Ruth Hamdorf writes: > Keep up the good work Wilford, I'll second that motion today, and three times come Sunday. Chuck

Hi to all Woolsey Cousins: Previous posts to the Woolsey-L list can be searched by going to: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl Then type Woolsey (or the name of any other list you want to search) and hit enter. Then enter whatever word you like, for example, "Richard" and you will get all messages which contain that word. Keep up the good work Wilford, Ruth

Okay, Woolsey cousins: I print out lots of data so I can enter it in my computer genealogy programs, BUT, I lose a lot, or forget where I put it. So...how do I search the Woolsey-L archive? I want to find all the stuff I've misfiled, whether in the brain or my nonexistant files. Thank you Your Woolsey cousin Etta McMillan Cooper EttaCoop@hotmail.com Tulsa, OK ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

To Nan and interested Woolsey researchers: Nan <nanmal@earthlink.net> posted the following: >I apparently have run awry in my info on Richard Woolsey who married Sarah >Fowler. This is what I have. Am I missing Joseph or have the whole set wrong? > 1 Richard Woolsey >. +Sarah Fowler > 2 Thomas l Woolsey >.... +Sarah Pierce > 2 Henry Woolsey >.... +Abigail Woolsey Father: William 1 Woolsey Mother: Derica Williamson > 2 John l Woolsey b: May 24, 1731 NY d: 1811 Ulster, NY >.... +Chlorine Peck m: January 06, 1757 > >Thanks, Nan > and I posted the following: >Dear Nan: > >Richard Woolsey and Sarah Fowler had 12 children, of whom our ancestor Thomas Woolsey (the Reverend Thomas Woolsey, Baptist preacher of Washington County, Virginia and his possible wife Sarah Pierce) was one. (I'm not convinced that Sarah Pierce was the mother of his children.) > >Richard Woolsey and Sarah Fowler also had a son Joseph Woolsey who md Mary Haight. Joseph and Mary had a son Richard Woolsey who md Sarah Fuller Gregory. > >In other words, Richard Woolsey who md Sarah Fuller Gregory was a grandson of Richard Woolsey and Sarah Fowler. Makes your head swim, doesn't it? > >Do you have any "documentation" proving that Henry Woolsey md Abigail Woolsey? My great-grandmother said that Abigail Woolsey was Henry's wife, but other researchers show his wife as Abigail Wright. > >Do you have any "documentation" proving that Abigail Woolsey (if that is indeed her maiden name) was a daughter of William Woolsey and Dorcas Williamson? (That was a supposition on my part and I didn't think anyone else had that information.) > >I am attempting to "document" the entire Woolsey family and your help and documentation would be greatly appreciated. > >Sincerely, > >Wilford W. Whitaker

I apparently have run awry in my info on Richard Woolsey who married Sarah Fowler. This is what I have. Am I missing Joseph or have the whole set wrong? 1 Richard Woolsey . +Sarah Fowler 2 Thomas l Woolsey .... +Sarah Pierce 2 Henry Woolsey .... +Abigail Woolsey Father: William 1 Woolsey Mother: Derica Williamson 2 John l Woolsey b: May 24, 1731 NY d: 1811 Ulster, NY .... +Chlorine Peck m: January 06, 1757 Thanks, Nan

