PrenticeNet :: eddy-family

Update of 24 Aug 2010: Correspondence witb Frank Eddy in emails of 20 and 21 Aug 2010, indicate a subsequently published critique by Martha Meridith of of the earlier Eddy book holds that the earlier Eddy book errs in saying there were three brothers. Marth Meridith asserts that there were not 3 brothers (John, Samuel and David) but rather there wes only John, and that Samuel and David were actually the sons of John Eddy of Woodbridge and his second wife Jonet McCullough....It seems John's Will did not surface until after JWE had compiled his book.

Martha Meridith's critique does not address the earlier book's theory that our Joseph Eddy was connected in some manner to John and his family.

Update of 13 Feb 2009: A posting on Ancestry.com purports to identify Joseph Eddy of Vincent Township, Chester Co., Pennsylvania, as b. c. 1691 in Old Machar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, a son of William Edie (b. 1655, Old Machar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland) and either Janet Preist or Mary Foster.

The posted material seems to track with Theory 2, below .

According to a Google map, Old Machar Parish lies a about 3-4 miles north of Aberdeen and about half way to Newmachar.

Whether the new information can be confirmed as accurate and reliable remains to be seen. We are contacting the persons who posted the Ancestry.com information and will add additional information as it is received.

1. Joseph Eddy. The date and place of his birth is unclear and is a question which has plagued family researchers for years. There are different theories:

Theory 1:

A family history written by Joseph Eddy's great-great-great grandson, A. Marshall Eyanson (see Eyanson Family, #59i), Glendale, CA some years ago says that Joseph "came from a manufacturing town in England called France."

There is a town in Devonshire, England named France, and the IGI shows the following family in France: Parents: John and Elizth (sic) Eddy.Children, all born in West Putford: (1) John, chr. 25 Aug 1702; (2) Giles Eddy, chr. 14 Feb 1704; (3) Joseph Eddy chr. 5 Jan 1707;(4) Robert Eddy, chr. 26 Jun 1711; (5) Hugh Eddy, chr. 23 Jan 1717;(6) Mary Eddy, chr. 3 Feb 1722.

It is unknown whether the above person is the same Joseph Eddy; no information has yet been developed whether that Joseph immigrated to America or died in England.

No record of a Joseph Eddy has been found in England with the phonetically similar names of "Frants" and "Franche."

Theory 2:

The 1980 Supplement to the Eddy Family Association's book, under "Latecomers," (LDS Film #28974) references a book written in 1965 by John William Edie of Missouri entitled an Edie Genealogy, and published by the R. Wallace Pischel Printing Company of Marceline, MO.

Among other families, it traced the lines of several brothers who came to America around 1700. It was apparently a family tradition that three, or possibly up to five, brothers came to America with their families from Ireland, or Scotland, and settled in the York-Gettysburg area of Pennsylvania.

Their point of origin may be Scotland, with at least two of them moving to Ireland and then to America.

The known Edie brothers were David, Samuel and John. Shortly after 1730, John moved from Woodbridge, NJ to the York-Gettysburg area where his brothers were by then living. The 1965 Edie book lists a Joseph Edie as either a "4th brother or close relative" who settled in ChesterCounty, PA.

Reference to a map shows that Woodbridge, NJ is about 35 miles overland to Trenton lying on the Delaware River, and then an easy boat trip down to Chester County lying adjacent to Philadelphia. One could also make the entire trip from Woodbridge to Chester County by boat; down the NJ coast, around Cape Map, up Delaware Bay, and into the Delaware River. To get to the York, PA area, one can traverse the narrow neck of land between Salem, NJ and Cecil County, MD and then go up the Susquehanna River.

Elsewhere in the 1965 Edie book, the author seems a little less certain of the relationship. On page 11 he says: "There was a JOSEPH EDIE who settled in Chester Co., PA, not far from York at this time (1700-1725). He lived and died in Chester Co., PA. Even though there is no proof of genealogical connection (with the group from Ireland), all logical reason would classify this JOSEPH EDIE as a brother of Samuel Sr., David Sr., and John Sr. (all of whom came from Ireland).

On pg. 17 he notes that "Edie is a diminutive form of ADAM, a surname of great antiquity in Scotland."

