Noteworthy Relatives and Ascendants of
Frederic Coddington Updike and Jennie Sue Potter

This project, while still is in its infancy, has been double-checked for accuracy, but has not yet been triple-, or quadruple-checked.

- The list is far from comprehensive, as of yet, and most selective to start.

- This list is borne out of Eunice F. Updike's [GM] numerous thoughtful reminders of "our cousin connection to President Monroe." If only she had known about these others!!

- List includes ascendant / descendant lines (including who would be our descent line, in the case of aunts, uncles and cousins).

- Wondering who else was out there, thus far, I present:

(4th generation relationship base level:Frederic Coddington Updike and Jennie Sue Potter = 1GGrandparents)

Generation Tree
If one person is → Grandparent Great-grandparent Great-great-grandparent Great-great-great-grandparent Great-great-great-great-grandparent
And the other person is
Then they are ↘
Grandparent
1st cousins
1st cousins once removed
1st cousins twice removed
1st cousins thrice removed
1st cousins four times removed
Great-grandparent
1st cousins once removed
2nd cousins
2nd cousins once removed
2nd cousins twice removed
2nd cousins thrice removed
Great-great-grandparent
1st cousins twice removed
2nd cousins once removed
3rd cousins
3rd cousins once removed
3rd cousins twice removed
Great-great-great-grandparent
1st cousins thrice removed
2nd cousins twice removed
3rd cousins once removed
4th cousins
4th cousins once removed
Great-great-great-great-grandparent
1st cousins four times removed
2nd cousins thrice removed
3rd cousins twice removed
4th cousins once removed
5th cousins

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Bragaw (Updike)

Bourgon Broucard (1645-1720) - [8GGF] - the Bragaw family of Newtown were descended from Bourgon Broudard, a French Huguenot exile who fled from persecution in France to Manheim and thence came with his wife Catherine Lefebre in 1675 to Bushwick, Long Island. He and his wife were among the earliest members of the French Church in New York. Upon arrival to America, the family name was changed from Broucard to Brokaw.

In 1688 they moved to Dutch Kills near Newtown and purchased there a large tract of land. Dutch Kills was an important road hub during the American Revolutionary War, and the site of a British Army garrison from 1776 to 1783. Their son Isaac Bragaw [7GGF], born 1676, was taught the trade of a weaver, acquired considerable property at Dutch Kills, bought his father's farm in 1713, was a prominent supporter of the Dutch Church, and died 1757, aged 81.

His will, on record in N. Y. City Surrogate's Office, mentions his daughter Mary as the wife of "Johannes Opdyke," almost the spelling of the old Johannes Opdykk, who had formerly been a close neighbor of the Broucard or Bragaw family in Newtown, instead of the spelling which the grandson John Updike always used. Isaac Bragaw had, beside Mary, children named Isaac, Peter, Ruloff, and Bergoon ; the last was a very tall and strong man and Captain of the Newtown Militia.

John Updike may have came back to his grandfather's old home at Newtown to seek a wife for his great plantation in the Jersey wilderness; or he may have met Mary at the houses of her uncles who all moved to Somerset, N. J., where their descendants are now the well-known Brokaws. It should be a subject of pride for the descendants of John Updike that they have in their veins such excellent Huguenot blood. John named his first son Lawrence for his father according to the time-honored custom; and then named four sons for his wife's brothers mentioned above.

Isaac's daughter, Mary Bragaw [6GGM], married John Updike.

 

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Coddington (Updike)

William Coddington Sr. (c.1601–1678) - [10GGU] - son of Stockdale Coddington [11GGF], was an early magistrate of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and later of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving as the Judge of Portsmouth, Judge of Newport, Governor of Portsmouth and Newport, Deputy Governor of the entire (four-town) colony, and then Governor of the colony.

Born and raised in Lincolnshire, England, he accompanied the Winthrop Fleet in its voyage to New England in 1630, becoming an early leader in Boston. Here he built the first brick house, and became heavily involved in the local government as an assistant, treasurer, and magistrate.

Died in office on 1 November 1678 and is buried in the Coddington Cemetery, Rhode Island Historic Cemetery, Newport No. 9, on Farewell Street in Newport.

William Coddington Jr. (1651 - 1688) -- [1C11R] -- American Colonial Governor. The son of Governor William Coddington, the younger Coddington became a merchant and landowner. In 1683 he was elected Governor of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and he held office until 1685.

