John Simpson Sr +Jr lived in Montgomery Co,Pa. Noah Grant lived in Westmoreland Co,Pa Hannah Simpson m Jesse Grant 3\4 mile from where I type,in 1821- Clermont Co,sw Ohio Robert Belville Simpson was my Dad's [1898-2000] uncle. THE SIMPSON FAMILY. -We are not at present prepared to give the earliest history of this family, but it is known from records that before the Revolution Samuel Simpson resided in Abington township, the owner of a farm of one hundred and eighty-eight acres and a few years later there was Benjamin Simpson, who probably was his son. John Simpson, the great grandfather of General Grant, was a collector of taxes in Horsham in 1776, and we find him rated for this year as holding one hundred fifty acres, four horses four cattle and fourteen sheep, taxed £14. 14s. For several reasons we are inclined to believe that the latter was the son of Samuel Simpson, of Abington, and probably the first ancestor of the family in this country. It has been stated that this family is of Scotch- Irish origin, about which we have doubts. The name is found in Friends' records, and there was a minister of Abington Meeting in the last century of the name of James Simpson. A close examination has been made of the numerous tombstones in the graveyard of Abington Presbyterian Church, and none have been discovered there bearing the name. The aforesaid John Simpson, as we learn, purchased his property in Horsham at sheriff's sale November 30, 1763, which really contained one hundred and sixty-four acres, situated in the extreme northern corner of the township, adjoining Montgomery and extending to the Bucks County line. It is presumed that he must have moved on it soon after the purchase. He is stated to have had at least three children, -a son John and two daughters. Respecting the latter, we possess no information. he must have been a man of some note to possess this property, and likewise of responsibility to be invested with the powers and duties of a collector of the revenue, and that, too, in the most memorable year of the Revolution. It is stated he died near the beginning of this century, when his son became the owner of the homestead, whereon he was born in 1767. He is said to have married Rebecca Wier, a daughter of a substantial farmer in Warrington, or New Britain. He was probably married in 1793, for his eldest daughter, Mary was born in 1795, and Hannah, the mother of General Grant, in November, 1797. His son Samuel was still living, at a very advanced age, in the spring of 1883, near Bantam, Ohio. John Simpson, Jr., continued to reside in Horsham until his children were grownup, when, with the idea of going westward, he sold his farm, in the fall of 1817, to John Meyers, and in the following year moved with his family on a farm he had previously purchased near Bethel, Clermont Co., Ohio. All the school education that he or his children had received was obtained near by, at the stone schoolhouse on the county line. He died August 20, 1837, in his seventieth year. His daughter Mary had married James Griffith in 1818. Hannah was married, Jane 24, 1820, to Jesse Root Grant, who was a son of Noah Grant, and also a Pennsylvanian, born in Westmoreland County January 23, 1794. To Dr. Jackson, of Pittsburgh, we are indebted for an interesting relation made to him by Jesse R. Grant, in 1867, on the subject of his marriage into the Simpson family, which refutes several errors that have been current on the subject,- "In 1820" (he states), "I settled temporarily at a small place called Point Pleasant, situated on the Ohio River, twenty-five miles above Cincinnati, and in June, 1820, I was married to Miss Hannah Simson, and commenced house-keeping at that place. Mrs. Grant was an unpretending country girl -handsome but not vein. She had previously joined the Methodist Church, and I can truthfully say that it has never had a more devoted and consistent member. Her steadiness, firmness and strength of character have been the stay of the family through life. She was always careful and most watchful over her children, but not austere, and not opposed to their free participation in innocent amusement. At Point Pleasant, on the 27th of April, 1822, our first child, Ulysses Grant was born. The house in which this event occurred, is still standing. Five other children, three daughters, and two sons were subsequently added to our family. Mrs. Grant was the second daughter of Mr. John Simpson, of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. She was burn and brought up in that County, about twenty miles from Philadelphia. When in her nineteenth year, she moved with her father to Clermont County, Ohio. The family were highly respectable -people of veracity and integrity, but licit of any particular ambition beyond that of independent farmers. Mrs. Grant's father was with some property, but it was all inland, and which he kept until he died. It was nearly three years after their removal to Clermont that we were married. A few of the neighbors expressed their surprise th one of Mr. Simpson's daughters should marry a young man hardly yet established in business. But this did me no harm, and as soon as it was seen how I was getting along I heard no more of it." 879 The children of Jesse R. Grant were Gen-Pres Ulysses Simpson Grant Samuel Simpson Orville L. Grant m Asher Medary's daughter Rachel Virginia Payne and Mary Frances. The father died June 27, 1873, and Mrs. Grant at New York, May 11, 1882, aged eighty-four years and six months. Mary, the eldest sister, was still [Samuel Medary and Hannah Simpson [Grant] were elementary schoolmates in Montgomery Co,Pa,they said Third Governor of the Territory of Kansas + Minnesota Samuel Medary February 25th, 1801 - November 7th, 1864 Democratic Party Third Governor of the Territory of Minnesota 1857 - 1858 Samuel Medary was born in Montgomery Square, Pennsylvania on February 25th, 1801. He served as a member of the Ohio State House of Representatives in 1834. He moved to the Ohio State Senate in 1836. He then moved to Minnesota and was appointed Territorial Governor of Minnesota. Governor Samuel Medary had a short-lived life in the Territory of Minnesota. He was appointed to the post by President James Buchanan, but left to pursue other exploits after Minnesota became a State of the Union. The citizens then held open elections to find their first Governor of the State of Minnesota. This first Governor was Henry Sibley. After serving the Territory of Minnesota, Medary traveled to Kansas Territory and served as Territorial Governor there from 1858 to 1860. After Kansas became a State, Medary became a candidate for the Governor of Kansas, but was unsuccessful. After his loss in the gubernatorial race in Kansas, Medary served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Ohio in 1864. Samuel Medary was indicted by a federal grand jury in 1864 for conspiracy against the government and was arrested. He was released on bonds, but died before he could be tried. Samuel Medary died in Columbus, Ohio November 7th, 1864, at the age of 64. Kestenbaum, Lawrence. "Index to Politicians: Meagher to Meek." http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/meagher-meek.html (November 12, 2001). If you have any questions or comments about this site, please e-mail: [email protected] ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!