The following information has been compiled by Judy Davison, a 3rd-great-granddaughter of Ira (via Israel) -- making us 5th cousins, if I've done the math right. If you have any more information or theories or the like, please do contact me; I'd both love to hear from you. Or you might like to visit Judy's own website, where she has quite a bit of information.
My sincere thanks to Judy for sharing this information, which was acquired at considerable cost of time and money.
July 17, 2001
I want to share information that I have recently discovered about our common ancestors, Ira and Sally Huse.
I started with the sure knowledge of the following: my 3rd great-grandparents, Ira and Sally (Serrin) HUSE removed from Durham, Greene Co NY to Huntsburg, Geauga Co OH in 1834-35. Family tradition was that Ira’s father was Israel Huse of CT, who “died in the service” and that our “Hughes” ancestors were Welsh. As you note on your website, we have been looking for proof of these assumptions.
In our particular family, though, the spelling “Hughes” was not generally used until the mid 1800’s. In fact, your account of the family states that Ira’s son, Amos, refused to spell his name Hughes, feeling the “gh” was superfluous. My own 2nd great-grandfather, Israel Ferris Hughes, began using that spelling in the mid-to-late 1800’s. In Greene Co NY deeds, land warrants, census and marriage records, however, I find no instance where the name is spelled as “Hughes”. It is Hues / Huse / Hewis / even Heels, and once in the 1830 census as Hughs.
My trip to the beautiful Catskills area of Greene Co NY, and to New London and New Haven Counties in CT, and the subsequent research it prompted, yielded the following additional information:
| 1. | I found positive proof that Isreal Hues was father of Ira, in an Arkansas Land Warrant dated 11 Jan 1832, which names Ira Hues, son, and unnamed heirs of the “late Isreal Hues, who served in Thornton’s Company of Light Artillery in the War of 1812” (copy mailed to a Lewis Wakeley, of Greenfield NY, per handwritten note on the document). I obtained the original case file, and was disappointed to see no further identification of “Private” Isreal Hues, or the names of his other heirs; however, we now know for sure that Isreal fought in the War of 1812 and he probably did die in that conflict. (source: Bureau of Land Management at www.glorecords.blm.gov) |
| 2. | The Isreal “Heels” in the 1810 Durham NY census (typed transcription in Beers’ History of Greene Co) is actually Isreal Hues (H ee l s, a typing error for what was originally written as H u e s). (Note the consistent spelling of his name as “Isreal” during this time, rather than “Israel”.) The 12 Jun 1792 marriage of Isreal “Hewis” to Abigail Tyler, both of Durham, is recorded in the Greenville, NY Presbyterian Church records. I am currently researching Abigail Tyler’s ancestry, and will present those findings later. |
| 3. | Bodwell Huse, who is listed in the 1790 Freehold, Albany Co NY census, was an early settler of Durham NY, then a part of Freehold. There were 2 FWM ("free white males") over age 16 in the household, one of whom might be Isreal. Bodwell was the only Huse in the 1790 Freehold census, and on the very next line his son-in-law, Samuel Browne, is listed, the husband of Bodwell’s daughter, Anne/Anna Huse. Although earlier Hughes’ family histories state that Bodwell moved to Ohio where he died, there is no proof offered, and I cannot yet find evidence that he removed to Ohio from NY. |
| 4. |
East Haven CT records of the 1st Congregational Church (formerly
Old Stone Church) give evidence of the following:
a. Bodwell Huse m. Mercy Collins 11 Apr 1760 (v.1 pg 29) |
| 5. | Bodwell Huse had an extensive Revolutionary War record of service, including time spent at Valley Forge with George Washington. He is listed (with many variations of name-spelling) for nearly every year 1776-1783. I have just sent off for copies of his service records, and have not yet received them. He apparently did not file for a pension. |
From this point back, information has been conflicting, and I’d like to present my newly-discovered evidence on the origins of Bodwell Huse. The long-standing belief is that the East Haven Hughes families descended from Henry Freeman Hughes (m. Lydia Tuttle, dau. of Noah) and Bodwell “Hughes”, brothers who were original immigrants from Wales. This belief exists in my family to this day, mostly created by their reliance on two works about the Hughes and Hewes/Huse families
Putnam, although giving a brief sketch of the 1st generation descendants of these two men, refers the reader to D. D. Hughes’ book for more detail. He also makes brief mention of a son of Bodwell Hughes named Israel, stating merely “died unmarried, by drowning” with no supporting documentation.
D. D. Hughes paints a very colorful picture of Henry Freeman Hughes, even describing his appearance and that of his wife and several of his children. He tells of how Henry lived in New Haven under the assumed name of Henry FREEMAN, having deserted the British navy by jumping ship in Boston, until his “brother” Bodwell arrived many years later and informed everyone that Henry’s surname was “Hughes”.