And on pg. 300: "JOSEPH EDIE, b. Ireland, d. 18 Apr 1770, Vicent (sic) Twp., Chester Co. PA; farmer; his name is spelled EDIE and EDDY. Indications from recordings of the name is that he accepted the spelling EDDY; m. MARY PHILLIPS Apr 2, 1737, 1st Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia (from records of Presbyterian Church; p. 157) JOSEPH must have been about 20-25 years of age when he arrived in America. He located in Chester Co., PA and remained there in his lifetime. There is evidence of close social relationships with the EDIES of the York, PA area. JOSEPH is a very common name in the EDIE family, especially in pioneer days. He was a Presbyterian. Administration papers of JOSEPH EDDY (EDIE) are on file in Chestger Co., PA; Administration of Wills and Administations, Apr. 18, 1770, p. 368"

It continues: "There was a JOHN EDDY in Chester Co. in 1763. Archives, 3rd Series, v. 11, p. 209. There is reason to believe that this JOHN EDDY was a son of JOSEPH and was deceased previous to his father's death."

It related also: "WILLIAM EDDY (EDIE). In 1774 he held 50 acres, 2 horses, 2 cows, and 2 sheep -- PA Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. 11, pp. 92, 505 and 621."

In reading the foregoing, one has an impression that the author may only be stringing together information in public records without having independent evidence of his relationship to the Edies of York. On the other hand, his allusion to "evidence of close social relation with the EDIES of the York, PA area," seems to indicate that he had more evidence which he did not cite.

Marriage

The name of Joseph Eddy's wife is not known for sure. She may be the above-mentioned Mary Phillips who married a Joseph Eddy on 2 Apr 1737 at the Presb. Church in Philadelphia, PA. (Joseph Eddy might be the same Joseph Eddy who witnessed the Will of John Hutton of Vincent Twp., Chester Co. on 10 Nov 1728. If he were over 21, that gives a birth date of prior to 1707.) No other person who could have been his wife has yet been identified. The problem is that if Mary Phillips is his wife, there is no known record of the birth of any children between 1737 and 1757 when his first known child, Anna, was born, although we know there was at least one other child, his son, William.

It seems likely that more children would have been born in the intervening 20 years.

One explanation might be that Mary Pbillips is not his wife. Another possibility might be that Joseph and his wife lived elsewhere and/or birth records have either been destroyed or not yet found.

Residence in Chester County

We know Joseph Eddy was in Vincent Twp., Chester County, at the time of the birth of his daughter, Anna Eddy.

A recently discovered pair of Sheriff's Sale Notices published in "The Pennsylvania Gazette on 22 Oct 1767 and 13 Oct 1768, and provided by Doreen's email of 21 Aug 2002, gives us useful information in determing the location of his land within Vincent township. The 1767 article relating to foreclosure of a neighbor's land tells us that the land, owned by Myrick Davis and George David, is:

Vincent Forge, on that never failing stream French Creek

Joseph Eddy

Correspondence with Wendy Mclean by email on 14-18 Oct 2002, establishes that Vincent Forge is quite likely located on Cook's Glenn Road, only about a tenth of a mile south of French Creek, on the USGS map at Map

The same correspondence with Wendy Mclean establishes that "Yellow Springs Baptist Cemetery," where Joseph Eddy is said to be buried, is quite likely the present day Vincent Baptist Cemetery which lies on Art School Road, between Horseshowtrail and Miller Road, about 3.2 miles south of Cooks Glenn Road and can be seen by dropping down 1 screen to the south of that map.

She relates that she has visited the cemetery but not find Joseph Eddy's headstone. She says:

"However, the oldest stones are illegible, so it is entirely possible that I just couldn't see his grave. There are also spaces where there clearly used to be stones and the stones are absent. The cemetary is old enough. I would not be at all surprised if the church has an inventory. It is now known as the Vincent Baptist Fellowship. The current church building was constructed in > the early 1800's, but the church was founded in the mid 1700's. They may have started at a different location, in which case there may be another graveyard."

A photo of the church, with the cemetery in the background, can be seen at Photo Gallery: Churches

The 1768 article relating to foreclosure of a neighbor's land tells us that the land, owned by Myrick Davis, is:

Joseph Eddy

Both Vincent Forge and the cemetery lie about 15 miles ESE of Valley Forge where Washington spent the winter with his army; and Valley Forge is about half-way to Philadelphia.

To aid researchers, I have attached copies of some of my letters. They are contained in my Research Notes.

Known children:

     2     i.  William Eddy.
     3    ii.  Anna Eddy.

