--part1_87.17b5d766.29a1c7ad_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable It is known that John Morton's father came to America from Sweden. I inadvertantly discovered that he descended further back to Marten =20 Martensson, whose family came to America in the ship the Eagle from Gothenburg, Sweden, settin= g=20 sail Feb 2, 1654 with 350 souls aboard - to New Sweden.=20 [website below. Have downloaded file for anyone who cannot access the site.= =20 =20 Janice Farnsworth aka farns10th@aol.com] The Eagle set sail from Gothenburg harbor on the icy, winter morning of 2=20 February 1654. Aboard were 350 souls, including Peter M=E5rtensson Lindestr= =F6m,=20 who would describe this voyage in his famous work Geographia Americae, and=20 Johan Risingh, who was destined to become the last governor of New Sweden. In Crum Creek, the authors propose that Johan Hendricksson, as the eldest so= n=20 and new family leader, inherited not only the family homestead but also the=20 task of supporting his younger brothers, which, in Anders' case, meant=20 helping him build a good house to live in when he was ready to marry. The=20 presence of a good supply of freestone dictated the material of choice. Thus= =20 was constructed a stone house for Anders Hendricksson and his bride,=20 Brigitta, the daughter of M=E5rten M=E5rtensson, Anders' old guardian and=20 neighbor whose great-grandson, John Morton, would sign the Declaration of=20 Independence as a representative of the colony of Pennsylvania. (skipping ahead, full file attached) Not long after John Hendrickson's untimely demise, his widow Magdalena=20 married Charles Grantum, a justice of Chester County, whose first wife,=20 Catherina Morton, was a granddaughter of M=E5rten M=E5rtensson. Magdalena an= d=20 Isaac left Crum Creek to live at their new home in Ammansland. On 4 January=20 1753, Magdalena Grantum died and was buried in the churchyard at Wicaco http://www.colonialswedes.org/Forefathers/Hendrick.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ John Morton=20 Signer of the Declaration of Independence=20 JOHN MORTON was born in 1724 in Ridley, in a part of Chester County that is=20 now Delaware County, Pennsylvania. His roots can be traced back to his great= =20 grandfather, who in 1654 was among the first Swedish emigrants to this=20 country. They settled in what are now the suburbs of Philadelphia. His fathe= r=20 died in John's youth, and his stepfather, John Sketchley, an Englishman,=20 supervised his education.=20 John Morton was reared on a farm, yet with the help of his stepfather, he=20 became a surveyor before he entered into politics. He married Ann Justice (o= r=20 Justis) who was also of Delaware Swedish decent. They had three sons and fiv= e=20 daughters. Morton was elected to the provincial assembly in 1756 while in his thirties= =20 and would serve there almost continuously for a decade. After losing his=20 seat, Morton was appointed high sheriff of Chester County by the governor of= =20 Pennsylvania. He held this position until he gained his way back into the=20 provincial assembly, where he was frequently speaker of the house. John Morton was a Pennsylvania delegate at both the First and Second=20 Continental Congresses, who initially refused to favor independence. In a=20 letter to a friend in England, he wrote: "We are preparing for the worst tha= t=20 can happen, viz., a civil war. I sincerely wish reconciliation; the contest=20 is horrid. Parents against children, and children against parents. The longe= r=20 the wound is left in the present state the worse it will be to heal at last.