William & Elizabeth Robeson of Armstrong, Indiana, PA

Going through the Indiana County, PA Quarter Sessions today, I was reminded why it pays never to be surprised by anything that happened in the past. I was scanning, attempting to see if I could find anything of interest regarding some related families (the McGinnities). I found a bond out for the arrest of an Elizabeth Robeson in 1810, "late of Armstrong twp, Indiana, PA" for "fornication and bastardy". As I read on, I found the accused other party was a "William Robeson". I was attempting to make sense of this (especially since another Robeson was signing off on the charges) and presumed perhaps they had gotten married or he was her brother in law, but the truth was slightly different. In William's arrest warrant, he's identified as "her uncle". The wording is mostly what gets me. "She allowed him to beget a male child upon her body". Perhaps she did, and perhaps not. I don't know at this point who either of these people were, nor what became of them or their child, but I do wonder...

More Rennie's

The more I look at the Rennie's, the more I think they were quite possibly originally Irish in origin.  I've had my father's y-DNA tested, and he's M222+, otherwise known as the Niall of the Nine Hostages haplotype which is very common in northern Ireland and southwest Scotland.

Peter Rennie (1818-1870) was the son of Peter Rennie and Mary Martin.

I've checked ScotlandsPeople, and in the Statutory Records, there is a Mary Martin Rennie who died in 1860, at the age of 76.  Her husband's name is not listed (only that she was the widow of a laborer).  However, her age is roughly correct for the three baptism records I've found, and there is no other Mary Martin Rennie in the Old Parish records or in the Catholic records other than Mary Martin, wife of Peter.

It's still circumstantial, after all it's always possible this is another Mary Martin Rennie who perhaps never had children, but for me this is enough confirmation that I have the correct Mary.

Proceeding along, Mary Martin Rennie's parents are listed as Peter Martin (a stonemason) and Mary Timmoney.

Martin of course is a very common surname and can be of either Scottish or Irish origin.  Timmoney (and various other spellings) however is most certainly of Irish origin.  But what we don't know is when her family came to Scotland from Ireland.

To my knowledge, this line has always been Catholic.  I haven't found anything to contradict that (yet), but also the records pre-1855 in Scotland are rather patchy.  It's possible they converted from Church of Scotland/Ireland, most likely through marriage.

So there I am.  Still searching, still with no certainty whether my Rennie's were Scottish or Irish.

The Rennie Family in Scotland

Researching my Rennie family, my direct paternal lineage, is honestly the one lineage that intimidates me.  This is because many others before me, including my grandfather and two of his brothers, have looked into our history.  They even took a trip to Scotland in the early 1990s to see the homeland their grandparents had left in 1882 for the coal country of Pennsylvania and to further their research.  Several of their cousins had also researched the family prior to this and after.  It left me feeling like there were big shoes to fill on this branch.

William Rennie (1853-1909) and his wife Isabella McMuldren (1857-1907) immigrated to the US in 1882 with their three small children, Daniel, Jane, and James.  Isabella's mother, Jane O'Hara McMuldren Downey and her second (and much younger) husband, and several of Isabella's siblings also immigrated to the US and settled in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, alongside William and Isabella.  William's older brother Thomas was living in Ohio at this time, while at least two of his other brothers, Edward and Andrew had decided to test their luck in Australia.

William and Isabella would go on to have 10 children, with my great-grandfather John Anthony Rennie being number 7, born in 1888.

In addition to being poor, they were also Catholic in a majority Protestant country.  It is unknown whether this played any part in their immigration, however it is worth noting that they settled their family in a very Catholic county thanks to the founder and priest, Prince Augustus Gallitzin.  

Delving deeper, we see both William and Isabella had Scottish fathers and Irish mothers.  However, unlike Isabella's father who was born Protestant, William's father it seems was likely baptized into the Catholic faith at birth.

William's parents were Peter Rennie (abt 1818 - 1870) and Margaret McIntyre (abt 1819 - 1895).  From their death records we see that Peter's parents were Peter Rennie and Mary Martin.

Checking ScotlandsPeople, we see that a Peter Rennie and Mary Martin had three children baptized in the Catholic church in 1820, 1822, and 1827.  First, a son "Barnaby Renny" as he's recorded, was baptized on March 19, 1820 at 8 St. James Place in St. Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh.  His sponsors were Isaias Dunbar and Sarah McRoy.

Next, a daughter, "Catherine Rainey" was baptized on January 13, 1822 also at 8 St. James Place in St. Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh.  Her sponsors were Francis Burns and what appears to be Nancy Havling.

