,l\luc~burn AND ALLIED DESCENDANTS OF JOHN BLACKBURN., SR.., who came from Ireland to Pennsylvania in 1736. Copyright 1978 Evelyn D. Gibson Arbor Printing Company Lincoln, Nebraska -ix- CONTENTS Coat of Arms vii Abbreviations ............................................. x Preface . xi Blackburn, A history of the surname •••••••.•••••.••••••... l ,John Blackburn, Ancestor in Ireland .••••..•••••..•..•.•••. 4 First Generation in America ...•....••.•.•.•.•.....••.•.... 8 Second Generation ••.•..•.....•..•••••.•..•.••.•.....••..• 13 Third Generation ......................................... 32 Fourth Genera ti on .•....••..............•.•...........••.. 84 Fifth Generation 157 Sixth Generation 220 Seventh Generation .••........••.•..••••...•..•.......•.. 280 Eighth Generation •.••.... ~ .....•...•.................... 307 Ninth Generation ..••..•.••....•...•..•..•.••........•... 328 Tenth and Eleventh Generations ........•..•..•..•.....•.. 337 Warrington Meeting House ••.....•...•...•••... facing page 12 Mena 11 en Meeting House •....•.•••. ._. • • • • . • . facing page 13 Marriage Records and Abstracts . • • . • . • • . • . • . 340 (Indexed only to marriage partners) Verbatim Wills and Will Abstracts ..••...•.••..•....•...• 351 (Indexed only to names of testators) Capsulized Ancestral Lines . • . • . • • • • • . • . • . • . • • . 389 (Progenitors in alphabetical order) Supplement .•.••.....••.....................•............ 396 Selected Bibliography . • • . • . • • . • . • . • • . • . • • . • 407 Index ................................................... 411 Relationship Chart ..•..•..••••..•..••.•.•••.•..•.....•.. 471 -x- ABBREVIATIONS # • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Number rno. • . .. • . • . month Ad .•••••••••••••••• Administration Mtg .....••.....•••..••.. Meeting b. born No. ....•....• . • . • • Number Bk • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • . • • . • Book O.C •••....•...... Orphans' Court ca •••..••.•••••.••••• circa, about p., pp ••.••......... page, pages Co •••••••••••••••• County, Company Pn ...••.•..•........... Petition d. died Pub ..........•.•...•. Publishing D.A.R ....•••••••• Daughters of the q ....... ..................._ quid American Revolution QMR .•.......•. Quarterly Meeting dec'd ....•..•..••••...•.. deceased Records On ..•..•.•.•.•.••••.. Distribution s .....•.•.............. shilling d/ o • • . • • . • • . • • • • • • . • . • daughter of S.A.R ...•.•......... Sons of the American Revolution Dr •.•...•.•••••••••••••.... Doctor Ser .•...•.....•...•.....• Series ed .••..•...••.•• editor, edited by Soc. Society h/o •..••..•••.••••••.•• husband of (Used only in index.) s/o son of in re ...•....••••••••.• concerning Sr. Senior Jr ••••.•.•••••••••••.•.•••• Junior Twp. .................. Township m. ....................... married Vol • • •••..••.••••• -. • • • • • . Vo 1ume M.D .•.•.••.•... Doctor of Medicine WB ...•.•....•• ~ .... ~ .• Will Book MH ..•..•..•••.••.••• Meeting House w/o .• ~ .•........••.•.•.• wife of (Used only in index.) MM .••.•......••••• Monthly Meeting -xi- PREFACE Our Blackburn ancestors living in Ireland in the early 17OO's were Quakers and like others of their belief, suffered both ridicule and outright persecution, especially by the British constabulary in Ireland. There is no doubt that freedom of worship played a part in their removal to America but economic pressure appears to have played a more vital role. The Quakers maintained widespread care of their membership and the extensive records they kept have been invaluable in assembling the-records that appear in this genealogy. The families were traced from records of the Rich- .. hill and Ballyhagen. Meetings. in Ireland to Quaker m~etings. in .Pennsylv~.nia where the Warrington and Menallen Meeting records furnished a continuing record of births, deaths, marriages, disownments and removals to other areas. This information was augmented by other Quaker records and by information from public records such as wills, deeds, tax lists, and census schedules, to name only a few. Old genealogical and/or biographical history books and Family Bibles were useful but not infallible sources for research. Although the Quakers were peaceable people who did not believe in bearing arms against any fellow being, there were Quakers whose patriotism outweighed their religious belief as witnessed by the records of their disownment for enlisting in the Revolutionary War. Many who refused to enlist were required to pay fines or hire a substitute to enlist in their stead. Their peaceable principles were apparently not an insurmountable barrier to using firearms as protection. There is the story of the Quaker farmer who was roused from sleep by his much agitated spouse who whispered frantically that she