= " When the British would not accept offers at reconciliation by he spring of=20 1776, Morton supported the vote for independence. Thomas Morton gave the=20 casting affirmative vote of Pennsylvania on the question of adopting the=20 Declaration of Independence. He was chairman of the committee of the whole o= n=20 the adoption of the system of confederation, which was the committee that=20 adopted the Articles of Confederation, ratified after his death. At the close of his life he was abandon by many of his friends whose=20 political sentiments differed from his own. On his deathbed he said "Tell=20 them they will live to see the hour when they shall acknowledge my signing o= f=20 the Declaration of Independence to have been the most glorious service that=20= I=20 ever rendered my country." John Morton was the first of the Signers to die.=20 He passed away quietly in Chester, Pennsylvania on April 1, 1777. http://www.rebelswithavision.com/JohnMorton.net/ Court Document requiring William Archer to appear before the General Court o= n=20 the lastTuesday of the present month. dated February 12, 1774 and signed=20 "John Morton" =20 http://www.rebelswithavision.com/JohnMorton.net/ =20 John Morton 1724-1777=20 Home Biographies -Signers of the Declaration -Signers of the A. O. C. -Signers of the U. S. Constitution Documents Search Trivia =20 John Morton was a native of Ridley, in the county of Chester, now Delaware.=20 His ancestors were of Swedish extraction, and among the first Swedish=20 emigrants, who located themselves on the banks of the Delaware. His father,=20 after whom he was called, died a few months previously to his birth. His=20 mother was some time after married to an Englishman, who possessed a more=20 than ordinary education, and who, with great kindness, on young Morton's=20 becoming of the proper age, superintended and directed his education at home= .=20 Here his active mind rapidly expanded, and gave promise of the important par= t=20 which he was destined to act in the subsequent history of his country.=20 About the year 1764, he was commissioned as a justice of the peace, and=20 was sent as a delegate to the general assembly of Pennsylvania. Of this body= =20 he was for many years an active and distinguished member, and for some time=20 the speaker of the house of representatives. The following year he was=20 appointed by the house of representatives of Pennsylvania to attend the=20 general congress at New-York. The object and proceedings of this congress ar= e=20 too well known to need a recital in this place.=20 In 1766, Mr. Morton was appointed sheriff of the county in which he lived= ,=20 an office which he continued to hold for the three following years, and the=20 duties of which he discharged with great satisfaction to the public. Some=20 time after, he was elevated to a seat on the bench, in the superior court of= =20 Pennsylvania.=20 Of the memorable congress of 1774 he was a member, and continued to=20 represent the state of Pennsylvania in the national assembly, through the=20 memorable session of that body which gave birth to the declaration of=20 American Independence.=20 On the occurrence of the momentous subject of independence, in the=20 continental congress, Mr. Morton unexpectedly found himself placed in a=20 delicate and trying situation. Previously to the 4th of July, the states of=20 Delaware and Pennsylvania had voted in opposition to that measure. Great=20 doubts were therefore entertained by the other members of congress, how the=20 Pennsylvania and Delaware delegations would act. Much was obviously dependin= g=20 upon them, for it was justly apprehended, that should these two states=20 decline to accede to the measure, the result might prove most unfortunate.=20 Happily, the votes of both these states were, at length, secured in favor of= =20 independence. But, as the delegation from Pennsylvania were equally divided,= =20 it fell to Mr. Morton to give his casting vote. The responsibility which he=20 thus assumed was great, and even fearful, should the measure be attended by=20 disastrous results. Mr. Morton, however, was a man of firmness and decision,= =20 and, in the spirit of true patriotism, he enrolled his vote in favor of the=20 liberty of his country. Considering his novel and solemn situation, he=20 deserves to be remembered with peculiar respect, by the free and independent= =20 yeomanry of America.