WILLIAM TANNER OF NORTH KINGSTOWN, RHODE ISLAND AND HIS DESCENDANTS BY REV. GEORGE C. TANNER, D. D. FARIBAULT, MINN. Published by the Author 1905. REV. GEO. C. TANNER, D.D. Faribault, Minn. To Our Friends and Patrons. In 1897 the writer began to trace his own ancestral line for the sake of those who should come after him. As he proceeded, the circle widened until it included all the de­ scendants of William Tanner of South Kingstown, R. I., now scattered from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This has been a labor of love, and has brought him into correspondence with a large number of estimable people. These have courteously given him the information in their possession, which he grate­ fully acknowledges. While it would be impossible to make mention of all of these, the writer desires to express his appreciation of the value of the Manuscript Genealogy compiled by George Thomas Tanner of his branch of this line, which his widow kindly placed at his disposal, and to Dr. Herbert Battles Tanner of Kaukauna, Wis., for encouragement and assistance in this undertaking, and to Maj. C. D. Parkhurst, r. 8. A•. for his help in sundry ways. The writer has made free use of the Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, by John Osborne Austin, from which, however, he is obliged to differ in some particulars. He also acknowledges his inde' i edness to the painstaking work of Mr. Arnold, in his Vital Eecords of Rhode Island. The writer has made free use of t\:c His­ torical Societies of Providence and Newport, and of th,, Town Records of the several towns of Rhode Island, and also of the counties of eastern New York, to each of which he hereby expresses his thanks for the courteous assistance afforded by those in charge. He is also greatly indebted to Secretary Upham and to Assistant Librarian Kingsbury of the \finne­ sota Historical Society. for their cheerful assistance in placing at his disposal the sources of information in that rich histor­ ical and genealogical collection. It would be too much to a8sume that every source of in­ formation has been exhausted, or t.hat the conclusions drawn 4 THE TANNERS IN AMERICA. are infallible. But the above will serve to show the extent of the writer's researches, and the great care he has taken to verify his results. Doubtless inaccuracies will be discov­ ered. But the results are left to a generous public as a con­ tribution to the genealogical history of one of the early Colonial Fami.lies of Rhode Island. REV.GEO.C.TANNER,D.D. Faribault, Minn. 1905. The Tanners in America. HISTORICAL. It is said that the Tanner name in England dates from the time of William the Conqueror. The name appears in history in the time of Edward the Third (1312-1377). Their estates lay in the county of Corn-. wall; and later, the name appears in other parts of England, Wales and Ireland. At this date it is difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain to what branch of the Tanners in England the American Tanners belong. It is the opinion of the writer that they are English, and that the Tanners of Ireland and Wales are also of English origin. There are many Tanners in America from Switzerland. But it may be that these are also of English ancestry,·having left England, as did many others, · on account of religious and political troubles. One, at least, of the Tanners in the New York regiments in the Revolution was of Dutch or German ancestry. Amid this uncertainty, the only claim which will be made here is, that the Tanners are an old and respectable English family, with here and there an honored name, among which is that of Bishop Thomas Tanner, of the Diocese of St. David's in Wales, archeologist and writer, whose contrib'1.tions are to be found in the Bod­ leian library at Oxford, England. Among the early emigrants to Virginia, we find Daniel Tanner, aged forty, who came over in the ship "Sampson." In 1618, Josias Tanner, aged twenty-four, arrived; and in 1678, Elizabeth, daughter of Mary Tanner, also came to the colony. In Deed Book C,2 D, page 78,William and John Tanner, in 1686, made a conveyance of land in Philadelphia, Pa., to one Daniel Clark. William Tanner removed from what was known as the "Welsh Tract" in Pennsylvania, and settled in Dutchess county, N. Y., where, at one time, his descendants were quite numerous. In 1725, Benjamin and John Tanner, of London, ~ame over and settled at Jamaica, L. I. Some of their descendants are now in New York City and Philadelphia. Among these we find Benjamin Tanner, engraver, artist, etc., Philadelphia; Ab~aham Tanner1 of New