RACHEL MANSON: 1759 PHILADELPHIA

In the historic and lovely Christ Church of Philadelphia 2 Feb 1759, one William Terry married one Rachel Manson.

The jury is still out for many that this is the same couple who are in Botetourt County, Virginia in coming decades, identified as William Terry and wife Rachel in various court and land records. Some raise their hands and argue it is too far away - too far for travel back then. Well, that has been proven via maps and trails in use right through the area of Roanoke, Va (where William lived) from a very early date (George Washington used some while he was surveying).

William was in Virginia why go to Pennsylvania? Good question. Several obvious reasons emerge. One, that was where the girls were in all probability. If he was looking for a particular kind of wife, he might want to go back to "home" and to the "big city." A larger pond, as it were, for him to select a woman as his wife.

Wouldn't he be a stranger there? Well, good question that has to be answered with a question: how do we know he was stranger to the Pennsylvania-New Jersey- Delaware regions?  Indeed, looking into the family lines of the three brothers who arrived in New England in 1635 (Thomas, Richard and Robert Terry) it is amazing how that after arriving in probably Massachusetts, some drifted into New York (Southold and Long Island areas), and some into Burlington, New Jersey and similar points. In fact the man seen as teh patriarch of the Bucks Co., PA Terry groups actually shared land with his father-in-law Mordacai Bowden along the Delaware in a region that would become part of PA.

If the family letters of William's grandson, William Terry (1785-1869) reveal, there was a strong sense of "connection" among both family but also friends and traveling companions on the various journeys. That may be a family trait passed down through the generations.

One of the original three -presumed brothers - named a son Gershom. That is a Hebrew name about being an "alien" or a "a stranger here" and may reflect the isolation and alone feeling he experienced migrating from Kent, England to North America. A lesson like that might be strong and go through the generations and emphasize "connection" as the anti-thesis to loneliness.

Although not yet proven a connection it is very interesting that one of those brothers had a son who married a woman named HORTON.

William and Rachel Manson Terry of Botetourt Co., Va also have a son (named Miles)who will marry a woman named Hannah HORTON. 

Many of these families traveled together, like planets around suns they kept intersecting and often married 1-2-3-4 cousins thus reintroducing a surname into the mix. 

An intriguing possibility....

Now, as for Rachel Manson.  Many had stated that there were no Manson's in the area of Pennsylvania but that is untrue. There was one line that arrived fairly early with the name MANSSON and melded into another line by taking their name. There were some who arrived mid 1700's and some who had been in the area of New Sweden in NJ and in Delaware early with some apparent dealings with and into Pennsylvania.

Since there are known Terry lines (see paragraphs above) in the area of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A James Manson is recorded in Philadelphia Quaker Records for 1760 who might prove to be a relative of the Manson group out of which Rachel Manson Terry emerged. It is noted that female descendants have reported finding surprising Swedish and Norwegian DNA in their lines; could this be evidence of the 5-6 generation of a woman with just that background?

A Manson group of a Peter Manson in eastern Virginia (Spotsylvania) has been suggested but -to date - no Rachel Manson found.  There has, however, been a Rachel Mansion b. ca 1730 in Pennsylvania located in a record but more has to be found to see if she is the same one. In Delware in 1791 a Rachel Manson married a John Burroughs in Delaware and there is a Rachel Burroughs in Spotslvania, Va in the 1810 census. So that might account for the eastern VA group but only suggests the name Rachel was in the Manson family - like in so many other families - a popular girl's name.

RACHEL MANSON TERRY (C1730-C1803)

 It was the 1980's, just being introduced to the Terry family research by my brother Dennis R. Terry, people like Harriet Terry, Ruth Terry Preston, Nell Wray, and so many others. The big question was who was the "Rachel" mentioned in Botetourt Co., Virginia records as a widow of William Terry and mother to his eight children?  People searched and searched for likely records.  In eastern Virginia, in other lines of Terry's there were William's roughly the same age or dying earlier than "our" William.