During his administration the royal tax collector in Boston came to Newport to seize a vessel that had arrived from Jamaica under the command of a Rhode Islander, which the tax collector believed to be avoiding payment of customs duties.

Coddington refused to provide government assistance in seizing the ship, and the ensuing dispute was presented to the royal government in London for resolution. While the outcome was pending, the Rhode Island Assembly displayed its confidence in Coddington by reelecting him. He declined to serve, ensuring that Assembly members would not be found culpable if the royal government decided against him, and the Assembly elected Henry Bull to succeed him. (In 1684 the royal government found in favor of the tax collector, and issued orders against piracy and smuggling throughout the American colonies, Jamaica and other British possessions.)

William Coddington, Jr. was an active Quaker, and for many years the Newport congregation met in his mansion.

John Case Coddington (1847-1912) - [2GGU?] - is an interesting, if not perplexing story. Need to consult the Hector village ledgers of births, marriages, and deaths. Maybe one day I can get out that way.

 

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Cooke (Macomber - Potter)

Francis Cooke (1583-1663) -- [10GGF] Leiden Separatist who came to America in 1620 on the Pilgrim ship Mayflower and a signer of the Mayflower Compact. His ancestry is unknown and there are no records of the time found regarding his birth.

A clue to his identity may exist in the following: a Francis, son of Thomas Cooke, was baptized 6 April 1572, at Biddenden, Kent. Cooke decided that from his family only he and his thirteen year–old son John would go over. His wife Hester and younger children would remain in Leiden until the colony was more established.

Cooke’s house plot in New Plymouth was assigned late in 1620 and located between the plots of Isaac Allerton and Edward Winslow. Cooke’s wife and children came over on the ship Anne in July 1623.

(An alternative parentage of Edward Cooke and Alice Caunton of Romford, Essex, England has also been suggested)

- Married Hester Mahieu, daughter of Jacques and Jenne/Jeanne Mahieu.
- They had seven children, the oldest, son John.

- son John Cooke (1607-1694) and Sarah Warren (1614-1686). Had five children.
- daughter Mary Cooke (1648-1712) and Thomas Taber (1646-1730)
- daughter Bethiah Taber (1685-1758) and John Macomber (1687-1723)
- son Philip Macomber (1712-1801) and Margaret Potter (1716-1798)
- daughter Patience Macomber (1739-1825) and Abner Potter (1736-1834)
- son John A. Potter (1778-1884) and Rhoda (nee Potter) Potter (1780-1868)
- son John Avery Potter (1805-1878) and Rebekah Tripp (1810-1891)
- son Charles T. Potter (1842-1913) and Eunice Stilwell (1843-1906)
- daughter Jennie Sue Potter (1876-1969).

 

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Edison (Matthews - Updike)

Thomas Alvah Edison (1847 - 1931) -- [2C5R] Inventor.

Abner Matthews [6GGF] and Lois Hotchkiss
[son Amasa Matthews [5GGF] is our line]

- son Ebenezer Matthews-Elliot [5GGU] (Rev. War & 1812) and Mary [unknown] (Mercy Peckham?)
- daughter Nancy Matthews-Elliot [1C6R] and Samuel Edison
- son is Thomas Alvah Edison.

 

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Gifford (Tripp - Potter)

William Gifford, of Sandwich (1615 - 1687) -- a tailor who settled in Sandwich, Massachusetts, in the late 1640s. Ancestor of most (about 85% some est.) American Giffords, though, when it comes to finding the ancestors of William Gifford, there is no shortage of conflicting information. Became a Quaker in 1658. Married Mary Mills (2nd, or 3rd? wife).

- OK this one is pretty remote: 3GGF of husband of 3GGA. There may be a more direct Tripp, Macomber, or Potter, etc. line I have yet to discover.

- Freelove Potter (1759-1841) [4GGA] married William Gifford (1755-1824)
- Daughter of Abner [5GGM] (1736-1834) and Patience [5GGM] (1739-1825, nee Macomber) Potter
- Benjamin Potter [??] (1788-1881) married Elizabeth Gifford (1794-1833, d. of William Gifford and Freelove Potter) in 1814

 

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Kortright (Owen - Matthews - Updike)

Elizabeth Kortright Monroe (1768 - 1830) -- [4C6R] Wife of President James Monroe

[5GGM] Rebecca Kortright's (wife of Amasa Matthews) grandfather, Laurens C. [7GGF] Laurens C Kortright.
[son Aaron C is our line]

- son Cornelius Kortright and Hester Cannon
- son Lawrence Kortright and Hannah Aspinwall
- daughter is Elizabeth Kortright is wife of President James Monroe
- Elizabeth's cousin Eleanor K Kortright married Jonathan Owen.

