Page 51 – Access Genealogy

Descendants of Davis Snow Packard of Bridgewater, Massachusetts

In the death of Davis Snow Packard, which occurred in Brockton, Mass., July 31, 1900, the city lost one of its foremost citizens as well as one of its most successful manufacturers. Mr. Packard was a native of the town of North Bridgewater, now the city of Brockton, born June 24, 1826, son of Apollos and Betsey (Packard) Packard, and a descendant of one of the oldest and most prominent families of the old Bay State. (I) Samuel Packard, the founder of the family in America, was a native of England, his home being at Windham, near Hingham. In 1638 … Read more

Early Western Travels, 1748-1846

Early Western Travels Volume 1 Title Page

Early Western Travels, 1748-1846 comprises thirty-one volumes which contain accurate reprints of rare manuscripts. They were carefully chosen from the mass of material descriptive of travels in the North American interior which this century of continental expansion (1748-1846) provided, and no manuscript has been included unless it possessed permanent historical value. The result is a series which the casual reader will find interesting, and the historian, teacher and scholar, will find invaluable, as it makes available sources of information without which the development of the West, its history and its people cannot be fully understood. The editor has provided numerous footnotes and an introduction to each volume which contains a biographical sketch of the author, an evaluation of the book reprinted and bibliographical data concerning it. The closing volumes are devoted to a complete and exhaustive analytical index to the entire series.

Earliest Known Traders on Arkansas River

With the help of contemporary records it is possible to identify some of the early traders at the Mouth of the Verdigris. Even before the Louisiana Purchase, hardy French adventurers ascended the Arkansas in their little boats, hunting, trapping, and trading with the Indians, and recorded their presence if not their identity in the nomenclature of the adjacent country and streams, now sadly corrupted by their English-speaking successors. French Influence in Arkansas One of the first of the French traders up the Arkansas whose name has been recorded was Joseph Bogy, an early resident of the old French town, Arkansas … Read more

Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Story County, Iowa

The full manuscript contains a condensed history of the state of Iowa, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the state of Iowa, a descriptive history of Story county and 229 selected biographical sketches of the citizens of Story County, Iowa.

Charlton Massachusetts Warnings 1737-1788

In the following information all the names, dates and other essential particulars which appear in the returns to the Court in the County of Worcester during the entire period – a full half-century, from 1737 to 1788 – in which these entries were made, are given. The returns from each place have been brought together and arranged under the name of the town or district, in this case Charlton Massachusetts.

The Natural Environment of Ocmulgee Bottoms

Beginning in the late 1500s and continuing through the late 1600s, European maps showed a large lake in central Georgia that received both the Ocmulgee and Oconee River. Its outlet was the Altamaha River, which the French called the May River. The memoirs of the commander of Fort Caroline, René de Laudonnière, wrote in his memoir that several expeditions which he dispatched in a northwestward direction from the fort, encountered a large shallow lake at the headwaters of the May. These expeditions continued northward across the lake in their canoes and then traveled up the Oconee River to the Kingdom of Apalache and then the Appalachian Mountains. No mention is made of the Ocmulgee River by Laudonnière, but it also appeared on later maps of the region, flowing into Lake Tama. Apparently someone, either French or Spanish did canoe northwestward across the shallow lake and travel up the Ocmulgee.

The Natural History of Ocmulgee Bottoms

Ocmulgee Bottoms is a corridor of the Ocmulgee River Flood Plain in the central region of the State of Georgia that begins at the Fall Line in Macon, GA and continues 38 miles southward to near Hawkinsville, GA. This region is located in Bibb, Twiggs, Houston, Bleckley and Pulaski Counties. The Ocmulgee River’s velocity slows dramatically upon entering the Bottoms and has a serpentine channel. Over the eons, the river here has meandered frequently across the breath of the flood plain, leaving hundreds of ponds and swamps, plus a deep layer of rich, alluvial soil. On top of the alluvial soil is from one to ten feet or red clay that was deposited during the period when cotton was cultivated in the Piedmont, upstream.

