Memorial of the three hundredth anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, 1620-1920; a record of the Pilgrim descendants who early in its history settled in Cape May County, and some of their children throughout the several states of the union at the present time (1921)
Copyright, 1921; ALBERT R. HAND, Publisher Cape May, N. J. May 7, 1921 Printed and Published by: ALBERT R. HAND, Cape May, N. J.
Extracted by: Laverne Tornow
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Joseph Whilldin* (Hannah Oorham^, Desire Rowland, John Howland, the Pilgrim) made his will 16 March, 1748, naming his wife, Ahigail; sons, Matthew, James and David 's daughter, Hannah, Rachel and Loes; also deceased daughter Mercy's children, Ellis and Judith; grandsons, 'Memukin" Hughes, Willman, and Isecar Crafford. Joseph Whilldin died two days after making the will and the instrument was proved SO March, 1748, the inventory 26 April, and the accounting 19 May of the same year. Abigail, Joseph's second wife, was not the mother of the children named. His first wife was Mary Wilmon, born 1698, died 8 April, 1743. Hannah married Ellis Hughes, whose will names five children, Ellis, Memucan, Jesse, Constantine, David. The Rev. Daniel Lawrence Hughes, D. D., in an article on the "Hughes of Cape May," states that Ellis Hughes, whom he calls Ellis the first, and Memucan were the sons of John and Martha. The following deed shows that Ellis was the father of Jesse, that Jesse's wife was Mary or Molly, that at the time of the making of the deed, 20 August 1768, the Ellis who was living signed his name Ellis Hughes *' Junior," and that Ellis Senior made a will of the date 9 May, 1751. The deed is in the possession of Mrs. Aaron W. Hand, of Cape May, who has kindly placed it in my hands for examination.
DEED OF JESSE HUGHES AND MARY HIS WIFE TO MEMUKIN HUGHES "This Indenture made this Twentieth Day of august in the Eighth year of Reign of George the third King of Great Britain and in the year of our Lorde one thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty Eight Between Jesse Hughes of the
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County of Cape !May of the one part and Molley his wife the Same and Memukin Hughes of the other part Witnesseth That the Said Jesse Hughes and Mary his wife for and In. Consideration of the Sume of Seventy two Pounds in hand paid By the Said Memukin Hughes the Receipt Where of they the said Jesse and his "Wife Mary doth her By (acknowledge) themself fully Satisfied and By these presents doth Grant Bargain and sell Alien Enfeaf and Confirm unto the said Memukin Hughes bis heirs and assigns for Eaver All that Messuage tenement which was Given him by the Death of his father Ellis Hughes whose will Baireing Date the Ninth day of May one thousand Seven Hundred and fifty one among other things Gaive unto his son Jesse Forty Eight Acre of upland and mash Which he Bought at Public Sale of the Estate of Levi Eldredge Late of Cape May deceased adjoining his other Land and to Land of James Whilldin Esquire to have and to hold to him the said Jesse his heirs and assigns for Eaver A Recital Being had to the said will "Will more fully appear and By Vertue of a write derected to Jeremiah Hand high Sheriff he did take and Sell the Saime forty Eight acres of upland and mash Beginning at James Whilldin corner Containing forty Eight acres of upland and mash Be the same more or Less With in the Above Bounderys and the said Jesse haith Sold and the Right and Estate title Interest Claime and Demand Whatsoever of them that the Said Jesse Hughes and Mary his Wife of in and to the same premises of in and to Ever parte and parcel their of to have and hold unto the Said Memukin Hughes his heirs and assigns for eaver together with all the mines Woodsunder Woods Hunting Hawking Fowling fishing Ways and Waters Watercourses in any ways Belonging theire to and also they
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Jesse Hughes Now haith Good right full power and Lawful authority in
his own Right to Grant Bargan and sell and Convey the Above premises unto
Memukin Hughes his heirs and assigns*
Signed Sealed and Delivered in the presence of
Silas Hand Jesse Hughes (seal)
Ellis Hughes Junior
her
Mary X Hughes (seal)
marke
The following is an abstract of the will of Ellis Hughes. The contention that Mary, sister of Hannah, was the mother of Ellis Hughes will be further discussed in the genealogical notes at the end of this volume. That Memukin and Ellis Hughes were grandchildren of Joseph Whilldin 2nd and are of ^Mayflower descent cannot be disputed.
1751, May 16. — Hughes, Ellis, of Cape May, New Jersey, will of.
Wife, Hannah. Children — Mecuman, Jesse, Ellis, Constant, David. "The
plantation whereon I dwell, Lower Precinct of Cape May, near a place called
New England." Witnesses&mdas; Mary Ross, Ellen Hand, Jacob Spicer, Nathan
Eldredge.
Proved, Feb. 4, 1752.
