York

The parish records of Olney show a Jeremiah Yorke christened on 09 SEP 1683. As argued below, he may be the Jeremiah York who is progenitor of the York’s of Randolph County. His parents were Richard Yorke and Ann Seymour, who were married on 14 NOV 1682. His siblings were Mary, ch. 01 SEP 1684 and buried 29 Mar 1700, Richard, ch. 02 MAY 1686, Ann, ch. 13 JAN 1688/9[1], and Elizabeth, ch. 30 APR 1693.

Jeremiah York’s father Richard was buried 6 MAR 1695/6, when Jeremiah, the oldest child, was 12 and the youngest child was 2. Although Jeremiah would have emigrated before 1718 (age 34, when he was in West Nottingham, PA), at least his sister Elizabeth remained, married, and had a child in 1721 in Olney. His mother possibly reached out to extended family of the Seymour’s and York’s elsewhere in the region to help raise her young family, perhaps providing fatherless Jeremiah with a strong link to the Seymour family. Since there is no record of his brother Richard associated with Jeremiah in America, he may have stayed in England (there is no more record of him in Olney, but there are several marriages of Richard York’s elsewhere in England that could fit).

Jeremiah’s maternal grandparents were possibly Jeremiah Seymour (a glovemaker, burial 21 Sep 1683) and Ann Seymour (widow, buried 8 Oct 1694). These two Seymours and their possible daughter Ann are the only Seymour’s in the Olney parish register of 1665-1812. Since a marriage typically took place in the parish of the bride, the scenario of the young Ann living with her parents in Olney and then marrying there is plausible. Note that Jeremiah Seymour died a few weeks after the birth of the first child of his daughter Ann and Richard York, who named the child Jeremiah. Jeremiah York, if the Olney connection is valid, in turn named his firstborn Semore/Seymour after his mother’s family name (Jeremiah York’s wife Sarah(?)’s maiden name has been postulated as Seymour, but I believe that unlikely, as discussed later).

Jeremiah’s paternal grandmother was possibly Jane York (widow, burial 23 AUG 1688). There was only one other family of York’s in Olney at this time, a John and Ann York with 6 children. If Jane were also the mother of this John, she died 5 days before the death of one of his young sons (it was not unusual for an illness to become fatal to both young and elderly family members about the same time).

The rationale for the Jeremiah Yorke of Olney being the Jeremiah York of Randolph County is several fold:

- Based on family lore, Jeremiah of Randolph County, rather than a forefather of his, is assumed to be the emigrant to America. For example, the autobiography of a great-grandson suggest that he is the emigrant[2]. Also, Jeremiah’s settling in William Penn’s Nottingham Township in Pennsylvania as an emigrant rather than being from a family long established in coastal America is consistent with recruiting pattern of Penn. Further, there is no known evidence of his birth in America, while documentation does exist for births of other children, including unrelated York’s, born in America about the same time.

- For Jeremiah of Olney, there is no record of his marriage or burial in the Olney parish records (the law required registration of christenings and marriages in the parish, even for non-conformists) or the county database of the Buckingham Family History Society, and there is no record of his marriage elsewhere in England in the IGI extractions[3] (which do not include burials), which suggests that he emigrated.

- In America, Jeremiah’s age is constrained by the tax records in West Nottingham (he would have been at least 21 in 1718 to own land) and the sale of the Terrapin Neck land in what is now West Virginia in 1753 and subsequent move to Randolph County (i.e., he was still alive then). His son Semore bequeaths “land on which my father lived” in his will written in Randolph County in 1782, presumably indicating that his father is dead. I am not aware of any other later record of Jeremiah in either old Frederick County in the Virginia area (his son Jeremiah is likely the Jeremiah who occasionally appears in records there soon after 1760) or Randolph County (his grandson Jeremiah is probably the Jeremiah who occasionally appears in records there soon after 1770). Presumably he sold the Terrapin Neck land, where he had spent some 20 years and his longest known time anywhere in America, after carving a farm out of the frontier and then followed some of his sons to Randolph County (Semore had initiated a land grant there in 1750) to live out his last years. These constraints suggest that he was born between 1680 and 1697, which is consistent with the 1683 birth in Olney, and died sometime after the mid-1750’s. [5]

- Based on the estimated birth dates of his children (the first, Semore, about 1727, and the youngest possibly in the 1740’s), his wife Sarah (?) was born about 1700-1710. They are presumed to have married about 1725, when Jeremiah was 42. Although somewhat old to be starting a family and probably about 20 years older than his wife, this age difference is not unusual.[6]

In sum, although there is not direct evidence linking Jeremiah of Olney to Jeremiah of Randolph County, the circumstantial evidence is fairly convincing.