 

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Holmes (Stilwell - Potter)

Obadiah Holmes (1610 or 15 - October 1682) -- [10GGF] Early Rhode Island settler, and a Baptist minister who was whipped in the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his religious beliefs and activism. He became the pastor of the Baptist Church in Newport, Rhode Island, a position he held for 30 years. He married Katherine Hyde.

- daughter Mary Holmes (1638-1690) married Richard Stilwell (1634-1688)
- son John Stilwell (1660-1759) married Rebecca Throckmorton (1671-1726)
- son Thomas Stilwell (1700-1757) married Sarah Van Nemen (1697- )
- son Thomas Stilwell (1723-1777) married Nancy Fontain (1726- )
- son James L Stilwell (1755-1836) married Catherine Loundsbury (1762-1844)
- son James J Stilwell (1783-1862) married Harriet W Holmes (1787-1859)
- son Ira Isaac Stilwill Sr (1807-1877) married Deborah Turner (1807-1896)
- daughter Eunice Stilwell (1843-1906) married Charles T Potter (1842-1913)
- daughter Jennie Sue Potter.

 

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Lincoln (Stilwell - Potter)

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) (Yes, that one) -- [6C5R]
[10GGM] Penelope van Princis (1622-1732) and [10GGF] Richard Stout (1615-1705)
[daughter Alice D. Stout Throckmorton is our line]

- daughter Mary Stout and James Browne
- daughter Sarah Browne and Richard Salter
- daughter Hannah Salter and husband Mordecai Lincoln
- son John Lincoln and Rebecca Flowers
- son Abraham Lincoln and Nancy Hook
- son Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks
- son is Abraham Lincoln who became President.

 

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Macomber (Tripp - Potter)

William Macomber (1610-1670) -- [9GGF] -- "Will'm Maycumber, of Dorchester, cooper, is lycensed to dwell within this gov'ment, at Plymouth or elsewhere, upon the testy- mony of his good behavior hee hath brought with him." Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. I. p. 82. The date of the record is April 2 1638.

Under date of Sept. 3, 1638, are found the following records :

"Will'm Maycumber, a cooper, is graunted an island lying on the north side Powder Poynt, & containing about three or four acres of land, provided that the committees of Duxborrow doe consent thereunto, and that he doe not stop the townes cattle from the fresh water thereupon," and "Liberty is graunted to Will'm Maycumber, cooper, to fetch tymber to make hoopes of for ves- sels for the colonies use at Clarks Island and Sagaquash." Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. L p. 95.

Aug. 3, 1640, "Will'm Maycumber is granted the wood fitt for coopery growing upon Wood Island, to be used by him so long as he followeth his trade, and forbidding all others to cutt there except for the loading of boats and vessells to carry away the hay." Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. I. p. 159.

 

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Matthews (Coddington - Updike)

Ebenezer Matthews (1759-1848) -- [5GGU] (son of Abner Mathews [6GGF]) -- Sargent in Washington's Army. Ref. Information from Revolutionary and 1812 Wars Section File. Grandfather of Thomas Alva Edison.

His initial enlistment was in 1775 at Claremont, New Hampshire, and served five (5) months in Captain Wetherbee's Company, Colonel Wyman's New Hampshire Regiment; and re-enlisted in 1777 and served three years in Captain William Scott's and Isano Farwell's Company, Colonel Joseph Cilley's First New Hamshire Regiment; and from the spring of 1780 was a Sargent under Lieutenant Jonathan Cilley in Colonels Cilley's and Scammell's Regiment. He was at the surrender of Burgoyne, battle Monmouth, he was wounded at the battle of Horse Neck, Battle of Chemung, N.Y. August 1779, and surrender of Cornwallis, and was discharged June 7,1783 and his discharge document was actually signed by George Washington.

- brother Amasa Matthews [5GGF] married Rebecca Kortright
- daughter Rebecca Matthews married Peter Oscar Sutphen
- daughter Rebecca Ann Sutphen married John Leonard Coddington (twin)
- daughter Sarah Ann Coddington married John H. Updike [2GGF]
- son Frederic Coddington Updike.