Finally, another daughter "Bridget Renny" was baptized on February 11, 1827 at St. Mary's in Greenock.  Her sponsors were John Griffin and Bridget Gallagher.

It is unknown what became of Barnaby, Catherine, and Bridget.  It's also unknown whether they and Peter had any other siblings.  It's likely though they did.

Peter Sr. it seems died before 1855 when death records became mandatory for everyone.  It's unknown whether Mary also died before 1855.  And given Barnaby's unusual name, it also seems likely he died prior to 1855 as well, or perhaps immigrated though I have no data backing up that possibility.

This is still a work in progress.  Whether there is anymore information out there or not though is uncertain.  I hope there is.

The last thing I will say for now is that I have had my father's y-dna tested and he tests as R1b-M222+.  This is otherwise known as the "Niall of the Nine Hostages Haplotype".  It is most common in northern Ireland and southern Scotland.  At this point he does not have any close matches.  Additionally none of the currently tested Rainey's are related.  My current presumption is that the dearth of Rennie's tested is the reason behind this lack of matches.

Adam Koontz's father

This is just a short post of my wonderings.

Adam Koontz (1768 - 1848) was born in Loudoun County, VA and died in West Providence Twp, Bedford, PA, husband of Edna/Mary Diehl.

It's been theorized that his father was an Adam Counts/Coons/Koonts (1733 - 1799).

First, I'll list what I believe are the reasons people believe Adam was his father.

(1.) The name

(2.) Adam Sr. was from Loudoun County, VA and died in Bedford County, PA

(3.) Adam Sr. had been in Bedford early on, moved back to Loudoun, and then moved back to Bedford (presumably anyway), and a historical account says Adam Jr.'s father was in Bedford early on before "being driven back by Indians".

(4.) Age-wise, Adam Jr. fits into the Adam Sr.'s known children.


However, the more I look at this, the more questions pop-up in my mind.

(1.) People overlook the fact that Adam Jr. was not listed in Adam Sr.'s will.  Is it possible he had already given him something or just didn't want to give him anything?

(2.) Adam Sr. was not the only Koontz/Counts to move from Loudoun, VA to Bedford, PA.  His brother Henry *also* moved from Loudoun to Bedford, and is found early on in Bedford as well.

(3.) Adam and Henry also had at least one other brother, Philip, and are believed to have another brother, Frederick.


Now, it is almost certain that one of these four men is indeed the father of Adam Koontz (1768 - 1848), I am just not as willing as most to lay claim to Adam Counts (1733 - 1799) as his father.

You may ask, "what did he name his sons?"  Well, he only had three living children, Mary, Catherine, and John.  John is unfortunately not one of the choices for his father.

From Loudoun County, VA land records, this leaves us with, Adam & Mary, Philip & Margaret, or Henry & Katherine as his likely parents (unless of course Frederick is correct).

I can't say why exactly, but I am leaning towards Henry as Adam's father.

Bedford County, PA Quarter Sessions Docket 6

Docket 6 is finally complete!  This transcription covers the years from 1838 - 1850.  It gives an interesting look into some of the daily lives of those living in Bedford county during this time period.  Some of the most useful pieces include the Bastardy cases, genealogically speaking.  I researched some of them myself and a number it seems married soon after.  Others did not.  And in some cases the man in question was already married!

I myself found several court records involving my ancestor Philip Clingerman.  He was part of a mob (one of the ring leaders I suspect) who helped tar and feather a man in the middle of the night because he was a Mormon preacher and had converted several families in the area.  Possibly including his wife's sister and her family.

This book is now available for sale here, and will be up on Amazon, hopefully by the end of the week.  Any recommendations or notes are welcome as I am hoping to start Docket 5 soon :)

https://www.createspace.com/4222383

EDIT:  Now available on Amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/Bedford-PA-Quarter-Sessions-Docket/dp/1484005236/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364815101&sr=8-1&keywords=1484005236

Philip Clingerman

The more I learn about my ancestor Philip Clingerman, the more I don't know what to make of him.  Originally, the only thing I had to go on regarding his life was a small mention in a history book of Bedford County, PA, his will, and his father's will.

It has been in my attempts to find out who his wife Susanna's family was, that I've begun to uncover a multitude of new things about Philip.  More specifically, his criminal record.

Philip was born in 1800 in Providence Township, Bedford County, PA.  To my knowledge, he had no run-ins with the law prior to 1838-1839.  Quite a feat considering his record after!

