trial this year and appointed to Danville, Ill. Circuit. At the close of the year he was discontinued for want of health. The next year he was again received and appointed to Eugene Circuit, Eugene Vermillion Co. Indiana. He often preached at the Old 'North Arm' Church, five miles north of Vermillion, Ill., and was considered a great evangelist. In 1839 he was appointed to the Paradise Circuit and in the fall of 1840 he died of typhoid fever. The little settlement of Paradise is in Paradise township Coles Co., Illinois. He was a very promising young man, a good preacher, very zealous and making a fine impression on his hearers. When on the Paradise Circuit he had a great revival at Wabash Point resulting in the conversion of about eighty souls. He had too, during the year a debate with a universalist, in which he came off conqueror." It was near the Old Camp Ground Cemetery at Wabash Point, Illinois that the Methodists camped and had revival meetings.

Source: Written by Vernie Dawson Lee

Families of Ruebsamen, Spear, Dawson, Burley by Neil Ruebsamen

I was able to find this page that was in a Illinois History book, of Wabash Point, Coles Co. Illinois. Which describes what a circuit preacher rider went through during the late 1830s. It included Moses Roberts death location.

Ella Mae Loafman Roberts

Ella Mae Loughman Roberts was my great grandmother. She was born Dec 17, 1865 in Greene Co. Pennsylvania. Her mother was Mary Johns Bowen and her father Elijah Loafman/ Loughman. Her siblings were Hannah Elizabeth 1855-1862, Samuel Mason 1856-1862, Mary Jane 1858-1886, Dillie Melete 1860-1862, Sarah Julia 1862-1922, Arla Dell 1868-1954, Margaret Ellen 1870-1939.

Couple years after her father death about 1874 Ella and her mother and siblings moved to Missouri to live with her uncle Mason Bowen ( her mother brother). In 1879 they moved to Larned, Pawnee Co. Kansas. Her sister Julia stayed behind and married Albert Selway. in 1883 Ella and her mother and siblings moved to Hodgeman Kansas on the Northwest Quarter Section 36, Township 22 South, Range 23 West. They lived in a sod house. They use to have to have rope with rocks tied to the ends of them to have the roof held down with.

Here is some letters that was transcribed, that Ella, and her siblings and mother wrote to Julia.

Letters transcribed from Ella, her sister Della and mother Mary to their sister Julia. 

Letters from Maggie, Della, and Ella

Mazeffa Roberts & Ella Mae Loughman Marriage Photo

6 Mar 1884 Ella married Mazeffa Roberts. 

There children were:

Myrtle Dell 1884-1971

Alta Ellen 1887-1962

Ethel Pearl 1890-1971

Earl LeRoy 1894-1976

Clyde Wilbur 1897-1941

Hazel Juanita Ruth 1910-1979

Back Row: Ethel, Alta, Myrtle
Front Row: Clyde, Mazeffa, Ella, Earl

Roberts Home 

Mazeffa, Margaret, Lola Sanders, Arla, George Sanders, Earl, Ethel, Clyde, Marjorie Sanders, Hazel, Ella, Opal

Roberts House

Ella, Margaret and Hazel

Ella remarried after Mazeffa died. Not sure when they married.

William Archer, Wanda Barron, Ella Roberts

Ella 

 Ella died 2 Sep 1945 in Larned Kansas. She was buried next to Mazeffa Roberts.

Am I Related to Hannah Seeley Morris 1773 - 1821? Using DNA To Find Out

Update: 1/29/2017
I broke down and took the MtDNA test. I took the fullsequence test, which includes, HVR1, HVR2 and Coding Region. The results are in. I can say I am related through
 Haplogroup H
HVR1: 16362C, 16519C
HVR2: 263G, 309.1C, 315.1C

I have no real idea what these numbers mean yet. FamilyTreeDNA site wasn't able to tell me much. Their webpages seem to be crashing  a lot lately.

This is what I have figured out so far. The Haplogroup H for MtDNA started a gillon years ago, before Adam and Eve time. Me, my mom, my moms mom and her mom, and every female along this line goes back to where there researchers and people who digging in the dirt around the world were able to find a common ancestors with using DNA. This can be very confusing to try to understand. My female line of the H haplogroup started way back when in the Mediterranean Sea ( according to FamilytreeDNA map) near Italy and Greece. This group migrated 3 different directions, one way is to east towards Asia, and to the west to Portugal and to the north towards Finland.  They say about 40% European MtDNA comes from this group.