Finally, a record was found in Philadelphia at the historic Christ Church of a 3 Feb 1759 marriage between a Rachel Manson and a William Terry.  Immediately, the response was to point out that the record did not prove anything beyond the fact two people of those names were married on that date in that place.

Objections were raised: Chief beyond the search for a smoking gun or sign saying, "Yes, this the couple!" was the charge that traveling distances such as that from Philadelphia to Roanoke would be impossible! (Early colonial maps marking trails from Philadelphia to Roanoke prove that is not the case.).

As for the "NO PROOF" this is the same couple, there are several factors - some thirty years onward from those first days of searching - that should be noted.

1. In all this time (at least since the 1980's)  NO OTHER candidates for William and Rachel have emerged. No other couples by those names (William Terry and Rachel - -) pop up in databases, printed volumes, etc. None has been shared with researchers and no subsequent  happy dances of joy in the discovery have erupted.

2. While no proofs of a documentary nature affirm a last name or marriage date for the couple, their descendants are being flagged as sharing likely DNA with that person we label Rachel Manson. Just as her husband's DNA (as reflected in descendants who have been tested) is suggesting a link to the vast Terry clan of Bucks Co., Pa and through them, possibly, to the arrival of two brothers and a cousin in 1636 aboard The James into Long Island regions of New York.

3. In the Quaker records of Philadelphia is a James Manson and family in the late 1700's. A brother, cousin or father of Rachel? Another line comes out of NJ and Delaware and may be of Swedish origin (which may explain the unexpected Swedish DNA in my own profile!).

So, while no proof exists that there is connection between the two couples, there is also no proof they are not connected or one and the same! The key will be for more descendants of those eight children of William Terry mentioned as his estate was settled to get their DNA done and begin to make those connections and solve the riddles once and for all.

It is now 297 years since William was born (est. 1724) and 291 years since Rachel was born (est. 1730).  It is time to find the answers to the questions since we now have an added tool with with to search and support any documentary evidence or family records uncovered.

Rachel deserves to be identified and fully recognized for what she brought into the lives of all those who descend from her...

Their children (ALL birthdates are est. and all births could be children of Rachel and William, see later article on ideas of his "first wife"):

William Jr. est. b 1755 - 1760

Jasper b. est. 1758-1760

John b. 1760

Miles - 1762

Mercy - c1765

Rachel

Susannah

Jemima  d. 1796

KEZIAH HALE TERRY: ORIGINAL MYSTERY WOMAN

About 20 years ago in the research into the TERRY family line of Botetourt County, Virginia came a claim that the presumed first wife of William Terry was a Keziah Hale Terry. Some mash the names of the second wife to create Keziah Rachael, Rachel Kezia, etc.

The claim is now chosen and added to trees with abandon and no citations as to the sources on which this claim is based included.

At about that same time, a claim of descent of this man from a early line of a James or John Tierry with a wife name Elizabeth Gale Pierpont and whose grave labels him a "gentleman" also appeared and the line was described as John to William I to William 2 of "Terry's Run, Orange Co., Va."and later Botetourt Co., Va. "Elmwood" (an interesting historical location in Roanoake that appears to have been settled by a distantly related eastern coastal area group of Terry's - but that is another story. The DNA reflects a large group of those coastal Terry's fall into a I-01 Haplogroup and the Roanoak groups fall into I-02/I-2a2 and one line in a G-02 group).

Once in Botetourt various legal and historic documents paint a picture of a man William Terry who arrived with a relative of some kind, Jasper Terry around 1744 in the area of Augusta County from which Botetourt County would be carved.

Further legal documents suggest his children to be eight named :

William Jr. with wife Patience Cooper. His will leaves money to son of Miles Terry

John and wife Esther Brown (descendants of this line fall within the I-2a2 haplogroup and have suggested links to William and Rachel Terry)

Mercy and husband Jonathan Harrison

Miles who married Hannah Horton (had has son by name of the child left funds by Wm Jr.)