Both authors claim Henry and Bodwell were believed to be from Wales, and were probably immigrant ancestors.
I have long suspected that Bodwell Huse (not “Hughes”) was the son of Israel and Ruth (Bodwell) Huse of Newbury, Essex Co MA, removed to Rockingham Co NH in 1730’s (Kingston, then Sandown). Ruth Bodwell was daughter of Henry and Bethia (Emery) Bodwell; and Israel Huse was son of Thomas, son of Amos – this line being extensively written about in Putnam’s book. However, I never found any sons listed in their line, except for Israel, Jr.
| 1. | Now, I have discovered a reference to Bodwell Huse, born 6 Mar 1741, no parents listed, in the book “The Vital Records of Kingston NH, 1694 -1994” by Judith A. Arseneault (1995 The Clearfield Co.) page 15. I also found a referemce on the LDS website to his dob in “VR of Kingston NH” by Priscilla Hammond. There appear to be only three men of the surname Huse in the area at that time: Israel, Israel Jr., and James. A Kingston NH connection to Bodwell seems now to be very likely. | ||||
| 2. | I recently viewed portions of “The Descendants of Abel Huse of Newbury (1602 – 1690)” by Harry Pinckney Huse, self-published in 1935. On page 25 he lists three children of Israel and Ruth (Bodwell) Huse: Hannah, b. 28 Oct 1717, Newbury; Israel, b. 5 Mar 1719, Newbury; and Bodwell, b 6 Mar 1741, Kingston NH. Ruth would have been about age 41 or 42 at the time of Bodwell’s birth. Mr. Huse states that Bodwell could not be the son of Israel, Jr. who married Mary Farren 30 Nov 1740, as the settlement of his estate indicates his eldest son, and consequently the only son who could have been born as early as 1741, was named Jonathan. Thus, he concludes that Bodwell is the son of Israel and Ruth Huse. | ||||
| 3. |
This is important genealogically, as it has been stated in published materials
that the Bodwell’s male line of descent died out with the death of his
“unmarried son, Israel”. Indeed, it appears this may not be the case:
| ||||
| 4. | If Bodwell is shown to be connected to these ancestors, is it reasonable to conclude that Henry Freeman “Hughes” is also (perhaps named for his “grandfather” Henry Bodwell)? Is there sufficient interest to warrant further research? |
I should also note here that the 1800 Census for Durham NY does show an Amos HASE living there and there is a James I. HASE in the 1810 census (he being too young to be a father to our Isreal Huse of Durham). Whether there is a connection between HASE and HUSE I’m not sure, but Hase could be another spelling for HAYS or HAYES, which families were also in Durham. I am not ruling out any possibility until I can research further, but I believe the above information might aid others who are researching this family line.
I found evidence of Sally Serrin’s famiy ties at Durham Center Museum, and additional proof of Sally’s parents in Greene County NY records of deeds, at the Catskill Court House.
Sally’s father was Amos Searing, of Columbia County NY in 1790, probably originally from Dutchess County. Her mother’s first name was Hannah. Amos died 29 May 1808 and is buried in Krum Cemetery in Columbia Co NY. Hannah died 11 Feb 1841 and is buried in Stone Bridge Cemetery, East Durham, Greene Co NY.
| 1. | Our family
records show that Sally (or Sarah) SERRIN was born in Durham NY 2 Jan
1799. A typed reproduction of a page
from the SEARING family bible, provided to me by Sancie Thomsen at the Durham
Center Museum in Greene Co NY, shows a Searing family as follows:
While there are obvious problems with some of this information, possibly just typographical errors (see dates of birth for (d) and (e), for example), what interests me most is (i) TILLY SEARING – her date of birth is the same as our SALLY SERRIN. Remember, too, that Sally had a granddaughter named TILLA HUGHES, the family genealogist of mid-1900’s. I believe this is Sally’s family and that her name, or nickname, was Tilly. Her brother, Amos, is the son mentioned in Amos Searing’s will and referenced in the deed I found and posted to the website mentioned below. A deed between widow Hannah Searing and Samuel Everett (and Anas, his wife) indicates a possible family connection when you notice her son (d) was Edward EVERITT Searing. From dates of birth, it seems obvious Hannah was a 2nd wife, at least, of Amos Searing. There are many clues to explore here. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. |
Sylvia Hasenkopf has a great website for Greene County NY families at www.rootsweb.com/~Nygreen2/
|
My research continues, but I would welcome feedback and assistance from others who are pursuing these family lines.