With my test result there is a list of matches. Here comes the real fun, the hunt. I always love the hunt. I took a quick look at the list to see if I see anything familiar, Looking for the Morris, Conrow, Bowen lines. Nada. I did not see any matches stating they are descendants of these family line. Now it is the time for the hunt. As my cousin puts it " You gotta hack through the jungle with this one". I was hoping it would be so simple, nope, it isn't. Looks like I am going to have to contact people on my list to compare trees, to see if we can find a common matches, common surnames, common locations within a time period. The good thing is we just have to look at one family female line. That makes it a tad easier. I am hoping to find others who is related closer to me that has taken this test and we can compare notes.

Over and out, until next time...

________________________________________________________________________________



All my life I grew up hearing from my mother. We are related to Robert Morris the man who sign the Declaration of Independence. Then again she told we were related to William Randolph Hearst. You know the man who had that big castle home in California who had a daughter name Patti Hearst who was kidnapped. She told some tall tales. Of course I didn't believe her. But when I heard other family members telling me of this Robert Morris. It stirred my curiosity up. In 2011 I decided to do my family tree. I joined up on Ancestry and started my search. I started questioning relatives about this Robert Morris to see how we are related to him. One cousin said they found the proof, but their computer crash and the proof crashed with it. Others say they just know it.

 A relative sent me copies of a letter that was typed written that gave the family tree and talked about we are related through the daughter of Robert Morris named Hannah Seeley Morris and that she was accepted by affiliate by DAR. I decided to pursue this. I went on Ancestry and found no records of her at all. I went on DAR website and nada. I even called DAR and there is nothing of this so called record. I even looked at many trees that was online who claimed they are a descendant of Hannah, but no record of her existed nor her so call husband. I became discouraged. This has became a brick wall for me.

I don't know about anyone else but in the past 5 years I have learned a few things when it comes to researching your family members. I don't always go by what others tell me unless they can back it up with documentation. Give me a birth date,  a death date, a tombstone, Quaker record,  a will, census record, etc. to let me know that person existed.   Usually a brick wall means something isn't right. I need to go back over what I have and make sure it is correct. Keep at it, don't quit. Something is bound to pop up somewhere.

The story goes like this. Hannah married Aaron Henry Conarroe and he was a Quaker and her daddy doesn't like Quakers and he took it upon himself to remove any documentation of her being his daughter. Another version to the tale is that when he got put in jail, he forgave her and they were reunited again.

If Aaron was a Quaker there would be a record of him being born. I have yet to find him in the Quaker records of his birth. If he would have gotten married, there be a Quaker record of it. Quaker are great for keep records. I have yet to find a Quaker record of them being married or death or them moving from one Quaker meeting house to another, or them being kicked out. Also there should be a record of Deliverance and other children being born in the Quaker records, which I have yet to find.

 Many books have been written about Robert Morris. There were letters and journals written by him and his wife. I am surprised that there doesn't seem to anything that written by the wife to any family members stating she had a daughter name Hannah that was removed from the family. I would think there be a letter of her sharing her feelings about the whole ordeal. Or an another family member sharing it. I do find this odd.

So my question is this, was there really a Hannah Seeley Morris? who married a Arron Henry Conarroe? If so, what happen to them?  Where did they died at? Did they have more children? Did they continue to be Quakers or did they step out of the church?

This what we have found:
After Robert Morris died there were newspaper articles of a case where the descendants were  trying to sue the government for the monies that Robert gave to the government to help fund the war. This went on for years. According to a newspaper article from the The Evening Herald (Ottawa Kansas) dated 12 May 1914, It stated that Ella May Loafman Roberts is a great granddaughter of Robert Morris, and English Capitalist who lent a million and a half dollars to the government to finance the war. According to the paper it stated that the claims is now settled. I would like to be able to see this settlement results, and who was awarded. I have not found any newspapers articles that has this information yet.

                                        

Deliverance Conarroe last name is Conrow. That was on the record for Mason Bowen death widows pension.




So we know that we are related to the Conrow family line. Supposedly Aaron Conrow father was Joseph Conrow who married Valerie Moore. Quaker records does show Joseph and Valerie were married.