To all interested Woolsey researchers: With Tania Woolsey's permission, here is her posting on Richard Woolsey (b 1772) and his wife Sarah (Fuller) (Gregory): >Dear Wilford, > >Thanks so much for responding to my email and agreeing to help answer >the question as to Richard's parents. I've sent Richard's will and a >few other things to be xeroxed today. I'll get them in the mail to you >tomorrow. > >Our bible was originally owned by Richard and Sarah's son Daniel. >Daniel recorded the information about his parents and siblings on the >inside back cover. It reads: > >Richard Woolsey was born May 14th 1772 >Sally " " May 30th 1774 > >Joseph " " Feb. 23rd 1801 >John " " Aug. 30th 1802 >Richard " " May 22nd 1804 >Daniel omits himself here but was born March 5, 1808 in Colchester >Electa M. " Nov. 21st 1809 >Lucinda " " Jan 13th 1812 >Clarinda " March 19th 1814 >Belinda " " Jan. 25th 1817 > >Richard Woolsey departed this life May 21st 1847 aged 75 years and 7 days. >Sally or Sarah Woolsey departed this life Jan. 3rd 1851. Being 76 years, seven months and 3 days old. >Thomas Gregory died May 25th 1861. >Clarinda Ellis died Nov. 30th 1874 age 60 years, 8 months and 11 days in Springfield, Missouri. >Belinda Bassett died June 14th 1876 at ? N.Y. Age 59 years, 4 months and 22 days. >Lucinda Teed died March 11th 1886. Aged 74 years, 1 month and 29 days at Norwalk, Ohio. >Joseph Woolsey died 1858 age 57. >Richard Woolsey died 1883. >Daniel Woolsey died June 27th 1887 aged 79 years, 3 months and 22 days. > >Daniel Woolsey was married to Julana Shaver (born in Colchester Feb. 12 1810, daughter of Henry Shaver and ?) on Feb. 15, 1832. The bible goes >on to list their offspring on pages of births, deaths and marriages. >I'll send you a complete transcription of these pages for your information. Daniel and Julana moved with their family to Marshall, Calhoun County, Michigan from Covert, Seneca County around 1837. I have a lot of information about them and their life in Michigan. They are both buried in Marshall at Hotchkiss Cemetery. > >Richard and Sarah (who was called Sally) are both buried in Seneca County at Lakeview Cemetery, Interlaken. Their daughter Belinda and her second husband Pierpont Bassett are buried near them. Belinda's first husband had the last name of Ellis. I have sent an inquiry to the Covert, Seneca County historian to see if the specific cemetery records might contain some more info. I'll let you know if he comes up with >anything. > >Richard and Sarah's daughter Lucinda is buried with her husband John Teed (I have also seen this name as Tidd) and their sons Perry and Richard in Townsend Center Cemetery, Townsend Township, Huron County, Ohio. > >I was always mystified by the Thomas Gregory entry in the bible. That >mystery was solved a few weeks back when Richard's will came from the Seneca County Surrogate Court. The will lists as heirs all of Richard and Sarah's children who were all living at the time the will was written a few years before his death. It goes on to list stepsons >Josiah and Thomas Gregory. It then lists the families of deceased daughters Esther, wife of Issac Wilson, Phebe, wife of John Dixon and Sarah, wife of Joseph H. Hall. Since these are not daughters of Sarah and Richard, I assume these are also Gregorys and are his stepdaughters. > >I sent this information to ---------- who has researched the Gregory family in Delaware County. His information is that Sarah was married to Josiah Gregory Sr. The names of the sons are exact and his death date for Thomas matched the date in the bible. ----- also knows they had daughters. Josiah Sr. died at age 25 of a "mortal injury". ----- shows Sarah's maiden name was Fuller. Although I have not proven this >information with documentation it does sound accurate. > >Based on this info and that Richard and Sarah's first child was born in 1801, I believe they were married in the late 1790's. > >The information about Richard's father being killed around 1779-1780 during the Revolutionary war leaving Richard and his brother orphans comes from a biographical sketch written in the late 1800's about Richard's grandson George Shufelt Woolsey. The biography includes this family history. I will include a copy of this in the package to you. > >I have often wondered if the Daniel Woolsey I see in the very early census records for the Delaware County area is the relative (perhaps an uncle) that Richard was sent to live with. > >Anyway, I hope this all helps. Please let me know if there is anything more I can do and I look forward to hearing from you. > > >Thanks Again, > >Tania > Well, there you have it. A great of information on just two pages. Descendants of Richard Woolsey and Sarah Fowler. The work is becoming more and more exciting as more and more people become involved. Sincerely, Wilford W. Whitaker

