Doug, Thank you! This is wonderful information. I'm meeting with the Headleys today for lunch. About a year ago I discovered my project leader lived on Weldon Road in Milton. I asked him if he knew any of the Headleys. He said of course he does, he married one!! Turns out he's married to my aunt's neice. My aunt is my aunt only through marriage. We don't have a direct line we've descended from--yet! Thanks! Chris :) Doug Dobbs wrote: > You hit the jackpot, Chris. :) > > Not only do I know where the link is, I used to attend the Davenport > reunions that were held in Milton. :) > > Adams DAVENPORT, 1830-1908, was the son of Enos Davenport, the son of > Cornelius Davenport, the son of Humphrey "Jr." who is one of the Barbados > line of Humphrey Davenports. > > Adams went to the gold rush in 1850, sailing by way of the Isthmus of Panama > and hiring two natives to portage him across. He'd contracted malaria and > one carried him and the other carried his travelling trunk. (I've got the > trunk in my living room.) He made it to California, worked as a carpenter > in San Francisco and returned to NJ by wagon train. (If only that trunk > could talk!) > > When he returned he invested his savings in what had been known as the > Quaker Mill at Millbrook, NJ, just south of present day Rt. 10 and a bit > east of the County College of Morris. > > He married Eliza Stansbury LUM on Dec. 20, 1854 in Milton, NJ. > > They had five children who survived to adulthood (two died at an early age), > four sisters and one brother. > > The oldest was Irene Davenport, known to many as "Reen," and she married > William Charles Spargo. > > I'm not 100% sure of the birth order after that, but I'm fairly confident > they ran as follows. > > The next one was Aunt Esther, who married Edward HEDLEY. I don't have a > marriage date for them, nor dates for Edward. More on them in a minute. > > Next was Aunt Ella who married Will Straun. They lived in Napa, Ca. for > many years and were buried at Mill Brook Cemetery, (behind the Methodist > Church) with only a pair of yucca plants to mark their graves. Someone > later put stones on their graves if I remember rightly and it caused a bit > of a furor in the family because they'd expressly said they didn't want > them. One of their neices or nephews thought differently once they weren't > around to argue about it. :) Will has an interesting history I want to > track down sometime, related to the Civil War. There was a big break with > his family that's very mysterious, but I think modern search methods would > make it feasible to solve the puzzle. > > Then Aunt Bertha, or "Bird", married a Jenkins. I've got notes on that > branch of the family around here somewhere, but not entered in the ol 'puter > yet. > > Youngest of the five was young Tom Davenport. Tom got the cart before the > horse and ran out on his fiance. Ended up as an engineer with the Southern > Pacific Railroad and lived in Tucson, Az where he married Minnie Tevis, > daughter of Capt. Tevis, a buddy of Kit Carson's. Lots of tales of early > frontier days in Arizona come through that branch of the family. The 1950's > movie, "The Tenderfoot" is based on her book of her father's reminisences, > "Arizona in the '50's", referring to the *18*50's. :) > > So, now that you've got the scope of that little family group... > > The Hedley's farm in Milton was always the site of the Davenport family > reunions when I was a little boy. As many as could come, that were > descended from this family of Adams and Eliza Davenport, would gather there > on Labor Day each year. This reunion USED to be held at the mill in > Millbrook, but when a new owner took it over in the 1940's or so, it was > moved to Milton. > > Esther and Edward HEDLEY had six kids. I have some info on two of them, > but the other four I don't know. > > Oldest was Adam Davenport HEDLEY. The family story was that they hoped that > by naming him after his grandfather, Adams would will that branch of the > family the gold fortune he was reputed to have brought home with him. :) > > He married a gal named Nellie, and they had seven children: > > 1-Edward HEDLEY (-) > sp: Esther DAVENPORT (-) > 2-Adam D. HEDLEY (-) > sp: Nellie (-) > 3-Helen HEDLEY (1908-) > 3-Robert HEDLEY (1909-1992) > 3-Albert "Dean" HEDLEY (1911-1993) > 3-Donald HEDLEY (1913-) > 3-Elenor HEDLEY (1916-) > 3-John HEDLEY (1918-) > 3-Elwood HEDLEY (1923-) > > These were all my mother's cousins and she grew up with them. Over the > years though, they've lost touch with one another, moved away or died off. > If you could get some of the "missing links" back in touch, I'd be most > grateful! > > The other child in that family I know a little about is Joe Hedley. He > inherited the lumber yard from his father Edward and made a good business of > it. He built the mansion for P.T. Barnum there in Oak Ridge and ended up > working for him in other ways as well, Mom said. Apparantly he and Squire > worked together because when I asked my aunt about them once she described > them as a pair, very cold to get along with, "stick of wood and a cake of > ice." :) > > 2-Joe HEDLEY (-) > sp: Evangeline "Vangie" (-) > 3-Eddie HEDLEY (-) > > Last I'd heard, "Eddie" had inherited the farm where we used to gather for > the reunions, his father remarried a woman named Ida and I gather there was > some tension there. > > sp: Ida (-) > 2-Squire HEDLEY (-) > 2-Mary HEDLEY (-) > 2-Esther "Essie" HEDLEY (-) -Twins > 2-Edna HEDLEY (-) - Twins > > That's about all I can offer you off the top of my head and from "Family > Origins" notes I've recorded over the years. Hope that's some help and that > it rings a few bells for the family contact that you've found out. > > Please let them know that they have cousins that would love to get in touch > with them, and that we still have the Davenport reunion each year. > > Your cousin, > > Doug > > Doug Dobbs > Hagerstown, MD > www.nfis.com/~dougdobbs/main.htm > > -----Original Message----- > From: Chris Strube <cstrube@crystal.palace.net> > To: DAVENPORT-L@rootsweb.com <DAVENPORT-L@rootsweb.com> > Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2000 7:46 PM > Subject: [DAVENPORT] Davenport/Headley Connection in Milton, NJ > > > > >Does anybody know where the Davenport/Headley connection(s) are for > >those who lived in the Milton/Oak Ridge, NJ area? I'm from the Humphrey > >Davenport (from Barbardos) line and I'll be meeting with a Headley who > >also has generations upon generations of descendants and living > >relatives from Milton, NJ. I'm hoping we can find a direct connection > >between our families. > > > >-- > >Thanks! > >Chris Strube > > > > > > > >==== DAVENPORT Mailing List ==== > >View the Cousins Directory at > >http://Jack.Ralph.org/davnport/others.htm > > > >============================== > >Free Web space. ANY amount. ANY subject. > >RootsWeb's Freepages put you in touch with millions. > >http://cgi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/acctform.cgi > > > > ==== DAVENPORT Mailing List ==== > Having problems with this mailing list? > Write to: DAVENPORT-admin@rootsweb.com > > ============================== > The RootsWeb WorldConnect Project: > 12.8 million individuals and counting. > http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/ -- Thanks! Chris Strube Independent D.O.T.S. Demonstrator