York city, shipping merchant; 6 THE TANNERS IN AMERICA. Henry Schenck Tanner, geographer; John Tanner, M.. D., L.L.D., writer in medicine; and Captain Charles B. Tanner, and his brother, Captain John B. Tanner, of Washington,D.C. [See "Our Little Family Record" by one of· the members of this line.] To the line of Virginia Tanners belongs Governor John R. Tanner, of Illinois. This is now an extensive branch of the family, and to this southern line we may, in all probability, refer John Tanner, whose captivity is related by Edwin James in his" Narrative of Tanner's Captivity Among the Ojibways." About 1780 or. '90 a child was stolen by the Indians from a Kentucky family by the name of Tanner, and carried to the Hudson Bay country. He grew up there, married, and had children. The parents asked the government to make inquiry for him, and about 1820 Tanner was induced to come to Mack­ inaw. Here he was taught English and made use of as an interpreter and blacksmith for several years. James'" Narra­ tive," it is said, is not always reliable, and when Tanner had it read to him he set out to kill Dr. James. But not finding him, he killed Henry R. Schoolcraft, and took to the woods in the dead of winter. Some bones were afterwards found by the side of his gun on a trail in the Saskatchewan valley, and it is supposed that he perished. His children lived in the woods all their lives, and he himself could never be induced to give up his wild life and return to his home in Kentucky. The original of the following fac similes is in posseBSion of Dr. H. B. Tanner, of Kaukauna, Wis., whose wife's grand­ father, Col. Geo. Boyd, was United States Indian Agent at Mackinaw from 1818 to 1832, and knew Tanner. James Tanner, a son of John Tanner, was sent to Boston in his boyhood, where he was educated under Unitarian in­ fluences. Afterwards he returned to Minnesota and came to the Chippewa reservation about 1857 or '58. In the Indian country he met Bishop Whipple, and connected himself with the Episcopal church, and about 1860 resided at St. ·cloud, and died in Minnesota. (See "Narrative of Tanner's Captivity Among the Ojibways," New York, 1830.) To the line of William, who emigrated from the" Welsh Tract'' in Pennsylvania, to Dutchess county, N. Y., belongs Col. Adolphus H. Tanner, soldier and congressman, late of Washington county, N. Y. In 1663, Nicholas Tanner, of Swansea, Wales, settled in Swanzy, Mass.,in that part now comprised in the town of Re­ hoboth. Nicholas Tanner was aetivein the Narragansett War. ·M.:J) , HISTGRICAL. 7 Foranaccountofhis servicesthereaderisreferred to the records of the colony of Plymouth, and to the colonial history of Rhode Island. In his will, on record in the town of Rehoboth, he names no Tanner heirs, and probably left no issue. · There are many other Tanners residing in the UnitedStates, as Dr. Tanner, who fasted for forty days, who have come re­ cently and are respected citizens in their adopted country: None of these branches will be included in this genealogy. There is also a genealogy extant, compiled by the Rev. Elias F. Tanner, entitled, "The Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Tanner, Sr., of Cornwall, Connecticut, Etc." This Thomas Tanner is said to have emigrated from Rhodeisland, and his name, with that of his son William,is found on the tax roll of the town of Cornwall, Conn.,in 1742. While it is the. opinion of the writer that Thomas Tanner is a son of William Tanner who came to Rhode Island about 1682, his descendants will not be included in this genealogy. Among these is Rev. Edward Allan Tanner, D. D., late President of Illinois College, and his son, the Rev. Allan A. Tanner, of the C-0ngregational Church. It is to be regretted that this genealogy is not more exhaustive. This work will contain only the descendants of William Tanner of North Kingstown, R. I., whom we assume to be the the oldest son of William Tanner of South Kingstown, R. I. The genealogical indications and indirect evidence all point to this conclusion. WilHam Tanner, of South Xingstown, Rhode Island, and his Descendants The first mention of William Tanner in Rhode Island appears in the Fones Record, Vol. I. p. 70, as a witness to a deed of Frances Houlding, of Warwick. " I, Francis Houlding, doe consent to ye deed of sale, and forever will quitt clayme, etc. Witness my hand and seale ye 12th day of May, 1682." WILLIAM TANNER, his PETER X WELLS. mark The next mention of William Tanner is on the tax roll of the town of Rochester (Kingstown), under Governor Andrus, for 1687, where he is taxed for one pole, 1 1-2d.