To interested Woolsey researchers: It is always interesting to me how many people with whom I am corresponding are actively working on the descendants of Richard Woolsey and Sarah Fowler. And we are carefully working out the problems involved with various family members. The following may be of interest: Richard Woolsey, grandson of Richard Woolsey and Sarah Fowler, was born 1772 in Westchester Co., NY. He md abt (the first date was supposed to be about 1792, but subsequent information shows the date must be around 1800) to Sarah Gregory and they had about 13 children born in Delaware Co., NY. Richard then died in 1847 in Seneca County, NY. Basically, that is the information I had, which came from Robert M. Woolsey's ANNOTATED WOOLSEY FAMILY, a good, fairly-well documented history of the family. He gave the names of the children but didn't take it much further than that. Then Tania Woolsey contacted me and said she had the Bible Records for Richard Woolsey and Sarah "Sally" Gregory. And we discover that Sarah's maiden name was most probably Fuller and she had married 1) to Josiah Gregory, Sr. and had 5 children by him, three of whom were listed as daughters of Richard Woolsey, who evidently raised them and named them in his will, along with two Gregory boys. So we already have made great improvements in the family. Then from family tradition Tania said that Richard's father was in the Rev. War and was killed there and that Richard was orphaned, along with a brother, who was sent to New York City and Richard was "farmed" out to relatives presumably in the Delaware Co., area of NY. Now the plot thickens and becomes even more interesting. I have Richard Woolsey's father as Joseph Woolsey (s/o Richard Woolsey and Sarah Fowler) and Mary Haight, all of Bedford, Westchester County, NY. However, I didn't have Joseph as being in the Rev. War or of dying during the War but he lived until Aug 1800 and died in Bedford. And Joseph Woolsey and Mary Haight had a large family of 13 children and didn't leave them orphaned. Now, Tania, the following should be enough to get your heart beating faster: Richard Woolsey and Sarah Fowler had another son Josiah Woolsey, b 1738 at Bedford and died 1779/1780 in the Sugar House Prison, in New York City, a prisoner of the British during the Rev. War. This Josiah Woolsey was in the Rev. War and died during the War. His wife was Mary Owen and they had six children born between 1758 to 1776. However there is no Richard Woolsey listed among the children of Josiah Woolsey and Mary Owen. Josiah Woolsey, Sr. was a private in Capt. Marcus Morse's (or Moseman) Co. of the 2nd Reg't of the Westchester County, NY volunteers, md Mary Owen and while home on an army leave some of his relatives told the British where he was, so he was captured and taken off prisoner to the Sugar House prison in New York City. (Westchester county was a hot-bed of aristocrats and tories all during the Revolutionary War.) Josiah became ill and he was released for a visit to go home for a time. While here he made a will before returning to prison. He died in prison and was buried in the Trinity Church Yard. In 1865 his grave was moved to the Family plot in the Old Cemetery at Bedford, NY. So what do we do? Who was the father of Richard Woolsey born 1772? Was it Joseph of the non-Revolutionary War activity or was it Josiah, the Rev. War Patriot who died in his country's service, and is the family tradition correct? Well, we checked out Josiah's will, as follows: 9 Sep 1779. #620 EARLY WILLS OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY. Josiah Woolsey, Westchester, being sick (small pox) I direct all debts to be paid . . . . Provides for wife Mary, 1/3 of all real and personal estate .... Rest of estate to four sons Thomas, Stephen, William, Josiah, 3/4 of the remainder to my two daughters Sarah and Mary, one fourth of remainder. Makes wife and Joseph Owen executors. Witnesses: Wm. Croft, Thomas Burrill, Adam Van Riper. Proved 3 Dec 1779. So, Tania, we can state with some authority, that Josiah Woolsey, though a Rev. War Vet, dying in the service, and his wife Mary Owen did not have a son Richard Woolsey. So, family tradition to the contrary, it is my guarded opinion that, until we come up with something more definite, that Richard Woolsey (born 1772) who md Sarah Fuller Gregory, is the son of Joseph Woolsey and Mary Haight. Thus the line would run: Richard Woolsey = Sarah Fuller (Gregory) s/o Joseph Woolsey = Mary Haight s/o Richard Woolsey = Sarah Fowler s/o Thomas Woolsey = Ruth Baylies s/o George Woolsey = Rebecca Cornell (The Immigrant) Now of course, as new evidence is mounted and more details come to light, things can change in an instant. (That's why I enjoy the computer: It doesn't take long to correct my mistakes!) Enough for now. Sincerely, Wilford W. Whitaker

TO: Wilford W. Whitaker: The information on the New Jersey Woolseys that you sent, see below, is what I also have in my database. The problem I have had is in the follow up of Henry Woolsey, the brother of Nancy and the son of Benjamin. A special census was taken in New Jersey in 1793 which listed every free, white, able-bodied male between the ages of eighteen and forty-five - excluding Revolutionary War Veterans and others previously enrolled in the militia organizations. In this census Henry Woolsey who was 18 years old in 1792 (born 1774) was listed from Trenton Township, Hunterdon County. A few years later and in the 1800 U.S. Pennsylvania Census, it shows a Henry Wolsey living directly across the Delaware river from Trenton Township, living in Bucks County, Lower Makefield Township. He is married and with two small children. Later in 1810 Henry Wolsey is listed as the father of children Benjamin Wolsey, 11 years; Annaliza Wolsey, 8 years; and Sarah Wolsey, 4 years. Over the next couple of years the spelling of the names alternated from Wolsey to Woolsey, etc. When Benjamin Woolsey of Trenton, N.J. died in 1822 his obituary was printed in the Bucks County Intelligencer, Doylestown, Pa.; the county where Henry was living. My line from 1800 in PA (Henry and his son Benjamin Woolsey) until the present time is well documented. The big question is: Is this Henry the son of Benjamin Woolsey living in Trenton. Benjamin's will leaves everything to his wife Ann and upon her death to daughter Ann (Nancy) with no mention of Henry. This is driving me NUTS! :) Wilford, I have complete information on the Pennsylvania Woolseys. Be happy to send it to you. I have sent you a contribution towards a research fund to further our knowledge of Woolseys in Holland and England, or however else you may see fit. Best Wishes, Roland C. Carson At 10:24 PM 09/27/1999 -0600, you wrote: >To: Roland Carson: > >1. George Woolsey, the Immigrant and Rebecca Cornell >2. George Woolsey II and Hannah Van Zandt >3. George Woolsey III and Hannah Smith (proven by wills). This couple >was the first Woolseys into New Jersey. >4. Daniel Woolsey (named in his father's will) and Mary Ward Van Volzen. >(I haven't proved the Van Volzen marr.) >5. Benjamin Woolsey (from Benj. W. Dwight - "had two children, Henry and >Nancy. Nancy never married.") >6. Henry Woolsey