 

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Owen (Sutphen - Coddington - Updike)

Sir Arthur Owen (c. 1674 - 1753), 3rd Baronet of Orielton

Sir Arthur Owen, 3rd Baronet of Orielton (official; British; Male; 1674 - 1753; c.)
Also known as Owen, Arthur; Orielton

Lord Lieutenant & Custos Rotulorum of the County of Pembroke.

Lt. Jonathan Owen (1749 - 1814) -- [5GGF] married Eleanor Katherine Kortwright.
- Eleanor Katherine Kortwright is a cousin to our [5GGM] Rebecca Kortwright (who married Amasa Matthews)
-- To find the ascendant to connect the cousins - [8GGF] Jan Basiensen VanKortryk (1618-1680) via either:
--- Jan Basiensen's Son Hendrick Kortright (to Owen), or JB's Son Cornelis Jansen Kortright (to Updike)

Jonathan signed a Revolutionary Pledge before the Revolution and served militarily when the time came. He was a Lieutenant in the New York Militia, 2nd Regiment, Ulster Co. (Captain Isaiah Vail).

His brother-in-law, William Bodle, and two brothers, Joshua and David, served under him. Several Browns - Gilbert, John, Archibald and Duncan - served in the same regiment.. [Middleton, Orange Co., NY which is just south of Ulster Co.]

 

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Pike (Stilwell - Potter)

Zebulon Montgomery Pike (1779 - 1813) -- [3C8R] Brigadier General Explorer of Pike's Peak.

- Killed by flying rocks and other debris when the withdrawing British garrison blew up its ammunition magazine while Pike's troops approached Fort York. Battle of York.

[10GGrandmother] Penelope VanPrincis and [10GGF] Richard Stout
[daughter Alice Deliverance Stout Throckmorton is our line]

- daughter Sarah Stout married John Pike
- son Maj. Zebulon Pike and Jeanet Ferman
- son Col. Zebulon Pike (1751-1834) (Rev. War NJ troops - as cornet, adjust, capt. and lt.-col.) and Isabella Brown
- son is Brig. Gen. Zebulon Pike, the explorer.

 

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Potter

Nathaniel Potter (1637 - 1704) -- [9 or 8GGF] In 1638 he was admitted as an inhabitant of Aquidneck Island, which is now Portsmouth.

- Nathnaiel, Robert and George (thought by many to be brothers) were among the twenty-nine signers of a goverment compact there.

- [3GGF] John Avery Potter's mother and father, John A. Potter and Rhonda Potter [4GGP], were 4th? cousins (or 3c1r?) The common anscestor being the above Nathaniel Potter who married Elizabeth Stokes.

 

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Stilwell (Stilwell - Potter Line)

Lt Nicholas Stilwell (1603 - 1671) -- [10GGF] Pilgrim Colonialist who settled Gravesend, New Amsterdam. Nicholas' history is well documented and very worth the read!

[son Richard Stilwell [9GGF, b.1634] by 1st wife Abigail Hopton, is our Potter line [or 8GGU on Updike side]]
[son Thomas Stilwell [8GGF, b.1651] by 2nd wife Anne VanDyke, is the related Updike line [or 9 GGU on Potter side]]

Curiously enough, the differences in ages between the two sons (by different mothers), makes Nicholas
our 10GGF by the Potter side, but only our 9GGF on the Updike side.

These two branches of the Stilwell tree reunite with Frederic Coddington Updike and Jennie Sue Potter.

Is that not confusing enough??!!??

Silas Moore Stilwell (1800 - 1881) -- [5C5R] Stilwell's Law (Can't imprison for debts law)
[10GGF] Nicholas Stilwell and 1st wife Abigail Hopton
[son Richard Stilwell [9GGF] by 1st wife is our Potter line]

- son Nicholas Stilwell [9GGU] married Catharine Morgan
- son Nicholas Stilwell and Michal Lake
- son John Stilwell and Eleanor Furman
- son William Stilwell and Jane Stringham
- son Stephen Stilwell and Nancy Moore
- son is Silas Moore Stilwell

 

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Stilwell (Hoos-Hopper - Updike Line)

Lt Nicholas Stilwell (1603 - 1671) -- [9GGF] Pilgrim Colonialist who settled Gravesend, New Amsterdam
[Descendants of son youngest Thomas Stilwell by 2nd wife Anne VanDyke is the related Updike line]

Nicholas' history is well documented and very worth the read!