=20 In the following year, he assisted in organizing a system of=20 confederation, and was chairman of the committee of the whole, at the time i= t=20 was finally agreed to, on the 15th of November, 1777. During the same year,=20 he was seized with an inflammatory fever, which, after a few days, ended his= =20 mortal existence, in the 64th year of his age. Mr. Morton was a professor of= =20 religion, and a truly excellent man. To the poor he was ever kind; and to an= =20 affectionate family, consisting of a wife, three sons, and five daughters, h= e=20 was an affectionate husband and father. His only enemies were those who woul= d=20 not forgive him because of his vote in favor of independence. During his las= t=20 sickness, and even on the verge of the eternal world, he remembered them, an= d=20 requested those who stood round him, to tell them, that the hour would yet=20 come, when it would be acknowledged, that his vote in favor of American=20 independence was the most illustrious act of his life.=20 http://www.colonialhall.com/morton/morton.asp Soon thereafter a smaller book came out: John Morton. Amerikan=20 itsen=E4isyysjulistuksen allekirjoittaja (John Morton: The Signer of the=20 American Declaration of Independence), printed in Hancock, Michigan in 1936=20 (76 pp.). The date of publication occurred in the same year as the United=20 States celebrated 250 years of independence, hardly a coincidence, as=20 referred to later on in this paper. In the book, Ilmonen discussed the life=20 and ancestry of John Morton, the probable second generation American born=20 Finn from the Delaware colonial period. As a member of the Pennsylvania=20 delegation, Morton signed the Declaration of Independence of the United=20 States in 1776. An English version of the book was published in 1937, at the= =20 time of the tercentenary celebrations of the Delaware colony. It was=20 celebrated extensively as a joint effort of the rival Finnish immigrant=20 groups and organizations. Official delegations from Finland, Sweden, and the= =20 United States government participated in the celebrations.(10) http://www.utu.fi/erill/instmigr/art/kostiainen.htm --part1_87.17b5d766.29a1c7ad_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; name="ELLIS.txt" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: inline; filename="ELLIS.txt" Subject: ELLIS Source: Farnsworth Memorial p.65 Jesse Wilcox, Jr. b. Nov 5, 1809 at Newport, NH m. (1) Elizabeth E. Farnswor= th b. 1814 at Newport, NH. in 1838. She died 1845 and he m. (2) Sarah Ellis wh= o=20 died and he m. (3) Elizabeth Ellis. p.81 Carrie Farnsworth b. 1850 at Oconto, Wisconson m. O. A. Ellis and resided at Oconto. Their children: 1. George Ellis 2. Fred Ellis 3. Ethel Ellis p.207 Solomon Farnsworth b. 1738 b. at Groton, MA m. (1) his cousin, Lucy=20 Farnsworth b, 1743 and d. 1800. He m. (2) 1801 at Chute Cove, Nova Scotia, Mary Chute. He= =20 died and Mary Chute m. (2) Feb 15, 1813, John Ellis and had by him at Digby, Nova Scotia and had by him 6 children (see Nova Scotia site on Solomon Farnsworth= ) http://www.glinx.com/~woodhue/farnsw/main.html p.220 Benjamin Farnsworth, son of Solomon (above) b. 1802 at Hampton, N.S. m. (1) Anna Matilda Ellis b. 1805 dau of John & Rebecca Ellis of Milbury, N.S. She=20 died May 15, 1861 aged 55 and he m. (2) Phebe Milberry. He d. Feb 4, 1880 at=20 Annapolis, N.S. He had by Anna Matilda Ellis at Bayshore, Hampton, N.S. the following children: 1. Seraphina b. 1823 m. 1852 James Lowrywhod. 1886 aged 62. She died at=20 Danvers, MA. 2. Mary b. 1825 m. 1850 Daniel Gunnison who d. 1861. She d. 1890. 6=20 children. 3. Ezra b. 1827 m. 1854 Mary Jordan. 4 children. 4. Lucretia b. 1829 m. Sidney Chute b. 1824; he d.1885 and she m. (2) Priest= ly Milberry as his 2nd wife. They lived in 1892 at Bear River, N.S. and she ha= d=20 11 childrenby Sidney Chute. 