Hi Wilford Thank you for posting the John Woolsey information. I have the following to add. Donna K. Smith "Wilford W. Whitaker" wrote: > > p. 68b #34-33 > Keeth, Thomas 32 m Farmer $400 $450 Ohio > Purnesey 45 (41?) f keeping house IL > Wolsey, John 12 m MO > Josephine 10 f MO > Miller, Eloid 26 m Farm laborer MO > Smith, Mishua 19 m Farm laborer MO > > Summersville City Cemetery, Summersville, Texas County, Missouri Thomas J. Keeth b. 25 May 1836......d. 13 Feb 1907.....70 yrs 8 m 18 d Purnesey Keeth....b. 6 Apr 1828.....d. 30 Jun 1887.....wife of T.J. Keeth Minerva Keeth.....b. 3 Feb 1854.....d. 11 Mar 1927.....wife of Thomas Keeth > > > Have you found John & Elizabeth in the 1850 Census? p 245 1850 Williamson County, Illinois - 2 Oct. line 40, Res. 470, Family 482, Jehu Woolsey 36 , Farmer, 400, b. Ky Elizabeth Woolsey 26, b. Ky Cynthia G. Woolsey 12, b. IL Solomon Woolsey 11, b. IL Charles Woolsey 7, b. IL Harriet Woolsey 5, b. IL William Woolsey 1, b. IL >

To all interested Woolseys: This was posted to the WOOSLEY web-site. I thought you may be interested. >> Subject: [WOOSLEY] George WOOLSEY - A New York Fire Warden in 1648 >> Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 16:47:10 -0700 >> From: Ray Nelson <REDWOOD@prodigy.net> >> To: WOOSLEY-L@rootsweb.com >> >> I can help out on Becky Gregg's need to >> verify the "Joris" appointment. I refer >> to: >> >> "OUR FIREMEN, A HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK >> FIRE DEPARTMENTS" >> "Volunteer and Paid" >> >> by Augustine E. Costello, Author and >> Publisher, Copyright 1887 >> >> Only 23 of the 58 chapters were reproduced >> on Deborah Breton's home page in 1997 >> before she was legally challenged obout >> the copyright and stopped. >> >> I quote here from Chapter 1 - pages 8&9. >> This would be in 1648, a year after Peter >> Stuyvesant became Gov. of New Netherlands: >> >> "From this time forth it is ordered no >> wooden or platted chimneys shall be >> permitted >> to be built in any houses between the Fort >> and Fresh Water, but that those >> already standing shall be suffered to >> remain during the good pleasure of the >> fire >> wardens...the following persons were >> appointed fire wardens: From the Council, >> the >> Commissary Adrian Keyser, and from the >> Commonalty, Thomas Hall, Martin Krieger, >> and >> George Woolsey. ...they are the first (New >> Amsterdam) fire functionaries..... >> >> ...George Woolsey, like Thomas Hall, was >> an Englishman. He came out as an agent of >> Isaac Allerton, a leading Dutch trader. >> The descendants of these men are to this >> day honored residents of this city." >> >> I was glad to find this info and also to >> pass it on to all. >> >> Ray Nelson > > > Sincerely, Wilford W. Whitaker

