Gabriel SCOTT (1741-?) and Ann SCOTT

Edna OTWELL-SIM>Mary CHARNOCK-OTWELL>Eliza SCOTT-CHARNOCK>Joseph SCOTT>Gabriel SCOTT>Gabriel and Ann SCOTT

Gabriel Scott was baptized June 7, 1741 in Welney, Norfolk, England.  His parents were Gabriel Scott and Elizabeth Abram.

Gabriel's wife was Ann (no maiden name found).  We found 11 children born to Gabriel and Ann Scott.  They were Gabriel (our direct ancestor), Elizabeth, Joseph, Susanna, Thomas, Dianah, John, Abram, Sarah, John and Robert.

It does become quite confusing as we have three Gabriel Scotts in our direct line and many sons of these Gabriel Scotts named their own son, Gabriel, after their father.

We have found no information on Ann Scott.  She is listed on the birth records of her children as Ann Scott.  We found her signature on her son, Gabriel's, marriage record in December 1787 where she is listed as a widow.

Signature of Ann SCOTT

from 1787 marriage of son Gabriel

Gabriel SCOTT and Elizabeth MOUEL of Cambridgeshire, England

Edna OTWELL-SIM > Mary CHARNOCK-OTWELL > Eliza SCOTT-CHARNOCK > Joseph SCOTT > Gabriel SCOTT and Elizabeth MOUEL

As we have found new information on the family of our relative Joseph Scott, this post will be a continuation of Joseph and Mary Scott who came to Lockport, NY with their children. They arrived December 13, 1831.  They came from Welney, Cambridgeshire, England.

On the Welney Website we find that Welney was part of the Parish of Upwell.  It was partly in the County of Norfolk and partly in Cambridgeshire.  For many years, the part in Cambridgeshire was actually in the County of The Isle of Ely.

The Parish of Welney covers 5080 acres.  The land is flat and low lying and the soil is mostly very fertile black peat with some soil.  It is part of the area known as the Fenlands.  It was once swampy with small islands of habitation, but now drained by a complex system of ditches, dykes and rivers.

Map of Welney from the Welney Website

Joseph Scott of Lockport, NY was the son of Gabriel Scott III and Elizabeth Mouel.
Gabriel Scott III was christened December 31, 1767 in Welney.  His parents were Gabriel II and Ann Scott.  We do not know Ann's maiden name.

On December 12, 1787 Gabriel III married Elizabeth Mouel in the Parish of Downham Market, County of Norfolk.  Elizabeth was from Downham.  Gabriel was listed as a farmer on this record.  He was considered a minor at age 20.  As his father was deceased, his mother, Ann Scott, also signed the marriage certificate.   Elizabeth was not a minor so her parents did not sign and, thus, we do not know her parents.  We did find a brother named Thomas Mouel.  Thomas married Ann Scott in Welney on January 16, 1788.  We cannot prove that Ann Scott was a relative of our Gabriel Scott.

We found six children born to Gabriel and Elizabeth Scott.  They were Elizabeth, Susanna, Gabriel, Joseph (our ancestor), Mary Ann and Harriet.

Signatures on Marriage Registry, 1787

More About the OTWELL Farm in St. Mary's

Interesting research compiled by Arlene ROLA and shared by cousin, MaryBeth S. gives us more information on the OTWELL Farm in St. Mary’s, Ontario.

One letter dated 1 November 1980 was from Mr. John Mervyn MILNE (1903-1983).. MILNE was a St. Mary’s historian working on a book about local farms. His cousin owned the Otwell farm after John F. OTWELL left and MILNE worked there as a teen. Another letter from 27 August 1982 from another St. Mary’s historian, Margaret FACEY, indicated that she was compiling information for a Tweedsmiur Book.

Most of the information shared we already knew, but the following items are of interest:

1.) South of the farm is a street called Wellburn. The name was coined by local residents from the “well” in OTWELL and “burn” from the area’s first storekeeper/postmaster James BURNS.


Wellburn Street Sign, 1984 by Arlene ROLA

2.) In the letter, MILNE states that John F. and Mary purchased the 100 acre farm on 12 January 1861. The property was mortgaged 20 August 1865 as security for a loan for $250.00. A double house was then built on the property – half lived in by John F. and Mary and the other half by their son Maurice and his growing family. Also on the property is a carriage house and a barn, both thought to be of the same age as the house.