Establishment of Fort Gibson in 1824

By Act of Congress of March 2, 1819, Arkansas Territory was established July 4, embracing substantially all of what are now the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma; though the civil government of Arkansas Territory was limited to that section lying east of the Osage line, divided into counties, and embracing approximately the present state of Arkansas. That west of the Osage line was the Indian country, and in later years became known as Indian Territory. James Miller of New Hampshire was appointed the first Governor of Arkansas Territory, and among the duties of his office was that of supervision of … Read more

Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Chester County, PA

Title Page for Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Chester County Pennsylvania

Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Chester County, Pennsylvania – comprising a historical sketch of the county, by Samuel T. Wiley, together with more than five hundred biographical sketches of the prominent men and leading citizens of the county.

Gallery of Photos of Chester County, Pennsylvania

The following photographs represent the men and women of Chester County Pennsylvania.

Bender Ancestors

The bulk of the Bender family in this country has come to be identified with that group of early Americans known as the “Pennsylvania Dutch”. The early English settlers coined this term and although they really meant to say “Deutsch”, meaning German, the word soon became corrupted into “Dutch”. They applied this name to those German, Swiss and even French Huguenots who had arrived here in the 1700’s and settled first in that small area roughly defined as south-central and eastern Pennsylvania.

Brookfield Massachusetts Warnings 1737-1788

Expeditions of Fowler and James to Santa Fe, 1821

When Pike returned from his western expedition and related his experiences in Santa Fe and other places among the Spaniards, his accounts excited great interest in the east, which resulted in further exploits. In 1812, an expedition was undertaken by Robert McKnight, James Baird, Samuel Chambers, Peter Baum, Benjamin Shrive, Alfred Allen, Michael McDonald, William Mines, and Thomas Cook, all citizens of Missouri Territory; they were arrested by the Spaniards, charged with being in Spanish territory without a passport, and thrown into the calabazos of Chihuahua, where they were kept for nine years. In 1821, two of them escaped, and coming down Canadian and Arkansas rivers met Hugh Glenn, owner of a trading house at the mouth of the Verdigris, and told him of the wonders of Santa Fe. Inspired by the accounts of these travelers, Glenn engaged in an enterprise with Major Jacob Fowler and Captain Pryor for an expedition from the Verdigris to Santa Fe.

Bolton Massachusetts Warnings 1737-1788

Establishment of Fort Smith in 1817

The white population in Arkansas in 1817 had increased to several thousand, whose protection, as well as that of the Cherokee people living in that territory, from the continued hostilities of the Osage, required the establishment of a military post at the western border dividing the white settlements from the Osage. From Saint Louis came further news of threatened hostilities by the Osage near Clermont’s Town, and a report that Major William Bradford with a detachment of United States riflemen, and accompanied by Major Long, topographical engineer, had left that city for the purpose of establishing a military post on … Read more

Early Explorations of Louisiana Territory

Map showing routes of Early Explorations and Expeditions in the Southwest

From the mouth of the Verdigris, in its day the farthest thrust of the pioneer, the conquest of a large part of the Southwest was achieved. The story of this campaign covering a period of nearly fifty years, has never been written, though it contains much of romance that even in the form of isolated or related incidents, it is possible to record. The Louisiana Purchase itself was romance. In 1803 President Jefferson directed Monroe and Livingston to negotiate for the purchase of New Orleans for the United States, and they brought home title to an empire, practically a donation from France.

Roll of the Prairie Band, or Pottawatomie Allottees

Here follows the list of the members of the Prairie band of Pottawatomie Indians, together with the allotments assigned to each member by Henry J. Aten, of Hiawatha, Kansas, who was the allotting agent

Indians in Mason County Michigan 1880 Census

Mason County 1880 Census Reel 0594, page 475

These 355 people were identified as Indians (I) in column 4 (color) of the 1880 census for Mason County Michigan. In order to have been enumerated they are believed to either have renounced tribal rule, and under state law, exercised their rights as citizens; or because they “mingled” with the white population of these Michigan towns were enumerated under the expanded definitions.

Indians in Mason County Michigan 1870 Census

Mason County 1870 Census Reel 0689 page 492

These 229 people were identified as Indians (I) in column 6 (color) of the 1870 census for Mason County Michigan. In order to have been enumerated they are believed to have renounced tribal rule, and under state law, exercised their rights as citizens.

Indians in Mason County Michigan 1860 Census

Mason County 1860 Census Reel 554 page 81

These 409 people were identified as Indians (I) in column 6 (color) of the 1860 census for Mason County Michigan. In order to have been enumerated they are believed to have renounced tribal rule, and under state law, exercised their rights as citizens.