To Charles H. Woolsey and all interested Woolsey descendants: I will post some of the results of my search in the LDS Family History Library. You probably have most of this, but it helped bring these families into my focus. Perry County, Illinois, MARRIAGES Newton Woolsey = Mollie Glenn 26 Oct 1885 B:223 S. J. Woolsey = S. A. Robinson 27 Dec 1857 2:80 Solomon Woolsey = Sally Bowlin 25 Jun 1835 1:60 John Wolsey = Jane Davis 01 Sep 1836 1:71 John Wolsey = Elizabeth Burklow 02 Apr 1845 1:241 Amanda Woolsey = Charles Campbell 12 Aug 1835 1:61 Ann Eliza Woolsey = George W. Shaw 07 Feb 1875 B:27 Barbara Woolsey = Albert Adkins 16 Mar 1867 4:457 Lucy Woolsey = Alfred Asbury 24 Dec 1880 B:30 Mrs. Margaret Woolsey = Oliver Watkins 9 Apr 1874 B:23 Duretta Wolsey = John Hogg 10 Dec 1844 1:232 Mary Ann Wolsey = Isaac Campbell 12 May 1842 1:165 1850 Census Perry County, Illinois 615-619 John Hog 28 m Farmer TN Duretha 28 f IL Susan 9 f IL James T. 5 m IL Malissa E. 3 f IL Shelby County, Illinois, DEEDS I checked the GRANTOR and GRANTEE indexes from 1828 to 1884, but found nothing. Shelby County, Illinois, PROBATE I checked indexes and Will records but found nothing. There are dozens of books in the library for Shelby County. I checked each one's index but the only indication of any Woolseys living here was a mention of a Mrs. Wolsey in 1889. That is all I found. Shannon County, Missouri MARRIAGES John Woolsey of Spring Valley = Mary Walker of Spring Valley 26 Jan 1882 - p. 2 John Woolsey = Delilah Lynch 16 Jun 1886 p. 12 Sterling P. Woolsey = Prudence F. Boyd 16 Oct 1887 p. 15 1860 Census Shannon County, Missouri p. 8 #110 Woolsey, John 45 m KY Elizabeth 36 f KY Solomon 20 m IL Charles 16 m IL Permissa 14 f IL William 10 m IL Susan 6 f IL Mary 5 f IL 1870 Census Shannon County, Missouri p. 66b. #11-11 Wolsey, Elizabeth 46 f keeping house $700 $225 KY William 21 m works on farm IL Ann 16 f IL Mary 14 f IOWA Martha 9? f MO Sterling 6 m ARK Ballard, John 13 m ARK Harler, Virginia 25 f domestic servant VA p. 68b #34-33 Keeth, Thomas 32 m Farmer $400 $450 Ohio Purnesey 45 (41?) f keeping house IL Wolsey, John 12 m MO Josephine 10 f MO Miller, Eloid 26 m Farm laborer MO Smith, Mishua 19 m Farm laborer MO I checked the INDEX to Probate Records 1869-1911 for Shannon County, Missouri, but found nothing. Have you found John & Elizabeth in the 1850 Census? I'll close for now. Sincerely yours, Wilford W. Whitaker

To all interested Woolseys: I think it almost a miracle that we are corresponding with descendants of four brothers, the sons of Richard Woolsey and Nancy Plumstead, of Ulster County, New York, Washington County, Virginia, and Mercer, Pulaskia and Jessamine Counties, Kentucky, Jackson County, Indiana, and Randolph and Fayette Counties, Illinois. (and other areas) Yes, we have found descendants of Joseph Woolsey and Abigail Schaeffer (that includes me), Richard Woolsey and Elizabeth Mayner, Jacob C. Woolsey and Elizabeth Weger, and Nathaniel Woolsey and Susannah ?. We have a long way to go on these families, but this is such a great start! These Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, families have been very difficult to pin down, but we are making headway. Any documented (and undocumented) material you may have from those areas would be very helpful. Jacob C. Woolsey is a good example of how it takes concentrated effort to make a record complete. I have had a great deal of information on Jacob C. Woolsey from about 1842 to 1855, and now a descendant has a great deal of information on Jacob up to about 1840, when he becomes "lost" to that family. Jacob C. Woolsey, with several of his brother Joseph and Abigail's children, joined the "Mormon" church and we find Jacob C. Woolsey and family in Nauvoo, Illinois, from about 1842 to 1846, when they joined the exodus from Nauvoo to Indian Territory. Jacob C. Woolsey brought some of his family to Utah in 1848 (along with his sister-in-law Abigail Schaeffer and some of her children, as part of John D. Lee's group.) Jacob C. Woolsey's daughter Emeline married, as his eleventh wife, John D. Lee, who had previously married two of Joseph and Abigail's daughters, Agatha Ann (wife #1) and Rachel Andora (wife #6). John D. Lee also married his widowed sister-in-law Abigail Schaeffer Woolsey, but always claimed it was in name only, and for her protection. Abigail Schaeffer, widow of Joseph, took sick with the "Rocky Mountain Fever" and died at the "last or ninth crossing of the Sweetwater River", and her grave was dug by her brother-in-law Jacob C. Woolsey. I have BLM maps and hope to identify the site, perhaps next summer, as John D. Lee, in his "Journals" left a very good description of the place she is buried. We find Jacob C. Woolsey in the 1850 (1851)Census of Utah, living in Salt Lake City, and in 1852 and 1853 he was living in the South Cottonwood Ward (very close to where I now live). In the 1855 State Census, we find his probable family (a large one) living in the Provo City area (Brigham Young University). I say "probable family" because only the names and sex of the persons were recorded and not the ages, so it is difficult to sort out a family, unless one was better acquainted with it. After 1855, we lose Jacob C. and most of his family, but it is possible that some of them (many?) returned to Illinois. Well, that is what we are working on (among dozens of other projects). Well, I just thought you would find that interesting. Sincerely, Wilford W. Whitaker