Source: Parish registers, Church of England, Parish Church of Olney (Buckinghamshire) Baptisms 1665-1881, Marriages 1668-1785, 1789-1812, Burials 1667-1812, Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Film 919243. This source was supplemented by the Bishop’s transcripts for Olney[7], also available on microfilm. No additional York’s were found in the Bishop’s transcripts before the first York entry (1670) in the parish registers.

The dated events are as described in the parish registers. The only changes made are for dates from 1 Jan to 24 Mar for years before 1752, where the form 1683/84 is used instead of 1683, because the year began on 25 Mar until 1752.

All York’s in the registers are included. The family groupings shown are deduced and considered reasonable but not unique. Other presumptions and possibilities are described in italics.

Possibly the mother of one, or both, of the below household heads, Richard and John York. Note that she died 5 days before her possible grandson John (it was not unusual for an illness to strike both young and elderly family members about the same time).

“Glover” added after name in Bishop’s transcripts, indicating his occupation as a maker of gloves; this occupational title is common in that era.

Ann Seamore, widow, buried 8 Oct 1694 [name spelled Seamour in Bishop’s transcripts]

Jeremiah Seymour and Ann Seamour were possibly married and the parents of Ann Seymour (see below), the mother of Jeremiah York. These three are the only Seymour’s in the parish registers of 1665-1812[8]. Note that Jeremiah Seymour died a few weeks after the birth of the first child of this daughter Ann and Richard York, who named the child Jeremiah.

Richard York, presumed family head

John York, presumed family head, possibly brother or cousin of Richard

Anne, presumed wife

Presumed m1. Unknown about 1710; she died before 1718; then

Children

Uncertain how this John relates to other York’s in Olney. Possibly Olney was the bride’s parish, and the couple then lived in another parish where John was from.

Uncertain how this family relates to other York’s in Olney. Neither this William nor James has other entries.

Robert York, presumed family head. Uncertain how he relates to earlier generations of York’s in Olney.

Robert York is the churchwarden in 1794, 1798, and 1804, and William York, in 1822.

A mortuary, which is paid to the vicar on death, is paid for Robert York in 1815 and for Mary York in 1822.

Children

John York m. Ruth Brice, 25 DEC 1796 [by license]

Samuel Gray m. Lucy York, 2 SEP 1798 [by banns]

Beyond his father Richard, no unambiguous links to earlier generations have been found, despite considerable effort. The existence of pre-1665 York’s in Olney is possible but uncertain. Records back to 1600 for Olney exist but are incomplete, and no York’s are recorded. My current efforts are focused in the neighboring county of Northamptonshire.

In the 1670-1695 timeframe, besides the 2 York heads of household in Olney, in adjacent parishes there were 2 in Lavendon and 1 in Turvey (Bedfordshire), plus 2 other marriages (without following christenings) in Clifton Reynes and 1 in Hanslope. All of these parishes are close enough to be visible from a single vantage point. While the 2 in Lavendon are brothers[9], the other relationships are unknown. There is solid evidence from parish records that York’s moved among those parishes. Although earlier records exist for those parishes than for Olney, there is still no record of earlier York’s there.

Olney sits in northern Buckinghamshire on the boundary with two other counties, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire. Several Northamptonshire parishes (Long Buckby, Moulton, and Naseby) have records of York’s as far back as the mid-1500, the start of parish records in England. All of these parishes are within a day’s walk (10 to 20 miles) of each other. People of the Yorks’ class (small farmers, tradesmen, craftsmen, and laborers) could certainly have moved these types of distances. Olney was on the route to London and may have been appealing to those from smaller, poorer parishes for economic, farming land availability, or religious reasons. One of the Lavendon York’s (Moses York) can be traced from a christening in Naseby to a marriage in Bedford and then to raising a family and dying in Lavendon. Jeremiah’s father may also have migrated to Olney from Northamptonshire.

A Northamptonshire origin is also reasonable because this county had the most York’s in the 1881 census, far more than even London. The larger cities, with more job opportunities and much larger populations, have drawn people from counties such as Northamptonshire. This migration has been documented by the censuses. The fact that Northamptonshire still had the most York’s in 1881 suggests that it was the major center for York’s (this concentration is not shown in the pre-1700 IGI extractions, but they are also a reflection of parish record preservation). Also, Northamptonshire has far more York genealogists participating in English genealogy projects than other counties (20 vs. typically 0 to 3).