Mason mother is name Hannah Seeley born abt 1783, about the same time has Hannah Seeley Conarroe. I was wondering if someone who did the family tree research in that past may have mixed up the names?

I took test a DNA with Ancestry, Couple leaf hint matches indicates that I have DNA matches for Conrow family line, Bowen and Seeley family lines. Also I have one DNA match with one of the descendants of Robert Morris and one from his sister family line. But no Mary White ( Roberts Wife)

Ancestry DNA leaf hint match. Through Robert Morris son Robert White Morris. 

 I am planning on doing a mtDNA test which only works along the female side of the tree it might reveal if we are related to Robert Morris wife Mary White and her mother and her mother. It is pretty expensive test. I am saving my money for it. It should be interesting to see the results. It may show or it may not show or it may confuse the heck out of me or be more frustration. I think this might be the only way to know for sure a 100%.

Chasing After DNA Leads Benjamin Roberts Parents

I have been putting a lot of time in researching my and my uncles DNA matches through Ancestry. com, Gedmatch and FamilytreeDNA. I have been trying to figure out who is Benjamin Roberts 1775-1871 parents. It has been a major brickwall for a very long time. I have been following another's research that was done back in the late 1930s. Everywhere I seem to try to find any records or get close there always seems to be wall, like the court house burned down with the records. Even there was some confusion on where he was born at. Was it is in West Virginia or Maryland ( Tombstone states WV and census states Maryland.)

I decided to try DNA with this brickwall. I had many DNA matches to go by. When I used the search in Ancestry.com. I had many pages to go through. I many hits for Virginia, CT, PA, NC, KY, Maryland, Mass. etc. I started with VA since there was more DNA matches. I built the tree with the hits and I just couldn't see anything that could lead me to Benjamin parents. I even sent out messages to the matches to see if they have matches with a couple confirmed relatives that are descendants of Benjamin. Nada. I did the same for PA, CT and nothing. I decided to take another look at the Maryland ones. The first time there wasn't much there and it didn't lead to anything. This time I saw a new hit and I went with it. It lead me to a group Roberts on the Eastern side of Maryland, Kent, Cecil and Queen Annes. The other surnames of the group is Scott and Raven, Ricketts. I have DNA matches with these family groups and is connected to the Roberts.I have been working hard in putting these family groups up in my tree with the DNA connections. I am feeling very confidant in this. you cant go too wrong with DNA.

I am still not able to figure who is Benjamin mother is and not a 100% sure if Benjamin Robert born in 1750 is his father. His father was Benjamin Roberts born in 1731 and had sons name, Hugh, Benjamin, Conor/ Conrod, John 1748-1823. All boys where names in Benjamin Roberts 1731 will except for John. ( this is the one that lead me on the DNA chase to this family line) I don't know why John wasn't on the will. Apparently John traveled to Frederick Co. Maryland and his family moved on to Illinois, there was a daughter name Alice that was born in Frederick Co. Maryland and moved to Coshoston Ohio which is a couple counties over from Jefferson Co Ohio where my Benjamin Roberts moved to in abt 1800. The test states that Alice is a cousin.

As time permits I will be adding the whole tree on here including the Scott, Ricketts and Raven's including all the sources that I was able to find. 

Margaret Amanda Welday Roberts ( 1822-1902)

Margaret Amanda Welday Roberts was born 30 Jan 1822 Cross Creek, Jefferson Co. Ohio. Died 21 Jan 1902 Radium Stafford Co Kansas. She was Married to Robert Rutter Roberts in 7 Feb 1839 Jefferson Co. Ohio at the age of 17 yrs old. She was buried at Pioneer Cemetery Pleasant Ridge.

Margaret mother was born in Ireland according to the 1880 Federal Census records, She lived with her daughter Clarinda Ann Fowler and her husband John, son Fred Hodge 13 yrs old and was born in 1867 in Indiana (Clarinda was married 3 times Benjamin Hodges 1866-1932, John Fowler 1843-1898 Charles L. Wells 1872-?) As of the Kansas Census record for 1895 Fred wasn't living with them anymore.

According to 1900 Federal census records Margaret father was born in Pennsylvania. 

Margaret Amanda Welday Roberts ( I believe this picture was taken before she died around 1890s)