2. William Eddy. The date and place of William's birth is unclear. A family history prepared by A. Marshall Eyanson relates the following information about William Eddy: "(William) enlisted in the Revolution, was taken prisoner in New York, was discharged nearly starved and unable to walk, was taken back to the hospial where he died a martyr to the liberty we now enjoy."

If we assume he was at least 21 to enlist in 1776, that would place his birth date not later than 1755, and possibly earlier. Vincent Twp. records in Chester Co. show property taxes levided on the property of a William Eddy in 1767, 1768 and 1774. If the same William, he probably would have had to have been at least 21 years of age to own property; that would place his birth date not later than 1745. It would also dispel some of the difficulty presented by an apparent 1737 marriage by a Joseph Eddy and Mary Phillips. He might also be a brother to Joseph.

A search of Philadelphia probate records has located a 16 Jun 1776 Will written by a William Eddy, apparently aboard a warship at Philadelphia shortly after he enlisted. Unfortunately, it makes no mention of his family and gives everything to a "true and loving" female friend, Hannah Willson." We do not know William's date of death, but it might have been about December, 1776 or January, 1777. The Will was "Proved January (?) 22, 1777..."

There is a chance the 1776 Will was written by a different William Eddy; the PA IGI shows a William Eddy born to James Eddy (no wife named) and christened 24 Oct 1754 in Philadelphia. He would be about the right age, 22, to have made the 1776 Will. He would also be about the right age to have a daughter, Sarah, discussed below.

Although perhaps not the same person, there is another record of a William Eddy in Vincent Township, Chester County6. It is contained in a record from the Orphans Court in Philadelphia: "18 March 1794: Upon Petition of Sarah Eddy, Minor and under the age of 18 years Daughter of William Eddy late of Vincent Township, dec's for a Guardian, John Rinehard is admitted and appointed Guardian over the Person and Estate of said Sarah Eddy."

If Sarah Eddy was under 18 in March, 1794, she would have been born after March, 1776. There are various possible explanations:

First, she might be the daughter of the William Eddy who made the 1776 Will. Maybe they were married shortly after the Will was written. If so, who cared for young Sara between 1777 and 1794?

Second, she might be the daughter of a different William Eddy. If so, was she the daughter of the William Eddy paying taxes in 1766, 1768 and 1772?

Finally, who is John Rinehard? A close relative? Maternal grandfather? An in-law of William Eddy? Perhaps, armed with all these clues, more firm facts about William Eddy can be established.

3. Anna Eddy. Born in Sep. 1757 in Vincent, Twp., Chester Co., PA. Died 1836 in Lebanon, PA at the age of 79. Buried in the Catholic Demetery in Lebanon.

Apparently born a Baptist, she converted to Catholicism at the age of 26. (Register, St. Joseph Church, Philadelphia, pub. Am. Cath. Hist. Coc., v. 4, pg. 52)

Anna Married John Eyanson, Jr. For more about Anna and her husband, see the Eyanson Family, #2, John Eyanson Jr., at this website.

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Research Notes of 14 March 1997

Here is what we know, or think we know, so far.

JOSEPH EDDY lived in Vincent Township, Chester Co., PA; he died 18 Apr 1770 and is said to be buried at the nearby Yellow Springs Baptist Cemetery.

A 1965 book by John William Edie of Missouri traced the lines of several brothers who came to America around 1700. It was apparently a family tradition that 3, 4 or 5 brothers came to American with their families from Ireland or Scotland and settled nitially in the area of Woodbridge, NJ. According to the 1965 book, the known facts of the 3 identified brothers are as follows:

1. David Edie: Probably born in Scotland. Moved to Ireland as a very small boy. He is believed to have emigrated from Ireland around 1700 and settled in a Scotch-Irish community called "Manor of Maske," known first as "Marsh Creek Settlement," in the York-Gettysburg area. David died in 1754 at "a very elderly age" at Gettysburg, PA, and is buried in Evergreen Cem., Gettysburg. The name of his wife is not known. His children included:

	a.	Alexander Edie: No birth date is given, but is the oldest 
		of the 4 known children.

	b.	David Edie Jr.:  Probably born in the York-Gettysburg 
		area.  Died 1813.  Married Honour Edgington about 1793 and had: Joseph, 
		William, Lavina, Harriet, and John.

	c.	William Edie:  Born Jan, 1743 and died Jan. 18, 1820 
		near Stewartstown, PA.  Married Mary Stevens on Dec. 11, 1768.  Buried 
		in Old Round Hill Cem., Hopewell Twp., PA. I believe this is probably 
		your William Edie.

	d.	John Edie:  No additional information.