Jasper (There are an apparent trio of Jaspers in the region at the same time ca 1793-1804: (1) a Jasper with wife Ruth ?; (2) A Jasper with a wife Margaret (based on the name of the step-daughter it is presumed to be Snidow); and (3) the family of a Jasper Terry with wife Mary [presumed Morrison] who have the G-02 group])

Susannah who married brother of Esther Brown, Thomas Brown

Rachel who married John Martin

Jemima who married Ezekiel Boucher and died barely a year later.

One document identifies his wife as "Rachel" and since no marriage records of a William Terry and Rachel in the time frame in the area have ever been found - researchers cast a wider net and found one for a William Terry and Rachel Manson in 1759 in Philadelphia. They disappear from that locale and seem to fit the bill despite the long journey. Colonial roads make a direct connection between Philadelphia and the early Roanoke area (Botetourt region).

When the claim of a Keziah Hale who married a William Terry are examined there is a paucity of records proving any such union took place. There are, apparently, no records of her existence at all! His are equally questionable. Many trees appear to have information inserted to make a match happen.

It is probable that the line of the John Tierry - found on the eastern Virginia, NC, SC and southern realms - came down the eastern seaboard and may connect to that I-01 Haplogroup. That line includes names such as James, John, Champness, Benjamin, Stephen, Nathaniel, a William or two.

The group to which William Terry of Botetourt Co., Va belongs contains a tradition across several lines and generations of names John, William, Miles, Jasper, Josiah, Martin, Thomas.  All names found in the Terry's comprising the large widespread group in Bucks Co., PA.  A group that has a Jasper Terry who married a Mary Hart (whose mother's maiden name is thought to be Miles). This man, along with his inlaws and other family members left Bucks Co., PA and headed down into August Co. Va.

Historical records of the 1740-1760 years reveal the presence of Harts (Thomas, Aron, Miles and others) working alongside that early Jasper and William Terry. Add to this the closer DNA grouping match and it is likely that this is the source of the William Terry as well. A cousin, orphaned child of a dead relative, a troublesome son seeking to make his mark, all provide explanations without evidence but are still viable.

According to the birth date of the Jasper Terry of Bucks Co. (abt 1716) who married Mary Hart, he was possibly a bit older than William (abt 1724).  William in the 1780's is exempted from future taxes due to old age. In that time average death age was aby 40 and if born in 1724 he was mid-fifties when exempted. He dies in 1783 (based on legal documents mentioned his widow). Jasper Terry and Mary may have removed, along with Thomas Hart, to the southeast where it is assumed they died (using the same scale for Jasper as for William he might have died around 1775).

As for a Kezia Hale who is suggested as the mystery wife of William Terry. All the birthdates not supported by other records or family records are guesses (usually based on the belief a person married at a certain age window or would have first birthed a child at a certain age window).  Even the "facts" carved into stone on graves is subject to being wrong.

That being said the only Keziah Hale women found are apparently all taken. They have other husbands for the time period, birth other children or simply do not exist in the right time and place. Plus, they have some documentary evidence to support those relationships, dates, etc. With this "William and Keziah" they appear to be plucked out of thin air to fill a void.

All this brings up back to a mythical William Terry who married a Keziah Hale. Myth it is until some evidence or a solid set of facts are presented to argue for the existence of him and the reality of her and the marriage.

"Show me the evidence!" should be the cry of every family historian. Evidence shared so others can interpret, apply, and mull over previous assumptions or provide counter evidence of a wrong turn in our own assumptions.

Now, with DNA cutting a swath through the forest, the trees are becoming a bit clearer.