3.) According to MILNE’s father, the pickle business survived after the fire of 1882, but “it could not keep up with the expensive tastes of the women in the family. They bought expensive clothes and entertained lavishly. When the family left the premises, the upper rooms were left undisturbed for years. When my brother went through them early in 1918, he reported closets full of fancy dresses. They were taken out and burned by my cousins. When I went through these rooms several months later I noticed the floors literally covered with long fancy hat pins… that would be collector’s items today.”

• I’m sharing this paragraph as I found it humorous, but likely not factual. It appears that the family broke apart when Maurice was committed in 1889. Most of the family left the area and probably couldn’t take all their belongings. There were six females living in the household and one would expect a lot of dresses and hat pins for that many people. I would suppose too that 1880 style dresses to a 1918 eye would look fancy.

 4.) “The local newspaper announced the birth of a daughter on Nov. 6 1888; which I accept as Jane would be only 41 years of age at the time, but I have in my notes the birth of another daughter to Maurice Nov 5, 1910.”

• We have no information on children born in 1888 or 1910. Maurice was committed in 1889, so 1888 is a possibility.

5.) A newspaper article of 29 December 1904 stated that John F. went to live with his daughter-in-law Mrs. Maurice OTWELL, No. 63 Adams Ave. East Detroit, Michigan.

• This confirms the verbal family history passed down to cousin Herb OTWELL.

6.) “The name of the factory in 1888 was Western Pickle and Sauce Works. They made a shipment of 250 gallons to one firm alone in Toronto in that year.”

• This is the third business name we have found after the name “J.F. Otwell & Son” was sold.

Mrs. FACEY shared a photo of the back of the house that was taken by a later owner, circa 1930s.

Back of house circa 1930, from collection of Arlene ROLA

Arlene drove to St. Mary’s and took photos of the farm in 1984. The owner at the time was Jean STERRITT, but she was away during the visit.

Otwell Farm Street View, 1984 by Arlene ROLA

Back of House, 1984 by Arlene ROLA

Barn and Carriage House, 1984 by Arlene ROLA

 Thank you cousin Marybeth!

Lillian Craig's Baby Book

This family treasure was shared by cousin Marybeth S.  Her mother, Arlene ROLA (1924-2012), received this book from Aunt Lillian CRAIG (1892-1977).  Lillian had recorded all of the family's important dates; a little more information than what is typical for a baby book.  Arlene was the first person in our family to research the OTWELL family tree.  Could this book be what started her on her journey?

The book was originally created for Bobby CRAIG (born 1916), but also included a photo of James CRAIG (born 1919).  There are a couple of photos of the CRAIG grandparents, too.

 

Most of the book is full of tips for new mothers and is quite interesting to read.  Remember mothers, "don't give your baby tea, coffee, beer or wine" and "don't take him out when the snow is melting"!  My favorite page is the list of presents that baby received on his birth day.

 

 

Thank you Marybeth for sharing!

Importance of DNA

For Christmas 2018, my sister, Cheryl, gave me an Ancestry DNA kit.  She said I would be the right person instead of her since I love genealogy.  I always wanted to do it but, truthfully, was afraid what I might find.  On February 12, 2019 I received my results.  Actually, they were what I expected except 9% Sweden.  My mother is 100% German and Sweden comes very close to Germany or it could be those darn Vikings invading Great Britain.

The DNA then lists your matches by the closest first.  There are 50 people on a page and I have 443 pages or 22,150 people listed with matching DNA.  This shows how long the Otwell side has been in the US.

I was intrigued with my #1 match.  Who is this person?  So I sent them an email. I received a response from Lynn who said my match was to her mother, Irene.  Irene is 96-years old and never knew her father's name or anything about him.  Well, that certainly got my attention.   Irene showed up as a 1st or 2nd cousin, probably 2nd cousin.  This would have to be one of my grandparents or their siblings as her father.  Lynn told me another match she received sent her papers showing they were from Alsace, Lorraine, which was sometimes German, sometimes French.

My mother's family on her mother's side came from Alsace, France.  My grandmother only had one brother, Raymond Miller.  I began to believe Raymond was Irene's father.  Lynn told me her mother lived in the Genesee/Bailey area of Buffalo.  So did the Miller family.  In fact, they lived about a block apart.