was hearing noises from downstairs. After listening a few minutes he, too, heard sounds of an intruder. He slipped quietly from his bed, picked up his shotgun and stealtfiily descended the stairs, whereupon he discovered a burglar busily ransacking drawers and cupboards. After pondering the situation a moment the good Quaker raised his gun, aimed it precisely at the intruder, then in a soft but determined voice, he spoke. "I would not harm thee for the world, friend, but thee are standing where·I am about to shoot!" In regard to this book, the first genealogical material was assembled in 1952 and the project was continued sporadically until 1962. In that year the in-depth research began with the first of several research trips to Pennsylvania and the states enroute. Originally intended to be a record of only my own direct lineal descent from John Blackburn, Sr., the collected material seemed to expand of its own accord to encompass the a 11 i ed families as we 11 . Actually, the research was so challenging, and rewarding that in addition to Blackburn records, an abundance of allied family information was discovered and it seemed expedient to include it. In the very early Blackburn records the dates before 1752 are listed in the manner in which they appeared in the original records. They occurred before the change from the Julian calendar (when the year began in March) to the Gregorian calendar that established January as the first month of the year. Double dating sometimes appeared, for example, 1712/13. (See #6-Joseph Black­ burn on p. 8 where 1712 refers to the date under the Julian calendar whereas 1713 refers to the date as it would be under the Gregorian calendar.) Dates after 1752 are listed by month, day and year. -xii- The Harlan Genealogy containing records of the Blackburn family provided another effective research tool since the basic structure is essentially sound. Research to establish proof of the families listed revealed additional information and some instances where corrections were needed. Such additions and/or corrections are noted in the source references. Material marked "unverified" indicates my research in that area was unsuccessful. These records have been included to maintain continuity but should be further investigated. There are other instances where further information about a particular person is listed as "unknown" or "no furtherrecord. 11 Again, this indicates only that at the present time I have no further knowledge of that person, but does not deny that such knowledge may exist. Among the more recent generations much statistical information has been acc~pted exactly as .it was contributed,. and the contributor's name is noted in each instance. Even though some of these entries have a regrettable lack of personal history, it is hoped the information given will be of assistance to those who seek a connection as descendants of John Blackburn, Sr. The numbering system used in the book is the one known as the Register Plan and should enable the reader to go forward or backward in the genealogy with reasonable ease. In the way of acknowledgments, I am most grateful for the help given by my cousin (once removed), Mrs. Frank (Dorothy Gardner) Goodnough, of Massillon, Ohio. Dorothy joined me in the Blackburn research in the fall of 1964 and contributed a great deal of her time and effort, plus much sound research in helping to secure proof of family records. Further thanks go also to the many, many 11 cousins 11 who contributed their own family records, and whose names appear with the records contributed. And last but by no means least, not enough can be said in praise of the help and support of my husband, who not only escorted me on all the research trips, but also helped with the reading of old wills and deeds, and the deciphering of old cemetery inscriptions. When the main body of the manuscript was completed, he read the entire book onto cassette tapes to make proof-reading easier for me. Without his affection, patience and encouragement this book would never have been finished. Evelyn D. (Blackburn) Gibson To my .60n6 Ron.ai.d V. a.n.d Robe/Lt R. Glb.6on, in .eov~g memo)[.y 06 my 6a.the1t, Ja.y C. Bla.c.k.buJtn a.nd my uncle, Ro.6.6 M. Bla.c.k.buJtn Qt omt •ut •ito •s.ut -viii- COAT OF ARMS In the early 1900's a Blackburn Association was formed for the purpose of claiming a sizeable fortune purportedly left by one William Blackburn of England. ** Believing that the said William was the brother of John Blackburn, Sr., who died in America in 1752, the association membership was composed of a number of John, Sr. 's descendants. Each member contributed funds to the Blackburn Association to support a search for proof of John, Sr.'s relationship to the deceased William, and to press their claim