Problems with the Terry Tree

Two wrinkles have arisen concerning origins for the man my family line identifies as William Terry (1724-1793) and wife Rachel Manson(c1730-1803) of Botetourt County, Va. Family trees, family histories, family letters along with family lore and official documentation- and now DNA- have all established that this man had a son John Terry who married Esther Brown.

PROBLEMS OF EVIDENCE AND LOCATION:

The man many family trees identify as  a) William Terry, b) William "Trapper" Terry and ,3) "William Terriy", often has a birthdate ranging from 1700-1724, my line believes the 1724 is correct based on activities. 

Some claim he was born at "Elmwood Plantation, Roanoke, Botetourt Co, Va" and others "Terry's Run, Orange Co., Va".  The last is interesting because according to sources consulted Orange Co was created in about 1734 from Spotsylvania Co. His death has been - since about the 1970's fixed at circa 1803 based on dating from various legal documents that mention his children. A legal action by his son Miles Terry named Rachel as William's widow and several children were named in the document dated February 1793. Then an earlier court document filed by his son Jasper (with wife Ruth) to serve as administrator was filed Dec 11 1792.  This appears to mean that William was already dead (hence his wife named a widow).

Some claim and have added that to the FindaGrave record that he died in Surry Co., North Carolina and they describe him as Wm "Trapper" Terry who married a Cherokee woman they label a "Princess" Elizabeth or Esther Harris Terry Parker Sanders (all my Native American friends confirm are probably shaking their heads at the princess business; most concur they had no such title). The one revised FIndAGrave has William as an elderly man up and traveling to Surry Co., NC and there dying and being buried in a Terry Family Cemetery. I have no doubt there might be a Wm Terry buried there but feel confident he will turn out to be one of the eastern VA Terry group with a Haplogroup of I-01. They had several Williams fighting in Native conflicts, fighting in the Revolution, and they made have made their living trapping and using the coastal waterways for trade.  Some of the this group may require a vast new database of DNA before they are satisfied with any tree. 

Others hold to a death in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States.  That is most likely since he died probably October or November of 1792 in Botetourt Co., Virginia. No grave has been documented as his in Botetourt County, Va or elsewhere. 

Note: Here is where some DNA would really be useful to untangle the line of this alleged "Wm "Trapper" Terry who married the Native American Woman in  North Carolina. I can accept "A" William Terry may have done just that, but there were several large clusters of Terry's, including one group that landed in Virginia, one that trickled down from Pa and NJ and another that may have drifted in from NC.  

The DNA will be helpful to see if this group belongs to the G Haplogroup of Jasper Terry and Mary Morrison or the I-02 Haplogroup of Wm and Rachel Manson Terry, Jasper Terry and Mary Hart and John and Ester Brown Terry.

SOME OTHER PROBLEMS NOTED:

A marriage between a  William Tirrey, and Keziah (Hale) Tirrey. This gets repeated -ad nauseum -  but there is no evidence provided when it is shared. Where does the information come from? A family Bible? A public or church record? There has to be some proof before this can be accepted in any manner whatsoever.

The Boteoturt Co,, VA Wm Terry's wife was a "Rachel Moredock". Again, absolutely no evidence or documentation is offered to support this. There, however a marriage record at the historical Christ Church in Philadelphia of a 1759 marriage between a William Terry and a Rachel Manson. If this was a second union for William, as some birthdates suggest, the first marriage was made when he was young.

The same is true for a marriage of a Thomas BROWN and a Mary TERRY. It keeps getting listed but the records I have seen show no place, no date and without those the claim there relate to the parents of Esther Brown Terry mean nothing.

For some odd reason, again no supporting evidence, Wm's son, father of my ggggrandfather William Terry who married Barbara Ennis, John /Esther Brown Terry has had "Burris" slipped into his name. No evidence, no proof and an apparent story that may have had its genesis in the marital line of a descendent of John's younger son. In fact, the only Burris connection is through the son of Josiah, son of John and Esther, whose first marriage produced two sons (William and Joseph). Joseph married a woman whose grandmother was a Burris. Absolutely no connection to John Terry son of William Terry.