Inventory — £149—11—5. Appraisors — John Eldredge, and James Whilldin. Cape May WiUs, 160 E. Samuel Eldredge, "Esq., of Cape May, yeoman," made his will 23 September, 1742, mentioning his wife, Mercy Learning^, (Hannah Whilldin*, Hannah Gorham', Desire Howland-, John Howland^ the Pilgrim) ; his eldest son, Samuel, to whom he gives the plantation on which he lived, also one hundred acres of land, * and my negro man York. He further gives direction that ten pounds is to be paid to his
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youngest daughter, Sarah Eldredge, ''when she will be 17." To sons Aaron and Jacob large tracts of land are given, and provision is made for an unborn child. Dr. Hughes was mistaken when he stated at the beginning of the Eldredge genealogy that his grandfather, Aaron Eldredge was the son of Jeremiah Eldredge, and the whole genealogy of the family has been upset by this error, copied and repeated by others. The Jeremiah Eldredge whom Dr. Hughes supposed to be his great-grandfather never had children. He was the brother of Aaron Eldredge (1st), and the son of Samuel Eldredge and Mercy Learning, and married his first cousin, Lydia Learning. The father of Aaron Eldredge who married Hannah Langdon was Aaron Eldredge 1st and not Jeremiah Eldredge, as stated in Dr. Hughes' work; in fact, Dr. Hughes later acknowledged the error, and in a letter says: "Samuel Eldredge and his wife, Mercy Leaming Eldredge, are said to have come to Cape May with his father-in-law, Thomas Leaming, (date uncertain). Aaron Eldredge, their oldest son, who married Elizabeth Stillwell the daughter of Richard Stillwell, (an elder of Cold Spring Presbyterian Church,) and Sarah Hand Stillwell, was my great-grandfather and not Jeremiah Eldredge, their second son, who married his first cousin Lydia Leaming, the daughter of Thomas Leaming, and had no children."
In another letter Dr. Hughes says: "It is plain — Aaron Eldredge
1st is our great ancestor." He further writes:
"Samuel Eldredge, our ancestor married Mercy Leaming. They had three sons
- Aaron 1st, Jeremiah (a Colonial Judge, w'ho married his first cousin,
Lydia Leaming) and Eli Eldredge." It will be observed that the error of
Dr. Hughes in his "Divine Covenant Fulfilled in Pious Households" does not
affect the ancestry of the Eldredge family, as far as the Mayflower line
is concerned. It does not matter whether the father of Aaron 2nd was Jeremiah,
as Dr. Hughes first gave it, or Aaron 1st as corrected by Dr. Hughes' later
letter — in either case Aaron 2nd was the grandson of Mercy Leaming,
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but there was no third Aaron, as Dr. Hughes supposed at first.
Through the courtesy of Mrs. Irvin Eldredge, of Cape May, I have made an examination of the Eldredge Bible, now in her possession. The date is "London 1773," (first date before the Book of Common Prayer and administration of the Sacraments, bound up with the Bible in the same volume). The Holy Bible is of the date 1783, Clarendon Press, Oxford. The birth of Aaron Eldredge 2nd and that of his wife are the first entries:
Then follows the record of the death of Aaron and Hannah Eldredge:
The earlier entries are evidently made by a quill pen, and are remarkable illustrations of the good penmanship of the forefathers.
The other entries agree with the record given in Dr. Hughes' work, and are included in the genealogical tables of this work.
That Aaron Eldredge, husband of Hannah Langdon, was the son of Aaron the first is proved by a deed of Parsons Leaming, Charlotte (Eldredge) his wife, Aaron Eldredge and Sarah Eldredge to Aaron Edmunds and Lydia
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(Eldredge) his wife, dated August 30, 1792, of which the following is an extract (Recorded at Cape May Court House) :
To all persons to whome these presents shall come or may concern.
Know ye this thirtieth day of August in the year of Our Lord One Thousand
seven hundred and Ninety two Between Persons Learning Charlotte his wife
Aaron Eldredge and Sarah Eldredge all of the County of Cape May and State
of New Jersey of the one part and Aaron Edmunds and Lydia his wife of the
sanie place of the other part. Whereas Aaron Eldredge of the Lower Precinct
of the County of Cape May and Elizabeth his Wife, late deceased, both Dying
Intestate, and being Posessed of Lands in their own fee Simple Right Situate
in the Lower Precinct of the County aforesaid (to say) the said Aaron Eldredge
now Deceased was in his lifetime Posessed of the plantation whereon he lived
at the time of his Death Situate at Cold Spring
* * * * which his Heirs agreed mutually to sell, and the said Elizabeth
his Wife died Posessed of a Plantation Situate* * * *
all which said Land Descended to their four Children, viz., to Charlotte
the wife of Persons Leaming, to Lydia the wife of Aaron Edmunds, to Aaron
Eldredge and Sarah Eldredge agreable to a Law of New Jersey * * * *,
Aaron Edmunds married first Lydia Eldredge, date of marriage, 25 June, 1790; he married second Sarah, older sister of Lydia, date of marriage, 3 June, 1798.
