1 Cory Family Society Newsletter Volume 29, No. 1 coryfamsoc.com March 2018 THE GRATE BOOK REVISITED by Joe Cory (John I of Southold) In This Issue 1 The Grate Book Revisited 4 Reunion 2019 Des Moines, IA 5 Board Officer Reports 6 A Cory of Note: The Two Jim Coreys 9 Resolving Conflicting Information in the label photo from CFS Newsletter 2009 John I Line A PRIZED CORY ARTIFACT IS THE “GRATE BOOK” (SPELLINGS VARY DEPENDING ON THE 10 Corys Slept Here SOURCE), A VOLUME OF TREATISES ON THE BIBLE, BROUGHT TO AMERICA BY JOHN I Brookline, MA WHEN HE EMIGRATED IN ABOUT 1640. 12 It’s In Our DNA THE BOOK CAME DOWN THROUGH THE GENERATIONS TO JOHN I’S GREAT-GRANDSON New John I DNA Information ELNATHAN (1702-1766). ELNATHAN’S DESCENDANTS FORMED THE WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA AREA CORY REUNION ASSOCIATION (WPACRA) IN 1909. So Who Do You Think You Are? JOE CORY VOLUNTEERED TO TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE OF SEEING THE GRATE BOOK IN REAL LIFE. ACTING ON INFORMATION FROM JOHN COREY AND HELEN PRATT, HE FORGED Andrew Corey ca. 1800 AHEAD. HERE IS JOE’S ACCOUNT OF HIS VISIT TO THE GRATE BOOK. In Your William Line? Transferring DNA Data John Corey had found that Charles E. Cory is taking care of the book for his older brother, James Dave Cory, who received the book from their father, 17 UK Cory Family William James Cory (1921-2002). Friends 18 From the Editors 2 It turned out that by some luck I was able to connect with Charles. At the same time my son Nicolaus and daughter Ellie wanted to go from our home in Des Moines, IA, to the Iowa State versus West Virginia football game to be held on November 4, 2017, in Morgantown, WV. We decided to make it our Grate Road Trip, stopping at Chuck’s home in Sharpsville, PA. After our 850+ mile drive, the kids and I met with Chuck and his wife Pat the morning before the game and were able to take a few photos and share a few stories. The book is showing its age a bit and needs some repair, if it is even possible. It is still kept in the box made in 1907 by James Enos Cory in which he used cherry (C), oak (O), rosewood (R) and yew (Y) in its construction. The book itself is too old to just flip through the pages to read. There were at least five editions of the book between 1603 and 1630. One of those versions has been scanned and can be downloaded at https://archive.org/details/seven00roge. Chuck said that the University of Pennsylvania has a copy of the book. Chuck would love to turn the WPACRA’s edition over to a university to be restored and housed. Since restoration would be very costly, I told him I would bring it up with the Cory Family Society members and Board. We learned that the WPACRA is still active but is down in membership. About seven met last time. They are now on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Western-Pennsylvania-Cory-Family- Association-162065420536978/. He said that another Cory artifact, The Cory Bell, is still with the WPACRA and is used to call meetings to order. Chuck also gave me the name of a cousin in Ohio who is a great resource for Cory genealogy. Following is a copy Chuck gave us of an article originally printed in the Beaver Falls News-Tribune in about 1967. (Birth and death dates are not all accurate.) “Syd” Cory was Chuck’s grandfather. 3 I invited Chuck and Pat to our Iowa reunion in 2019 and he said he would put it on his calendar. Many thanks to Chuck and Pat for keeping The Grate Book safe and allowing us to get a few photos. John I of Southold would be very proud of you! 4 Ed. Notes: Our society had its beginnings in the WPACRA. See Luke KEEPERS OF Davidson’s article in the August 2016 newsletter. THE GREATE BOOK John Cory I (1611-1685) Let John Corey [email protected] know your thoughts on proceeding with Chuck Cory’s idea about restoring and placing the John Cory II (1639-1685) Grate Book. John Cory III (1674-1721) On our website coryfamsoc.com there is information about the Cory Bell Elnathan Cory (1702-1766) in David Cory’s article IN A LAND NOT SOWN: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF Ebenezer Cory (1729/30-1785) JEREMIAH WILLIAM CORY, SR, 1793-1860 and in another article THE CORY BELL. Elnathan Cory (1759-1838) The website also has an article about the Cory Pitcher. Perhaps you Elnathan Cory (1788-1848) would welcome the challenge of finding the pitcher and taking some Elnathan Cory (1800-1874) new photos. William Smith Cory (1837-1931) Back issues of the Cory Family Society newsletter, found