The next data is full of details but empty of references or cited sources:  The claim is that William Terry (pick which one) had the occupation as a Fur Trader and he was a Roanoke/Southern Tuscororan Soldier.    Some claim either he or just his alleged first wife or both had an ethnicity of Tuscorora; and Old Cheraw . Others have fleshed out the information - again  no source - that his was named William John Terry, fur trapper/trader, surveyor, soldier.  Given land right, by the late 1700's, the old Terry Plantation was made up close to 1,000 acres. The property located where Roanoke, Virginia was later established. His farm was named Elmwood.

A little about "ELMWOOD":

A 2010 article from my old blog "Family Face", "ELMWOOD: TERRY HOME OF BOTETOURT CO., VIRGINIA"

"According to many researchers this house was the home of the Terry's in what is now Roanoke, VA. It served as the recreation offices of the city in 1944 and later the main library but was demolished in 1964 as the and the libraries grew ( public library). The area is known as Elmwood Park. The last Terry to reside there on South Jefferson Street was the town's first millionaire, Peyton L. Terry. According to one source, Peyton acquired "Elmwood" in 1868 after the Civil War. Other sources indicate he was the son of a Stephen Terry and there had been a "Elmwood" in Pittsylvania Co.. Continuing research will clarify the connection as valid or just a really good story.

Peyton Leftwich Terry of the Pittsylvania Co. Va area, was the descendent of Steven (1805-), son of William (1777-1815), son of Stephen (1750-1802), son of Zachariah (1725-1767 and all in the same Pittsylvania Co., Va area) who may have been the son of a James Terry (dates and location unknown). His wife, Mary Terry, wrote a book, "Big Lick Homefront: 1861-1865" written in 1898.

Although connection to this home is still possible due to many unanswered family history questions. from the information about the last Terry resident (who may or may not have named it), it would appear that there is no clear connection to the Peyton L. Terry of Elmwood and the line of this page."

The group that built Elmwood was apparently from Pittsylvania Co., Va. 

Terry's Run, Orange Co., Virginia:

The Tierry/Terry theory runs rampant with the claim that William Terry father of William/Rachel Terry line was born in 1700 in "Terry's Run" in Orange County, Virginia, the son of a "gentleman" and physician born in London. Records indicate that Orange County was created in 1734 from Spotsylvania co., Va.

Between 1781 and 1792 three male Terry's marry and are recorded in the book Annals of Southwest Virginia, p. 525 (available free to view online HathiTrust).  In 1781 John Terry marries Esther Brown, in 1782 his brother Miles Terry marries Hannah Horton. In 1782 a Stepen (Stephen) Terry marries an Alice Biggs.  This last group , I believe, represent a family that migrated into the are from about 1760 but more seriously about the time the line of William Terry-Rachel Manson Terry are migrated outward to other counties and territories (KY, TN, IND, etc.). The information on this page, I believe, describes their line. See: Terry Families of VA - Botetou - Genealogy.com

A family of Terry are in North Carolina and Halifax Co., VA with names Stephen, Matthew, Champs, etc. and they, from will information, represent another group.

The Annals mentions a William Terry with a wife Elizabeth in 1798 (April 6) who sold land to Isaac Renfro on the Little River in Botetourt Co., Va.

AGAIN - the DNA will be incredibly important in untangling these lines. Having my father's DNA return with the I-02 haplogroup was incredibly enlightening since others have done theirs and the link is proven from my father to John and Esther and upheld with Wm and Rachel. Others with the same haplogroup include a line going up into Pennsylvania and New York. Still some untangling to do but the DNA is a guide.

Further, I have had no "hits" on my own DNA information related to any group claiming the "Trapper " William Terry story.

So, look for the evidence, or add a statement as to why your link should be accepted because others will not be as discerning or questioning.