Mrs. Dr. Mecray has kindly permitted the author to examine the following record from a family Bible in her possession. The Bible was printed in AVorcester, Mass., by Isaiah Thomas, and the date is 1801. At the foot of the first page of the New Testament the following note of the death of Thomas Eldredge is written: "Thomas Eldredge died January 29th, A. D. 1849, aged 51 years 8 days old."
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On the following page the record proper begins, with a list of births: "William Eldredge was born November the 1st day, in the year of Our Lord A. D. 1759.
"Judith Corson was born August, the 8th day — A. D. 1759."
"Births of the Children:
On the opposite page of the beginning of St. Matthew's Gospel the following is written: "Harriet W. Eldredge was born Thursday December 20, 1857';" and a note pinned to the page reads : "Married, Hannah, daughter of William and Judith Eldredge to John Mecray, April 2nd, 1805." A note at the side of the same page reads: "Judith Eldredge died August 26, 1831."
As seen from the above record, John Mecray married Hannah Eldredge, 2 April, 1805. James Mecray, their son, married Mary Ann Mulford; their son, James, married 8 November, 1865, Elizabeth Schellenger Hughes, who was born 4 April, 1844, her husband. Dr. James Mecray, was born 21 February, 1842. Elizabeth Schellenger Hughes is a descendant of John Howland, the Pilgrim, the line run-
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ning back to the Mayflower through the generations following: The mother of Elizabeth Schellenger Hughes was Elizabeth Schellenger, bom 7 May, 1817, died 14 April, 1844, married 9 March 1839, to Albert Henry Hughes, who was born 8 January, 1812. The last named was the son of Humphrey Hughes and Hetty Williams, the Pilgrim ancestry running back through the mother of Humphrey Hughes, Jane Whilldin (widow of Humphrey Hughes, Sr.), Jane Whilldin*', James Whilldin^, Joseph Whilldin*, Hannah Gorham^, Desire Howland^, John Howland the Pilgrim.
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Descendants of Priscilla Learning
On the Sugar Company's property, facing Holly Beach, between Taylor's Creek and WildiAvood bridge, beyond Bennett station, near Rio Grande, there is near the nieadows, surrounded by the scrubby second growth, a grave and a stone bearing the inscription: —
MARGARET LEAMING
October 22nd, 1764. Aged 24
The mother of Margaret was Priscilla Leaming, whose ancestors run back to the Pilgrim John Howland as follows: Hannah Whilldin*, mother of Priscilla, who married the first Thomas Leaming, born at South Hampton, L. I., 9 July, 1674, died 31 December, 1723, Hannah Gorham^, Desire Howland, John Howland^. Priscilla Leaming, mother of Margaret, married twice, first John Stites, second Jacob Hughes, the ancestor of Dr. Daniel Hughes, and many now living in the county. By her first marriage (to John Stites) she had a daughter, Margaret Stites, who on the 3rd of March, 1763, married Jonathan Learning, son of Aaron the 2nd, as shown the Diary of Aaron Leaming the 2nd, 1770 : —
"My oldest child married March 3rd, 1763, to Margaret Stites, the only child of John and Priscilla Stites (both deceased) by her he had a daughter Priscilla, born the 9th of October, 1764 at 45 minutes past ten o'clock in the night and the 22nd of October, 1764 about 3 in the morning the said Margaret died."
This is the history of Margaret Leamdng, who lies in the neglected grave. How remarkably the names of the early settlers are repeated through the intermarriages of the few families of the first years evidently without injury to the
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stock is shown by the marriage of Margaret's daughter, Priseilla, whose marriage to Humphrey Stites, in three generations, brings the family name back to the starting point.
From an earlier entry in the diary we have the follow- ing account of the family of Thomas Learning: —
"Thomas Leaming married Hannah daughter of Joseph Whilldin the Elder, and had — .
But the interesting fact we have discovered is this, that the grandmother of Priseilla, who married Humphrey Stites, married as her second husband Jacob Hughes, the great grandfather of the Rev. Dr. Daniel L. Hughes. Mrs. Priseilla Hughes, wife of Jacob Hughes, was buried in Cold Spring Cemetery, the inscription on her tomb reading: "Died September 21, 1758, aged 48." Dr. Hughes reckoned back from the date of her death, making her birth in the year of 1710.