Other less likely options for migration to Olney can be proposed: (1) The York’s may be fleeing to the country to escape the London plague of 1665. However, most people fleeing were well off and later returned. (2) The best fit found in time and name correlation in the IGI extractions for Richard, Jeremiah’s father, is a 1651 christening in East Hendred, Berkshire, with parents Humphrey and Jane. While Jane appears as a widow in Olney, Humphrey is not a continued family name there, and there is no clear reason for a move from East Hendred (somewhat near London) to the rural Olney area.

Although somewhat disappointing not to be able to put unambiguous names and places earlier on the family tree, it is probable that they lived not far from Olney and had much the same occupations. Since parish records go back only to the mid-1500’s, only about 3 to 4 more generations might be found. If found, that would still leave about 200 years since surnames were adopted (14^th century) for which no relevant records exist.

The origin of the previous work is uncertain, although much of it appears to be based on IGI extractions of parish records and other information on landed gentry and aristocracy of England. I do not know who did the earlier research and hesitate to criticize it without consulting the authors but find it necessary to address those results to put my own research in context. The previous researchers may have given the appropriate caveats that some of links were merely possibilities without any basis other than matches of surname and date range. However, based on current web postings, some of the facts of these IGI extractions have been modified, making them appear to be better links than they actually are. My analysis of this previous research covers both Jeremiah’s spouse(s) and ancestors.

Jeremiah first married Ann Willis - Some web postings have Jeremiah first marrying an Ann Willis or Ann unknown prior to marrying Sarah Seymour. An actual IGI extracted parish record shows a Jeremiah Yorke m. Ann Willis, 04 Nov 1735, Ryton by Shifnal, Shropshire, England. Since the Jeremiah in America was then living on Terrapin Neck, already married to Sarah (?), and in the middle of the births of their children, this Ann Willis marriage was not connected to Jeremiah, the patriarch of the Randolph County York’s. Judging from Jeremiah’s birth date in Olney of 1683, he could have been married prior to the Sarah (?) marriage, but there is no known record of the marriage, any children, or the death of the first wife, making this assumption speculative.

Jeremiah second married Sarah Seymour – The only apparent basis for her first name (a popular name of that era) is that several of her granddaughters (and perhaps a daughter), including her eldest son Semore’s eldest daughter, have that name, and it is postulated that they were named after Jeremiah’s wife. The only apparent basis for her surname is an attempt to explain her son’s unusual first name Semore/Seymour. However, now that Jeremiah’s mother is known to have that surname, there is no need to hypothesize that it came from Jeremiah’s wife. It would be uncommon for both Jeremiah and his father to have married Seymour’s, so it is more likely that Sarah(?)’s maiden name is a different and unknown surname. The presumption that she is an emigrant is reasonable, based on association with the West Nottingham settlers and the note in Brantley York’s autobiography. Interestingly, in the West Nottingham tax lists for 1727 only, there is a York entry for what appears to be Sarain as well as for Jeremiah (spelling was not consistent in that era; Jeremiah and York both have various spellings in these tax lists). If this is his wife, it is unclear why she would have a separate entry, since the husband typically owned most property and paid the taxes.

Parents of Sarah Seymour - Sarah Seymour’s parents are typically posted as Col. John Seymour and Johanna, both born about 1735. The basis for Sarah’s connection to them is unknown but suspect (plus, I now consider it unlikely that her maiden name was Seymour). With Sarah’s estimated birth date of about 1705, her parents would have been about 70 at Sarah’s birth. His death date of 30 July 1709 is likely confused with the well-established same death date of a Col. John Seymour who was Governor of Maryland, b. 18 Sept 1659 in Gloucestershire, married twice (neither named Johanna or Joan), and had 4 children (none named Sarah). The 1735 birth dates may have come from another Col. John Seymour, who was of Berry Pomeroy in Devon and could have been born circa 1635 (his next older sibling was b. 1633) and who married _ Kennedy (birth date unknown), daughter of a Sir Richard Kennedy, but with children not listed in the landed gentry catalogs. There are numerous other Seymour’s who could hypothetically link to Sarah without invoking aristocratic links. If the York’s and Seymour’s of Olney are an indication, my family origins are more humble.

Jeremiah York born ABT 1657 in Olney and died 5 MAR 1694/95 in Olney - The typical web posting has this Jeremiah as the father of the Randolph County Jeremiah, who is shown as born in Olney about 1694. My examination of the actual Olney parish records disproves this hypothesis. A potential variation is to have the second Jeremiah born in America about 1705. This would make the second Jeremiah about the same age as Sarah Seymour, so that their marriage is more typical. However, there is no evidence of the marriage or death of the first Jeremiah or birth of the second Jeremiah, making this variation pure speculation. Also, Jeremiah is listed as “Sr” when selling the Terrapin Neck land, which would distinguish him from his son of the same name but not from a father of the same name.