 

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Stout (Stilwell - Potter)

Richard Stout (1615-1705) -- [10 GGF] married Penelope Van Princis. Colonist who helped originally settle Gravesend, (along with Lt. Nicholas Stilwell, a neighbor in Gravesend), and then moved on to start Monmouth, NJ. where Penelope nearly died from an attack by Native Americans after her ship ran aground at Sandy Hook, NJ.

- daughter Alice Deliverance Stout (1652-1703) married John Throckmorton (1642-1690).
- daughter Rebecca Throckmorton (1671-1726) married John Stilwell (1660-1725).

 

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Throckmorton (Stilwell - Potter)

John Throckmorton (1601–1684) [10GGF] was an early settler of Providence in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and one of the 12 original proprietors of that settlement. Originating in Norfolk, England, he first settled in Salem in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but religious tensions brought about his removal to Providence.

In 1643 he made a land purchase in New Netherland and settled there with several dozen others, but an attack by the natives during Kieft's War caused many, including Throckmorton, to return to Rhode Island. He became active in Providence civil affairs, serving as moderator, deputy, and treasurer. He died in 1684 in Middletown, New Jersey, where he went to visit his children, and was buried there. Throggs Neck in Bronx, New York City is named for him. His son, John Throckmorton, married Alice Deliverance Stout, daughter of Richard Stout and Penelope VanPrincis, all of whom settled in Middletown, NJ.

Rebecca Throckmorton (1671-1726) -- married [8GGF] Capt. John Stilwell (1660-1725). She was the daughter of John Throckmartin (1642-1690, son of John Throckmorton (1601-1684), and Rebecca Covill (1601-1684)) and Alice Deliverance Stout (1652-1704, daughter of Richard Stout (1615-1705) and Penelope VanPrincis (1622-1732)).

Elizabeth Throckmorton Raleigh (1565-1647) -- [3C13R] wife of Sir Walter Raleigh and daug. of Sir Nicholas.

Through both her parents, Elizabeth "Bess" Throckmorton had connections to Henry VIII.
- Father, Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, was the cousin of Henry's sixth wife, Queen Catherine Parr.
- Mother, Anne Carew, was the daughter of Nicholas Carew, a Knight of the Garter, and Elizabeth Carew née Bryan.

Nicholas had been a close friend of Henry VIII, from childhood until Henry's execution in 1539.
Alison Weir alleges that Elizabeth Carew had earlier been the mistress of Henry VIII, and that he had even given her jewels that should technically have belonged to the queen when she gave birth to her son. However, there are no contemporaneous references to a possibility of any of Elizabeth's children being fathered by Henry.

Sir Francis Throckmorton (1554-1584) -- [3C13R] Sir Francis was a conspirator against Queen Elizabeth I of England in the Throckmorton Plot.

He was the son of Sir John Throckmorton, the seventh out of eight sons of Sir George Throckmorton of Coughton Court. He was a nephew of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, one of Elizabeth's diplomats, who had held the post of Chief Justice of Chester but was removed in 1579, a year before his death. His paternal grandmother, Hon. Katherine Vaux, daughter of Nicholas Vaux, 1st Baron Vaux of Harrowden, was the paternal aunt of the Protestant queen consort of King Henry VIII, Catherine Parr.

Francis Throckmorton was educated in Oxford and entered the Inner Temple in London as a pupil in 1576. In 1580, he traveled to the European continent and met leading Catholic malcontents from England abroad (in Spain and France). It was in Paris that Throckmorton met Charles Paget and Thomas Morgan, agents of Mary, Queen of Scots. Following his return to England in 1583, he served as an intermediary for communications between supporters of the Catholic cause on the continent, the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Spanish ambassador Bernardino de Mendoza.

His activities raised the suspicions of Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth I's spymaster. A search of his house produced incriminating evidence and, after torture on the rack, Throckmorton confessed his involvement in a plot to overthrow the Queen and restore the Catholic Church in England. An invasion led by Henry I, Duke of Guise, would have been coupled with an orchestrated uprising of Catholics within the country. Although Throckmorton later retracted his confession, he was convicted of high treason and executed in 1584.

James Webb Throckmorton (1825-1894) -- [12C4R] James Webb Throckmorton was an American politician who served as the 12th Governor of Texas from 1866 to 1867 during the early days of Reconstruction. He was a United States Congressman from Texas from 1875 to 1879 and again from 1883 to 1889.