Hi Wilford, > I, too, make the above statements in good faith and hopefully, good > nature. Please forgive me if I ruffle some feathers. My interest is in > "documenting" our family tree. > > Thank you for putting up with me this far. I fully support the statements you posted in the full message, of which just a tidbit above, is recanted. Lord knows that I haven't nearly the invested time nor resulting knowledge that you do, but several years ago I was corresponding with a lady who lives in the southern states, and we more or less came to the same conclusion. She felt that her WOOSLEYs descended from a Moses WOOSLEY who originally was from Wales. Neither she nor I could find anything in common between the WOOLSEYs and the WOOSLEYs, except the propagated errors. Just thought you'd like a positive vote in your favor! <G> Have a great day and many many thanks for the WONDERFUL job you've done on this project. Chuck

To all interested Woolsey researchers: I have been spending 6 to 8 to 10 hours in the LDS Family History Library here in Salt Lake, most days working on various branches of the WOOLSEY family. Your comments and information have been received and put into the computer (that's why I am up so late tonight). However, I am getting behind in my correspondence. Please forgive me if I haven't gotten right back to you. Accept my thanks for all the help and interest you have shown. If I have promised to send you something and you haven't received it, please remind me again. Actually, I am doing what I really like best and that is original research. By the way, Charles H. Woolsey, I spent two days in the library on your Shannon Co., MO Woolseys, and Shelby Co., IL Woolseys. There are only three books in the library on Shannon Co, MO, so I read some microfilm. Not much help. Shelby Co., IL has dozens of books and I checked each one but only one indication (a Mrs. Wolsey in 1889) of Woolseys ever being there. I checked indexes to deeds and probates, but no success. I did check census records but it appears that you already have that data. That reminds me. Has anyone checked out the Illinois State Marriage Index on-line? There are over 200 marriages (from early to 1900) and I have been able to identify only about 1/2 of them, most of them before 1870. This would be a good project for you all who have Illinois Woolsey roots. Enough for now. Sincerely, Wilford W. Whitaker