Lynn sent me the papers on her Alsace connection.  Unfortunately, I had to reply that none of my relatives were listed.  Again I began to look at my grandfathers and my grandmothers' brothers.  I then decided to look at our shared DNA matches.  I contacted the closest DNA person to us both but they did not respond.  I then tried Jacqueline G. and within minutes she sent me her phone number in Tampa, Florida. Jacque showed up as related to Irene and me as around 4th cousin.  The Miller family arrived in Buffalo on July 19, 1874.  I began to read their children's names and Jacqueline said, "My grandmother's name was Magdalena."  Jacque followed that line and sure enough her grandmother was named after her grandmother, Magdalena Miller, the sister of my relative Jacob Miller.  We now have a 100% match.  Jacque said it made her day to help Irene find her father.

I contacted Lynn with the news that Raymond Miller was 100% her grandfather and her mother's father.  This was all accomplished in less than one week.  Lynn said her 96-year old mother asked, "Is he still alive?"  Irene, Lynn and their family have the answers to many of their questions.  They have another branch on their family tree along with pictures and stories of Ray Miller and his family.  Irene Greene is my mother's, Delores Gerlach Sim, first cousin.

The use of DNA is amazing.  This is such a wonderful story that my blog partner, Mary, suggested that I add it to our blog to show the importance of DNA. We all shed a tear for Irene Greene and her family.

Welcome to my family Irene, Lynn and your family members.

Thomas OTTOWELL (1583-1645), married Mary

Edna OTWELL-SIM > Edwin > Maurice > John F. > William > Francis > William OTTWELL > Francis > Charles > Francis > William > Thomas OTTOWELL

The following (indented) is from the research of Rev. Edward H. OTWELL and Edward BREGENZER’s The Otwell Manuscript (The Otwells in America Since 1619) which is a compilation of their research on the Otwell family history, dated 1998. (You can find a link to this document on our resource page.)

• Thomas was born in 1583 in England. He married Mary and it is believed that they had at least 5 children: John, our ancestor William, Thomas and Mary. He migrated to Jamestown Colony on the ship THE BONA NOVA between 1619 and 1624.
• Thomas was a servant to plantation owner William BLANEY (also originally from Huntington).
• Between 1623 and 1650, Thomas owned land in York County, Cheeseman River.
• Thomas next married Margaret about 1630 and they had at least one child, a daughter named Frances (1631).
• Thomas died in 1645 in Lancaster County (north of his Cheeseman Plantation).

The Virginia Company’s hope was to send colonist to the New World to discover gold. No gold was found and The Company settled on tobacco as their cash crop. Tobacco farming requires large tracts of land and laborers. Land was plentiful. Laborers were enticed to risk a voyage across the ocean by offering free passage and a promise of 50 acres of land after 7 years of indentured service was completed. In the early 1600s, few English farm laborers had the opportunity to own land or improve class status. 

In 1618, the Virginia Company changed the requirements for land ownership to 3 years of service and 100 acres parceled at 50 acres now and 50 acres upon completion of service. This applied to existing colonists, too. The hope of a better life motivated Thomas, nearly 40 years old) to risk a voyage, loose his freedom for 3 years and survive colonial life. Disease, starvation and Indians were all threats to the Jamestown colonists.

There are no ship manifests showing when Thomas arrived in the colonies. We know it was between 1619 and 1622. The BONA NOVA travelled between England and the New World between 1619 and 1624. The earliest record of Thomas is a 1623 census.  If Thomas is our ancestor, the OTWELLs have been in America for nearly 400 years.

After learning of a horrific Indian massacre (1622), King James I dissolved the Virginia Company, took procession of the colony, called for a census (to determine which colonists survived the massacre) and a muster (1624) (a type of census that listed all property owners and their servants along with property such as stored food, arms, homes and livestock). A quarter of the colonists had been killed in this massacre.

Thomas OTTOWELL appears on the first census as a survivor of the 1622 massacre. His location was “At the Plantation over against James Cittie”.  Those that died had been on the outskirts of the town.  Thomas was safer near the city as they had time to prepare for the attack.

On the muster, Thomas OTTOWELL appears as a 40 year old servant on the Edward BLANEY Plantation. It also says that Thomas came to the colonies on a ship called the BONA NOVA, but the date of his arrival was not recorded.