5. Matilda b. 1831; d. 1834 6. Jacob b. 1834 m. Louise Foster of Lyme N.S. dau of Isaac & Elizabeth=20 (Patterson) Foster. They had one child, Anna M. Foster whom. George W. Davis of Lynn, M= A She died 1894. 7. Ellen Ann b. 1838 m. (1) 1859 Merrill Tufts. She m. (2) James Mowatt. =20 One child by James Mowatt: Saville Mowatt b. 1880. 8. Abijah b. 1838 m. Anna Wallin (or Whalin). He d. 1874 and she m. (2) Jame= s Knowlin in CA. p.257 Mary Proctor b. Mar 4 1794 at Sullivan, N.H. dau of Philip Proctor and his=20 wife, Hannah Locke of Groton, MA. Mary Proctor m. (1) March 1822 Ira Ellis, son=20= of Simeon and Lydia (Comstock) Ellis of Lyme, CT. The removed to Rutland, VT i= n 1835; he died May 14, 1840; she m. (2) Oct 1842, David Boynton. She had 5 children by her 1st husband, Ira Ellis (not listed). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject: ELLIS Source: Prescott Memorial p.150 & 212 Mary E.White b. Feb 14, 1841 at Washington, NH dau of Abel White & Anne=20 Fassett of Washington, NH. Mary E. White m. Dec 18, 1866. George Ellis (record end= s) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject: ELLIS Source: SAVAGE DICTIONARY of THE FIRST SETTLERS OF NEW ENGLAND ELLIS, ARTHUR, came to N. E. in 1630, says Farmer, but my search for him has not been successful. CHRISTOPHER, New London 1682. CONSTANT, Ipswich, d. 26 Oct. 1686. Felt. EDWARD, Boston, m. 6 Oct. 1652, Sarah, d. of Robert Blott, had Sarah, b. 1 July 1654; perhaps others, certain. Edward, 26 Nov. 1656; and Ann, 3 Feb. 1659, wh. d. 4 Dec. 1678; and he d. 23= =20 Apr.=20 1695, aged 74. FRANCIS, Salem, perhaps as early as 1691. Felt, I. 420. By w. Sarah he had Francis, b. Feb. 1692; and William, 7 June 1702. FREDERICK, Norwich, had gr. of ld. 1678. HENRY, Boston 1666, mariner. JAMES, Stonington 1653, d. 1694. JOHN, Dedham, freem. 2 June 1641, m. 10 Nov. 1641, Susan Lumber, had John, b. 26 Apr. 1646; and Hannah, 9 Apr. 1651, was of Medfield 1653, where his w. d. 4 Apr. 1654. He m. next, 16 June 1655, or 6,=20 Joan, wid. of John Clapp of Dorchester, had Samuel, 24 May 1660, wh. d. at 24 yrs.; and Joseph, 24 Oct. 1662. He d. 2 Apr. 1697; and his wid. d. 2 Mar. 1704. Hannah m. 15 Dec. 1671, Samuel Rockett or Rockwood of M. JOHN, Sandwich, m. a. 1645, Elizabeth d. of first Edmund Freeman, had, perhaps, Bennet, b. 27 Feb. 1649; but certain Mordecai, 24 Mar. 1651; Joel, 20 Mar. 1655; and Matthias, 2 June 1657; d. 1677, then call. jr. yet wh. was the sen= . is unkn. His w. surv. and with Mordecai admin. the est. JOHN, New London 166= 4, [[114]] prob. rem. JOSEPH, Mass. freem. 1663, may have been s. of the preced. MATTHIAS, Sandwich, s. of John, had Matthias, b. 5 Nov. 1681; a s. 17 Aug,. 1683; Mary, 17 Aug. 1685; Experience, 26 July 1687; Malachi, 8 Oct. 1689; Remember, 1 Dec. 1691; ano. ch. d. 31 Dec. 1693, soon after b.; and Samuel, 12 Nov. 1699. RICHARD, Dedham, by w. Elizabeth m. 1650, wh. may seem to be d= .=20 of Lambert Genery, espec. as G. in his will calls E. s.-in-law, had, perhaps sev. ch. but certain. a d. b. 1651; and Mary, 3 Feb. 1655, wh. m. 12 Mar.=20 1680, Amos Fisher. ROGER, Yarmouth, had John, b. 1 Dec. 1648. THOMAS, Medfield 1649, may be the same wh. was bapt. at Wrentham, Eng. 13 Dec. 1629; and m. 21 May 1657, Mary, d. of Thomas Wight of Dedham, had Mary, b. 26 Sept. 1660; Abiel, 15 Oct. 1662; Samuel, 9 Nov. 1664; Thomas, 10 Jan. 1666; Patience, 22 Feb. 1668; Ruth, 31 Oct. 1670; Thomas, again, 24 July 1674; and Joanna, 17 Jan. 1677; and ano. d. nam. Juda, or Judith, in the will of her=20 gr.f. b. 5=20 or 15 Apr. 1658; and he a. 12 Dec. 1690. His wid. d. 7 Mar. 1693. Mary m. 20= =20 Mar.=20 1678 or 9, Jonathan Adams, and Patience m. 10 Dec. 1691, Henry Adams, both o= f=20 M.=20 One THOMAS, perhaps liv. at Marblehead 1668-74. WILLIAM, Braintree. See=20 Allis.=20 Five of this name at Harv. and four at other N. E. coll. had been gr. 1828.=20 Sometimes=20 it is writ. Elice. Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth --part1_87.17b5d766.29a1c7ad_boundary--