Let's start with the first record I have.  His arrest in January 1839 for taking part in (and probably leading) a riot that grabbed a man out of his bed in the middle of the night in December 1838, before they tarred and feathered him.  The logical question is, why would someone do this?  The answer, as it has been throughout most of human history came down to one thing it appears.  Religion.  The man they tarred and feathered, a mister Albert Brown, was a Mormon missionary it would seem.  A number of people had been converted in the area, and this was most likely the spark behind this incident.  I only qualify it as "most likely" because the records themselves do not indicate a reason.  He was ordered to pay the costs of prosecution, but otherwise appears to have gotten off scot-free.

I do wonder, given Philip's views on the subject of religion by this arrest, what he thought about my line.  Philip was Lutheran.  His daughter, Elizabeth, married Adam Shuss, who was part of the Church of the Brethren.  Adam and Elizabeth's son Nelson, married Clara Gill, who was Catholic, and our family has been Catholic ever since.

Philip then shows up again in November 1843.  This time for Larceny charges "on oath of Styles Hill".  A Mary and Peter Koontz testified against him, and a Daniel McDaniel paid Philip's bail.  It is worth noting that Philip's mother was a woman named Mary Koontz, so this Peter Koontz was a relative.  Mary could also be a relative, or Peter's wife more likely.  Another thing worth noting, Philip's daughter Mary Clingerman would eventually marry a John Nelson McDaniel, a likely relative of Daniel.  This one is however, a bit unusual, because in the initial arrest record, he is listed as "Philip Clingerman" but then at the proceedings, they instead say "Peter Clingerman".  Philip did have a brother Peter, so it appears that for some reason one of them was mistaken for the other.  Whether Philip or Peter was the true one up on charges is unknown to me at the moment.  Whoever it was, he was found not guilty.

Lest we get complacent, Philip *again* shows up in September 1851.  This time, he was one of four people arrested for "Forcible Entry and Detainer" against a Rebecca Baughman.  They were reported to have taken her and her belongings and thrown them out of her home and into the street.  My only presumption is that one of these people owned the home, and she had not paid the rent.  Keep in mind, this is only my assumption in the matter.  They were found not guilty.

First, I admit, my father liked this one.  In September 1870, Philip this time brings his son Lewis in on the crimes.  They are arrested for "unlawfully selling liquors on Sundays to minors and others without license to the great annoyance of the community".  This time, the case was settled, and it appears they paid a fine.  What's interesting about this is that the woman at the historical library in Bedford even told me (before I told her) that the Clingerman's were "moonshiners" but she was unaware of this particular arrest record.  So, whether there are still Clingerman's in the area 130 years later, still making alcohol, or whether this story was simply passed down, I'm not sure.  It is interesting nonetheless!

And thus ends Philip's illustrious life of crime.  He lived out his life, dying in 1881.  His wife, Susanna, preceded him in death in 1861.  Admittedly, between the two of them, she's really the one I'd like to talk to, and know her feelings on the subject of Philip!

Bedford County Quarter Session Dockets

So, I decided to undertake a new project: my first transcriptions.  I'm currently working through 1843.  It's an interesting insight into the daily issues in Bedford county, PA.

Along with the Assault and Battery cases, and Cutting Timber Illegally, a number of the cases are for Bastardy and Fornication, which of course could prove quite valuable to many people who have hit a brick wall for one reason or another.

My curiosity has led me to research several of these incidents.  In one case, I found that the couple in question later got married, had more children, and now their descendants have a marriage date listed in their family trees a good two years before they actually were, simply because they don't know the whole story and just presumed their first child was born following marriage.  In another cases, the man in question was already married, and within a maximum of 5 years from the verdict, he and his family moved to another state.  I have to wonder if it was at his wife's insistence?  In this case, the man's descendants from his marriage don't seem to know about this other child.  And I haven't been able to prove one way or another that the child lived (at this point).  Although I do believe there's a good chance he/she did, and was simply listed under a step-father's surname.

Here's an example of one,

The Commonwealth Vs. Hugh Moore

Fornication and Bastardy – on oath of Mary Stiffler.  November 28, 1842, Anthony Stiffler tent in $100 conditioned on the appearance of Mary Stiffler at next sessions to prosecute and give evidence.  November 29, 1842 defendant tent in $600 and Joseph Mortimore surety tent in $600 conditioned for the appearance of said defendant at next sessions to answer to a Bill of Indictment to be preferred against him for fornication and bastardy and not depart the court without license.  Taken and acknowledged in open court.  Joseph B. Noble Clerk.

In this particular case, and from online sources, it appears Mary Stiffler and Hugh Moore eventually reconciled, married, and had many more children following their first here.