Richard York married Rebecca Mumford ABT 1657 in Bucks – The next earlier York generation linked to Jeremiah in Olney typically posted on the web is the marriage of Richard York and Rebecca Mumford [about 1657 in Buckinghamshire]. This link appears to be a confusion with the records of another parish: Richd. York m. Rebecca Murford (spelled Mumford in her christening), 4 May 1658, Allhallows London Wall, London, England. There is no established connection of this marriage to the York's in Olney. Any other York marriage in England about this time would "fit" just as well.

Richard York married Susan Starling 1 OCT 1639 in Buckingham County - A still earlier York generation linked to Jeremiah in Olney typically posted on the web is the marriage of Richard York and Susan Starling [1 Oct 1639 in Bucks]. This link also appears to be confusion with the records of another parish: Richard Yorke m. Susan Starling, 1 Oct 1639, Melton, Suffolk, England. There is no established connection of this marriage to the York's in Olney (or to Richard York who m. Rebecca Mumford). Any other York marriage in England about this time would "fit" just as well. Also, her alleged birth of 10 Oct 1619 in Woughton-in-Green, Buckingham County, England is questionable, since that parish records index, which covers 1558-1875, has no entry for her.

John York, born between 1590 - 1598 - The earliest generation typically posted that links to Jeremiah is a John York born in Yorkshire between 1590 and 1598. Although there are several fathers named John of sons named Richard in the IGI extractions, there is no apparent reason to select one, and the intervening links to Jeremiah have already been discredited.

[1] At that time, the new year began on Ladies Day, March 25. Using genealogical convention, the date 1688/9 means that the parish record entry is 1688 but would be 1689 according to the modern calendar.

[2] Brantley York was a well-known educator and founder of the school that became Duke University. He was son of Eli, the son of Henry, the son of Jeremiah. His information can be considered somewhat reliable since he was close (b. 1805) but not overlapping in time with Jeremiah, raised in Randolph County, and generally wrote knowledgably. In his dictated autobiography (he was then blind and in declining health), he states that:

According to tradition, many years ago a man by the name of York came from Yorkshire, England, and settled in this State on Sandy Creek and from this man the numerous family of the Yorks originated, and are now scattered throughout many of the states of the Union. (Although the reference to Yorkshire may be inaccurate, conceivably the Jeremiah from Olney moved to Yorkshire for familial or other reasons before emigrating.)

The introduction, written 20 years after his death by a professor who apparently knew Brantley, states that:

The York family, natives of Yorkshire, England, came to America during the first half of the Eighteenth Century, and located in what is now Randolph County, where Brantley York was born. His [should be great] grandfather and grandmother in their youth came over together in the same vessel, and shortly afterwards married.

[3] I have used only the entries in the International Genealogical Index that are documented extractions from parish records. Most other entries have unknown bases.

[4] Although not in IGI extractions, two other Jeremiah’s of about the right age have been found in parish records. Jeremiah in Madeley, Shropshire, is several years older but has a marriage and burial there, making him not a fit. Jeremiah in Coggeshall, Essex, son of Jeremiah and Bridget Yorke, is 5 years younger and has no other record there, making him a potential fit. Coggeshall is a small rural village similar in setting to Olney. However, the Olney Jeremiah is preferred because of the Seymour connection.

[5] Some researchers use 11 Oct 1784 (or 1794) for Jeremiah’s death, but I have seen no original source for this date and assume it to be in error, based on Semore’s will and the lack of records in North Carolina on Jeremiah Sr that would be expected if he lived there for some 30 to 40 years. A death date closer to 1764, when he would have been about 80, is more likely. I would like to know the source of the 11 Oct date.

[6] For example, researchers for the Allred family of Randolph County have the progenitor Solomon about 44 years old in 1724 when he started a family, also in West Nottingham.

[7] The Bishop’s transcripts were copies of the parish registers made yearly and sent to the Bishop for safekeeping. For Olney, the transcripts go back to 1600 (plus the year 1576). However, of the approximately 65 additional years nominally covered by the Bishop’s transcripts, about 25 years are missing and only about ½ of the entries in the 40 years of actual transcripts are readable.

[8] There is a Court record of the 1738 will of Richard Seymour with beneficiaries of his wife and son. He was a fell monger (i.e., one who scrapes wool off the hides of sheep) of Olney.

[9] This information comes from a will. I have examined information from wills in Buckinghamshire for the 1600’s and 1700’s that mention York’s. The two most useful were written a bother and sister in Lavendon who were of Jeremiah’s generation. The lack of wills for other York’s is perhaps not surprising, since most could probably not afford the services of an attorney.