To all interested WOOLSEY researchers: Because of the similarity of names, I subscribe to the WOOSLEY-List. A researcher suggested the premise that their WOOSELY emmigrant was George "Joris" WOOLSEY of Long Island, New York, and suggested that "the information of 'Joris' WOOLSEY of Long Island" could be posted. For your information, I posted the following to the WOOSLEY-List: >In regard to the WOOSLEY - WOOLSEY families, it may be of some interest for you to know that I have spent over two years, full-time, trying to 'document' the "well-documented" WOOLSEY family of New York, using the facilities of the Family History Library, in Salt Lake City, which is about 30 minutes drive from my home. > >I have done original research in the Eastern states and in the Southern states, as well as in the Mid-west and Western states, finding our New York WOOLSEY families in all these areas. > >Also, I have done (and hired)Research in Holland and in Norfolk and Suffolk counties, in England, tracing our George WOOLSEY (WOLSEY) back across the ocean. > >Therefore, I believe I am in a position to make a few conclusions about these families. > >The name WOLSEY (WOLCY, WULCEY, WULCI, etc) can be found in Suffolk and Norfolk counties, in England, before the Norman Conquest (William the Conqueror, 1066), so it is not of "Norman" or French extraction, but preceeds that. > >I can't say for sure for the WOOSLEY name, but am of the opinion that it is a post-conquest name, (i.e. after 1066) in English records. There is some evidence to connect the name WOOSLEY with the better known family of WOSELEY, which has its own coat-of-arms and has been fairly well traced. > >(A few researchers here in America attempted to connect the WOOLSEY family with the WOSELEY family, but were unable to sustain that theory. It is more tenable to connect your WOOSLEY family with the WOSELEYS.) > >My conclusion is that there is NO connection between WOOSLEY and WOOLSEY, even here in the United States. My WOOLSEY family begins with the immigrant GEORGE WOLSEY (chr. 1616 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England), and came to New Amsterdam about 1643 (other dates used for years not-withstanding) and married in New Amsterdam in 1647 to Rebecca Cornell. They lived in Jamaica (Queens County, Long Island) and are buried there. George and Rebecca had eight children and it is the descendants of four of these children we are trying to "document". He is found in both Dutch and English records. > >George WOOLSEY (I use the spelling "WOLSEY" in England and "WOOLSEY" in America, just to standardize the spelling.) was an apprentice of Isaac Allerton, the MAYFLOWER passenger and PLYMOUTH agent, who later became the agent of the Dutch at New Amsterdam. George went on to become either a clerk or a partner of Isaac Allerton as he "kept the books" for Allerton. > >(It was from this alliance that some early WOOLSEY researchers attempted to put George WOOLSEY with the PLYMOUTH adventurers. That theory cannot be proved from available records.) > >George WOOLSEY was the first WOOLSEY in America, but he wasn't the only immigrant by that name. I have found WOOLSEYs in Maryland in the middle 1600's and in New Jersey who were shipped over on "prison ships" in the middle and late 1600's but no relation to George and few descendants I have found. Descendants of George WOOLSEY do appear in New Jersey, Maryland and Connecticut from the late 1600's, however, and so care must be taken to keep them all separate. !! > >There are at least two examples of WOOLSEYS who were "transported" to Virginia in the middle 1600's and they left descendants but appear to have thinned out by the middle 1700's. They seemed to remain in the tide-water area. > >The WOOSLEY family seems to be in the Norfolk, Amelia, Halifax, Counties, of Virginia. > >Then my ancestor, the Baptist preacher, Reverend Thomas (Richard, Thomas, 'Joris' George) WOOLSEY (b 1719, Bedford, Westchester, New York) came to what would become Washington County, Virginia, abt 1771, settling on the South Fork of the Holsten River, near St. Clair's (Sinclair's) Bottoms. > >With the Reverend Thomas WOOLSEY came brothers, cousins, nephews, and some of his children, with friends and neighbors and in-laws (and "out-laws", see Francis Hopkins, of Washington County, Virginia, notoriety). From Washington County, Virginia, they spread out to Greene County, Tennessee, and to several counties in Kentucky, and from thence continued to spread "West". > >I don't know where the WOOSLEY family originated in Virginia, but they came from different counties, also heading "West" into Kentucky, mostly. > >It is here in Kentucky that we begin to see a "cross-over" between the names WOOSLEY and WOOLSEY, and I have had to identify each individual I found as belonging to one family or the other. > >The families themselves seemed to keep the spellings fairly intact, (meaning they kept their pronunciations correctly), but the scribes and clerks made many mistakes in recording their names, even within the same document. > >So, my considered opinion is that there is NO connection between the families WOOSLEY and WOOLSEY, except incidentally as names were mis-spelled in the old records. > >So, Becky Gregg, Greenville, SC, your enthusiasm and interest is greatly appreciated, but I would suggest that you do NOT post 'Joris' Woolsey of Long Island on the WOOSLEY list. One reason I suggest you NOT do this is that there are so many mistakes in the early postings and PAF and IGI and Ancestral Files. I have been working 8-10-16 hours a day, full-time, on the WOOLSEY problems and would be dismayed to see those mistakes compounded again and again. > >And, Oh, Becky, I do not know who Thomas WOOSLEY, 'mariner', is. He states that he is of New York "at present", so I don't think he is of there originally. He doesn't fit into any of our WOOLSEY families of New York, but of course, that is always subject to change as we obtain new and better data. > >Some researchers have 8 or 10 generations for ancestors of our ancestor 'Joris' George Woolsey of Long Island, trying to connect him to Thomas, Cardinal Wolsey, of Suffolk and King Henry VIII's 'spiritual advisor'. Please, please, don't post anything prior to George Woolsey, the immigrant. NONE of those lines are correct. > >There is a list for the WOOLSEY family that anyone interested should check out < Woolsey-L@rootsweb.com >. > >And to Dale Woosley, Salem, Illinois: I agree with your excellent summation. And it is true the New York WOOLSEYs were 'highly educated and prominent people', but as they moved West, the realities of the frontier tended to dilute and minimize educational opportunities. Although I find many of the WOOLSEY "signed" their names while their spouses "made their marks", and as it was the frontier mother who 'educated' their children, the educational level dropped significantly. > >The information in the LDS Ancestral Files, unfortunately, will not be corrected, unless someone makes the effort to do so. Regrettably (sp?) the information submitted there is now written 'in stone' and has become 'indisputable', and more's the pity for it. Once something has appeared in print, some careless researchers seem to think it is 'tried and true' and people unthinkingly pass this 'tainted' data blithely back and forth, marvelling all the while, on the great lengths of their 'proven' pedigrees. > >I, on the other hand, am just trying to find and 'prove' who the wife of the Rev. Thomas WOOLSEY was, notwithstanding what the Ancestral Files and IGI files claim!! > >I, too, make the above statements in good faith and hopefully, good nature. Please forgive me if I ruffle some feathers. My interest is in "documenting" our family tree. > Thank you for putting up with me this far. Sincerely, Wilford W. Whitaker, Murray, Utah