Job Throckmorton (1545–1601) -- [3C13R] English pamphleteer.

Sir Nicholas Throckmorton (1515-1571) -- [2C14R] Nicholas was an English diplomat and politician, who was an ambassador to France and played a key role in the relationship between Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots. Fathered 10 sons and 3 daughters with wife, Anne Carew, daughter of Sir Nicholas Carew. Daughter Elizabeth Throckmorton married Sir Walter Raleigh.

William Edward Throckmorton (1795–1843) -- [11C5R] Pioneer and father of James W. Throckmorton. Dr. W.E. Throckmorton was an early Collin County, Texas settler. Born in Virginia in 1795, Throckmorton was the son of Revolutionary War soldier Albion Throckmorton [10C6R]. William grew up in Virginia and met his first wife, Elizabeth Webb, there.


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Tripp (Potter)

Isaac Tripp (1700-1778) -- [2C8R] (by Roy Whitman) of Warwick, Rhode Island, referred to as "Squire" Tripp due to his extensive buying and selling of real estate, was named as one of the proprietors of the Susquehanna Company in 1761. In 1762 an attempt was made to settle the Wyoming Valley and the area around what became Providence Township, but the newcomers were driven out by the Indians and the authorities in Pennsylvania in 1763. This singular event touched off the first Pennymite War between the settlers under Connecticut title and the Pennsylvania proprietors. (The second Pennymite War occurred after the Revolutionary War and because of a decision by the commission appointed by the new Congress to decide ownership of the land that went in favor of Pennsylvania). Later in 1768, Isaac Tripp along with Ezra Dean were appointed to head a committee for Rhode Island to admit the first 200 settlers under the Connecticut title to the Wyoming Valley. On February 8, 1769 Isaac Tripp arrived in the Wyoming Valley with his first 40 settlers. In 1771, he laid claim to some 6000 acres in the Valley and in 1774 formally purchased property, roughly 375 acres, in "the sixth town of ye Capoose Meadows." It was on this site that he constructed his home, what today is called the Tripp Homestead located at 1011 N. Main Avenue in Scranton and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

On June 2, 1773, just before the American Revolutionary War, the Susquehanna Company appointed Gideon Baldwin, Timothy Keys, and Isaac Tripp as proprietors of the township Providence. Isaac Tripp was later killed during the Wyoming Massacre (July 3, 1778) by marauding Indians while visiting the Slocums after the Indian abduction of his granddaughter, Frances Slocum. In 1782 an inventory of his estate revealed that he had disposed of much of his property, but that 957 acres remained. Six hundred acres went to his son Isaac Tripp II, which later was passed to successive generations, including Benjamin S. Tripp and Ira Tripp. Ira Tripp was particularly influential in Scranton and, in fact, was named as one of the councilmen when the village of Providence was incorporated as a borough on March 4, 1849.

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Updike

 

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Van Princis (Throckmorton - Stilwell - Potter)

Penelope VanPrincis (1622-1732) -- [10GGrandmother] married Richard Stout. Remarkable history. At one point in early years, at Gravesend, was a neighbor to Lt. Nicholas Stilwell [10(or9)GGF], who fought alongside Richard Stout to defend New Amsterdam.

In 1643, Penelope and her first husband took a ship from the Netherlands to New Amsterdam. Their ship foundering, she and her husband and several others made land at Sandy Hook. Her husband (unknown, possibly John Kent, often identified as named Van Princin) wasn't able to travel and after the couple were abandoned they suffered an attack from the natives.

She survived the severe attack (which killed her husband) and sheltered in a hollow tree until she, due to hunger she said, felt compelled to make herself known to the Navesink tribe of Leni Lenapi. They bound up her wounds, and when she was well enough to travel she was, perhaps, sold to the Dutch at New Amsterdam.

There, she married Richard Stout in 1644. They had a large family (7 sons and 3 daughters) mostly born at Gravesend in the area of Coney Island, Brooklyn. They moved to Middletown Township, New Jersey around 1665. This was where the Leni Lenapi who had earlier helped her were living, and they were still living there when the Stouts arrived. In some versions of the story, the Indian who rescued Penelope many years earlier warned her of an Indian attack in the planning stages, and she was able to thwart it.

Penelope Stout Commemorative Coin

Penelope Stout CoinPenelope Stout Coin

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