on our website, Sidney Cory (1883-1968) may have featured the Darlington Cory house. Please let us know if you find it. William James Cory (1921-2002) In an email to Joe, Helen Pratt told of a Cory being one of the men who James D. Cory/Charles E. Cory carried Lincoln from Ford’s Theatre to the nearby rooming house where https://www.ancestry.com/family he died. A write-up will be in a future newsletter. -tree/tree/115231196/family REUNION 2019 Joe Cory, host and coordinator for the summer 2019 Reunion Meeting in Des Moines, IA, has begun planning our get-together. Incorporated in 1851, Des Moines is Iowa’s capital and its most populous city. Things to do in this "big city with a small town heart" include several museums, an art center, parks, a zoo, and more than 800 miles of trails. Joe’s hometown is nearby Cory Grove, in an area of Iowa where his Cory branch settled in 1843. His father and uncle attend the Cory Grove Community church so we hope they can arrange a visit to the church and its cemetery. Contact Joe at [email protected] with any reunion suggestions you may have. 5 BOARD OFFICER REPORTS From the President by John Corey Hello to members new and old! After Fred Corey – our illustrious and industrious Cory Family Society leader for longer than I have been a part of this group – elected to retire, a quorum of questionable wisdom at the Michigan meeting elected me to the presidency. I accepted the challenge! We have been pleased to see an uptick in interest in the Society, which for a time we thought was in danger of failing. We hope that continuing to grow and change will carry the organization forward. With successful 2015 and 2017 meetings behind us, we look forward to the 2019 one Joe Cory is planning. He and I got together in Southold this Summer and identified the site of John I’s home. Thanks go to Joe for going to see the Grate Book and letting us know that the current keeper would like to discuss preserving it. Be sure to let me know how you think we should proceed. From the Secretary by Carolyn Corey Approximately 50 new members have been added to our previous list of 146 past paid members; our total now is close to 200 members. All past paid members remain on the list. A reminder – membership is now FREE so be sure to invite your relatives and friends to send in the membership form available on the Cory Family Society website, coryfamsoc.com. From the Treasurer by James Corey Cash balance 10/1/2017 $10,147 Donation + 12 Cash balance 1/17/2018 $10,159 The non-profit tax return (Form 990N) for 2017 was filed on January 11, 2018. I have transferred the society’s funds to the checking account opened by the new treasurer, Christina Cory, and have shipped the treasurer’s files and records to her. From the Webmaster by Earl Cory At the 2017 Reunion Meeting I was tasked with putting the society on Facebook. Our page is https://www.facebook.com/CoryFamSoc/. John Corey, Carolyn Corey, and Luke Davidson are editors and I am the administrator. Joe Cory, our next Reunion Meeting coordinator, will handle reunion updates. The page is set up so that anyone can publish to it without approval. The primary databases are now public on Ancestry.com. The links below will soon be on the society website. Email any new information or updates to me. Thomas of Chelmsford https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/113100301/family (Harpole Corys in America) John of Roxbury is included in Thomas because of a cross line marriage. Search for John Corey b. 1680. John I of Southold https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/115231196/family William of Portsmouth https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/116931896/family (Bristol Corys in America) Bramerton Hall Corys https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/119193462/family (Norfolk Corys) Other Corys https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/116931896/family 6 A Cory of Note THE TWO JIM COREYS by Earl Cory, Webmaster THOSE OF US WHO GREW UP IN THE FIFTIES MIGHT REMEMBER WATCHING 30S AND 40S WESTERNS ON TV. MANY OF THESE “B” MOVIES, PRODUCED FOR KIDS’ MATINEES AND THE BOTTOM HALVES OF DOUBLE FEATURES, HAD A SECOND LIFE FOR OUR GENERATION. WE HAD NO IDEA THAT A COUPLE OF THE (OFTEN UNCREDITED) BIT PLAYERS IN THE BACKGROUND WERE OUR COUSINS! EARL WRITES: In early westerns there were several people that were unkempt, rough and tough looking members of the gang, or lynch mob, or vigilantes, or posse riders, or cow herders.