Hello list members. This is an automatically-generated notice that I received. I receive one of these, anytime someone submits a query. Can anyone help her? Woolsey Queries A new message, "Harrison Lay, Susan Woolsey: Pulaski KY, Lincoln MO, Lauderdale AL," was posted by Jeanene Daniels on Tue, 26 Oct 1999 Surname: Lay, Woolsey, Weathers, Donaldson, Grisham, Scoggins, Lynn --- NAME: Jeanene Daniels EMAIL: jeanened@hotmail.com DATE: Oct 26 1999 QRYTEXT: My ancestor, Harrison LAY, was born in Pulaski County, Kentucky ca 1823 and married Susan WOOLSEY there in 1839. They are in the 1850 Pulaski County, Kentucky census with children: Perry, Libby, Richmond, and Jane. Then they are in the 1860 Lincoln County, Missouri census with children: Anna J., Jefferson P., Elizabeth, Richard, Andrew J., Erasmus, Mary, and Elizabeth L. Harrison joined the Confederate army and then married my ancestor, Nancy Mack WEATHERS DONALDSON in 1865 in Conway County, Arkansas, moved to Lauderdale County, Alabama and had another family there: daughters Lenoria A., Mary Frances who married Andrew E. GRISHAM, and Sarah B. who probably married R.E. SCOGGINS and might have been called Bettie. I especially want to know what happened to Susan Woolsey Lay and her children. I would like to hear from descendants of any of Harrison's children, or descendants of Harrison's brother, Cyrennius or Cyrus Lay, who married a LYNN and moved with Harrison to Linc! oln County, Missouri. I believe Cyrennius died in the 1873 cholera epidemic in Lincoln County, Missouri. Best Regards, Chuck Taylor

Wilford: I don't know nutin' bout breff that smells of bats or how'd one shut up an oar but eyes sure am beholding to ya for leten me know bouts John and Sarie. Carolyn Woolsey Wilkerson honey@texasol.com http://www.texasol.com/honey ----- Original Message ----- From: Wilford W. Whitaker <wwwhit@integrityonline3.com> To: <WOOLSEY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, October 20, 1999 11:58 AM Subject: John Woolsey & Sarah Oliphant > To Carolyn Wilkerson (who waits with "bated breath & muffled oar") and > other interested Woolsey researchers: > > I guess I have kept you in suspense long enough. After some days in the > Library, I haven't resolved the questions that arose, so I will just post > what I found and let you make your own conclusions. > > >From Ulster County, New York Records. > > Records of Reformed Dutch Church at Shawangunk (pronounced Sha-WAH-gum), > Ulster County, New York. FHL film# 0017920, Item 1. (Shawangunk Church is > located four miles west of Wallkill in the town of Shawangunk, Ulster > County, New York. > > MARRIAGES: "p. 11. 19 Nov 1773. John Whoolsey of Long Island and Sarah > Cole, wid. of Dutchland." > > There may be other John Woolseys to whom this marriage may apply. Because > of the closeness of the date, I thought it may apply to John Woolsey IV and > his second wife, Sarah Oliphant, but I haven't found the proof. > > Sincerely, > > Wilford W. Whitaker > > >

-----Original Message----- From: Chwoolsey@aol.com <Chwoolsey@aol.com> To: cgibbons@whitemtns.com <cgibbons@whitemtns.com> Date: Wednesday, October 20, 1999 10:10 PM Subject: Re: The Giant John Woolsey >I would be very interested in hearing what you have, you have tweaked my >curiosity. Can you send it by computer. If you need to snail mail it I will >gladly pay postage and reproduction. >charles woolsey >2631 darwin st >sacramento, california 95821 >

Sounds very intriguing (splg?). Carolyn -----Original Message----- From: Wilford W. Whitaker <wwwhit@integrityonline3.com> To: WOOLSEY-L@rootsweb.com <WOOLSEY-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, October 20, 1999 4:13 PM Subject: The Giant John Woolsey >To all interested Woolsey Researchers: > >Sometime ago, someone posted a query about a Woolsey who was called a "Giant". > >I now have quite a bit of information about JOHN (The Sweet Hollow Giant) >WOOLSEY and his three wives and children, of Sweet Hollow, which was later >known as Melville, of Huntington, Suffolk, Long Island, New York. > >Any one interested? > >Sincerely, > >Wilford W. Whitaker > >

To all interested Woolsey Researchers: Sometime ago, someone posted a query about a Woolsey who was called a "Giant". I now have quite a bit of information about JOHN (The Sweet Hollow Giant) WOOLSEY and his three wives and children, of Sweet Hollow, which was later known as Melville, of Huntington, Suffolk, Long Island, New York. Any one interested? Sincerely, Wilford W. Whitaker