In Thomas Leaming 's Anecdotes, printed in Stillwell, 432 (Vol. 3) we find the date of the birth of Priseilla, daughter of Thomas and Hannah Leaming, confirming our conclusions as to the identity of the two Priscillas, Priseilla Leaming was born 15 June, 1710, and is the Mrs. Priseilla Hughes who lies in Cold Spring Cemetery, the ancestress of Dr. Hughes and mjany of that name now living in Cape May County.
Jacob Hughes, son of Jacob and Priseilla Leaming Hughes, born 9 August, 1746, died 20 March, 1796, married Ann Lawrence (daughter of Rev. Daniel Lawrence) who was born in August 1753. She married second Jeremiah Edmonds, and died 27 November, 1817.
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The Wife of Ellis Hughes
The author has received the following note accompanying a copy of the record of the family Bible of Franklin Davenport Edmunds and Ann Marshall Edmunds, his wife:
"Rev. Dr. Howe: -
"The following is written on a fly-leaf between the old and new Testaments of the family Bible of Franklin D. and Ann M. Edmunds, in front of the Registry of 'Marriages,' 'Births,' and 'Deaths' ; it is written in the hand of my grandfather, Franklin D. Edmunds.
"The Bible is not dated, but was published by Joseph N. Lewis, at Baltimore. After the marriage of Mary Jane Edmunds, daughter of Franklin D. and Ann M. Edmunds, to Joel Cook, Jr., the family records are in the handwriting of the latter, up until the last two years when I have made the entries.
Very truly,
Franklin D. Edmunds, son of Henry Reeves and Ann (Welsh) Edmunds; grandson of Franklin D. and Ann M. Edmunds."
The following is the memorandum referred to above: —
"Ellis Hughes departed this life on the 16th day of April, 1817, in his
72nd year. His father's name was Ellis and his mother's name was Hannah,
of "Welsh descent. I have understood they first settled on Long Island and
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finally on Cape May at 'New England ' * on what is now better known as
'Town Bank.'
Memo of Thomas H. Hughes, grandfather to F. D. Edmunds."
The involved problem of the genealogical interpretation of the will of Joseph Whilldin will be further discussed in the genealogical notes at the end of this volume; briefly the facts of the record, agreeing with the conclusions of the late Major Charles Welsh Edmunds, whose careful work has been consulted, are as follows, resting upon the foregoing documents: — Joseph Whilldin*, (Hannah Oorham^, Desire Howland^, John Howland^), names in his will (see page 27) his daughter Hannah and his grandson Memucan (Memukin) Hughes. The will of Ellis Hughes (page 29) names his wife Hannah and his son Memucan Hughes. Hannah survived her husband, and Ellis, born after Memucan, and expressly called by Rev. Dr. Hughes the brother of Memucan, was also the son of Hannah.
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The Will of Jacob Hughes, 2nd
Jacob Hughes 2nd was born on the 9 of August, 1746, and died on the 20 of March, 17'96, and was buried in Cold Spring Cemetery. Through the courtesy of Mr. Harry Hughes the writer has been permitted to examine Jacob Hughes' will, an instrument of great interest in confirming the Pilgrim genealogical record. (See page 36.)
The will begins: "The Will of Jacob Hughes of the County of Cape May," and the date is 1795, but the last page is missing. Mention is made of his wife Ann (Lawrence), his sons, Jacob, Jeremiah, James R., Daniel; and of his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. The testator was a man of large wealth and influence in the community, as shown by the disposition of his several plantations, and the evident extent of his household. Except in the case of his son Daniel, the several plantations are given to the son named and his male heirs forever, to daughters and heirs. The following extracts show the unusual wealth of the testator and throw light upon a little knowTQ fact in the domestic life of the ancestors :
"I give unto my daughter MIary Hughes a Legacy of One Hundred and Fifty Pounds and my negro wench Patience.
"I give unto my daughter Elizabeth Hughes a Legacy of Two Hundred and Fifty Pounds, and my negro wench Dinah.
"I give unto my son Daniel Hughes One Hundred and fifty Pounds and my negro boy Julius.
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"I give unto my son Jacob Hughes my negro man Zedebiah (Zebediah).
"I give unto my son James R. Hughes a Legacy of One Hundred and fifty pounds and my negro Toney."
The mother of Jacob Hughes 2nd was Priscilla Leaming, daughter of Hannah Whilldin* (Hannah Gorham^, Desire Howland^, John Howland^ the Pilgrim), as already given. (See page 36).
Ann Lawrence, wife of Jacob Hughes 2nd was born in August, 1753, died 27 November, 1817, (tombstone in Cold Spring Cemetery). She was the daughter of the Rev. Daniel Lawrence and his wife Sarah, whose tombstones are in the above named cemetery. A biographical history of the family is given on page 14 of "The Divine Covenant Fulfilled in Pious Households" by the Rev. Daniel Lawrence Hughes, and in the notes following the genealogical record of the family will be given.
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