There is quite a bit of information on Edward BLANEY.  At age 25, he came to the colonies about 1620.  He travelled to and from England in 1621 and could have recruited Thomas at that time.  It is assumed that, like BLANEY, Thomas was from Huntington, England.  In the 1624 muster, BLANEY had over a dozen servants (all male) and 2 plots of land. The first had 2 houses, 2 boats, no arms, stored food (30 barrels of corn, half a hogshead, 9 bushels of oatmeal & peas, 2000 dried fish) and livestock (20 cattle, 10 goats, 5 kids, 21 swine and 8 pigs). That gives us some indication as to the diet they ate.  It notes “The rest of his servants Armes ect at his plantation Over ye Watter”. This refers to the southerly side of the James River opposite James Island and is likely where Thomas was in 1624.

“Over ye Watter” plantation had 3 dwelling houses, 3 tobacco houses, no food or livestock and the following arms: 7 lbs powder, 12 lbs lead & shot, 8 pieces (guns), 2 coats of mail, 2 quilted coats (usually worn under mail), 12 swords, 1 murderer (a small brass or iron ordinance that was used on ships and forecastles to clear decks of boarders), 10 matchcockes (guns that used matches at primer), 6 jacks (leather jackets), matches (slow burning fuses made of twisted hemp soaked in saltpeter or a piece of cotton rope). It is impressive that young BLANEY attained this much land and possessions within only 5 years of settling in the colonies. There were a total of 22 houses and BLANEY owned 5 of them.

Thomas' plantation was farther inland from James City.  As more colonists moved in, they encroached further into Indian lands staining those relations. He died at age 62 in Lancaster County, north of the Cheeseman plantation.

Virginia locations of the BLANEY plantation, James City
and Thomas' plantation

William OTWELL (1610-1690), married KENNER

Edna OTWELL-SIM > Edwin > Maurice > John F. > William > Francis > William OTTWELL > Francis OTWELL > Charles OTWELL > Francis OTWELL > William OTWELL

The following (indented) is from the research of Rev. Edward H. OTWELL and Edward BREGENZER’s The Otwell Manuscript (The Otwells in America Since 1619) which is a compilation of their research on the Otwell family history, dated 1998. (You can find a link to this document on our resource page.)

• William was born about 1610 in England. He was married in England to a woman with surname KENNER. William had at least 4 children born in the colonies: our ancestor Francis, Richard and 2 daughters.
• It is believed that William was the son of Thomas OTWELL who came to the colonies from England. 
• On the north end of Chesapeake Bay, Kent Island was an English settlement with a trading post as early as 1629. Between 1631 and 1638, colonist were brought north to settle the area. In 1636, William and his brother John travelled to Northumberland and Kent Island. John died and William settled on a tobacco farm somewhere on the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay.

The document linking William to the KENNER family is interesting. Richard KENNER’s will of 17 September 1627, proved 13 November 1627, states: “Residue to my sons in law William OTWELL als STEVENS and Thomas SKAY executors.” This indicates that William also used the surname STEVENS, at least when he was in England, and leaves us with many questions as to his true identity and the origins of the OTWELL surname.

On the eastern shores of the Chesapeake Bay stands a house known today as "The Otwell".  We have not found evidence that William lived here, but the Otwell Manuscript says that this land was under legal dispute for many years and our William was involved in the dispute. In 1659, the area was platted for the first time by William TAYLOR, who grew up there.  It encompassed about 500 acres, a house and some outbuildings. Originally known as "The House of William Taylor", it  is now known as “The Otwell” and believed to be named after either TAYLOR's mother's or wife’s family. Successive owners built onto the original house.  The document from the National Registry of Historic Places does not list owners prior to 1659, so we do not have evidence that this house or land was owned by our ancestor.



William was known to have travelled from Virginia
thru Northumberland to Kent Island.

"The Otwell" still exists today and was highlight in National Geographic magazine (April 1955). Where Land and Water Intertwine: An Architectural History of Talbot County, Maryland by Christopher WALES, 1984 has more information on this building. Our cousin Jim O. visited this location a few years ago and shared these photos:

 

The Otwell, photo courtesy cousin Jim O.

 

Front gate of The Otwell, photo courtesy cousin Jim O.
(I wonder who planted those trees.)

 

Little Otwell Road, photo courtesy cousin Jim O.