2. Samuel Edie: Probably born in Scotland as early as 1680. May have moved to Ireland. He is believed to have emigrated from Ireland and arrived in New York City sometime prior to 1720. He later settled at the same Scotch-Irish community called "Manor of Maske," known first as "Marsh Creek Settlement," in the York-Gettysburg area. Samuel died in 1755 at Gettysburg, PA, and is buried in Evergreen Cem., Gettysburg.

He married, in Ireland, Agness MacMichael, daughter of James MacMichael.

3. John Edie: He seems to have usually spelled his name EDDY and there is good reason to believe that he is the same person as JOHN EDDY of Woodbridge, N. J. (#11343 in the EDDY family book. If that is correct, he apparently came to America directly from Scotland before David and Samuel, possibly when his brothers moved from Scotland to Ireland.

John married Elizabeth Edwards on 31 Mar 1706 at Woodbridge, NJ. Shortly after 1730 (perhaps 1734), John moved from Woodbridge to the York-Gettysburg area where his brothers were by then living. John died in 1741 in Adams Co., PA.

Note: According to Janice Carper, John Eddy of Woodbridge, NJ was born probably about 1680, and died after 1734. The 1706 marriage was performed at Woodbridge by Samuel Hale, Justice of Peace, and Elizabeth Edwards was the daughter of James Edwards and his wife, ALISON NEELL OF STEVENSON OF THE PARISH OF HADDINGTON, SCOTLAND. The dates of her birth and death are not known.

Their son, your JOHN EDDY JR., who married HANNAH CROWELL, is new information not mentioned in the 1965 book.

John Eddy's name is variously spelled in the New Jersey Records. It occurs as EDDIE, EDIE, EDEY, EDDYE, ADIE, AIDE, ADDE and ADYE. The descendants have kept in general two spellings, EDDEY and EDDY.

The 1965 book also lists a JOSEPH EDIE as either a "4th brother or close relative" who settled in Chester Co., PA. That 4th person would almost certainly be my own ancestor, JOSEPH EDDY who died in 1770; I've done considerable research about the EDDY families of Chester Co., PA and there simply is no other JOSEPH EDIE/EDDY there in that time frame.

Efforts were made to locate John William Edie about his book, but he has either moved or died and he has not been located.

Note:

There is also an item of interest in the EDDY FAMILY ASSOCIATION'S 1980 Supplement to their EDDY book which, at page 322 under Latecomers", can be found the following material:

"(28974) Joseph Edie (or Eddy)(parentage unknown), b. in Ireland; d. Apr 18, 1770, in Vincent Twp., Chester Co. Pa.; m. Apr. 2, 1837, at Philadelphia, Mary Phillips.

"Joseph must have been 20-25 years of age when he arrived in America from Ireland. He located in Chester Co., Pa, and remained there his lifetime. He is believed to be a brother or close relative of the Edies of York Co....See Section 'Three Edie Brothers.'

"Child, prob. others: 28975 William Eddy .

"There are no other known descendants of Joseph Edie." (That statement, incidentally, is wrong because I am descended from ANNA EDDY who we know is JOSEPH'S daughter and WILLIAM'S sister.)

That information is highly interesting because it pulls together information which I had myself collected from different sources.

Now the problem we face is like the problem faced by a person, call him Joe, who tells something to John, who then tells it to William, who then tells it to Henry, etc. Eventually Joe is told the same thing by Terry. The problem is whether Joe is merely hearing the story he himself started, or whether the story is now coming from someone who learned of it from an entirely unrelated source.

Like Joe in the example above, several of us have related to others the information we have found. Now, when we see it in the EDDY Supplement, are we just seeing the same story we started circulating ourselves, or are we seeing independent confirmation of the facts we had found???

We may be hearing independent confirmation. The above item mentioned his son, WILLIAM, but did not mention his daughter, ANNA, from whom I have descended. Since we have consistently mentioned ANNA in the material we passed on to others, its omission here tends to satisfy me that the book is not just printing information my side of the family had developed; they seem to have obtained that information from somebody else who apparently had good information about JOSEPH EDDY and his wife, MARY PHILIPS.

That feeling is further supported by the reference to JOSEPH'S birth in Ireland; we had always been supposing that he was born either in England or in Wales and had not considered Ireland.

One can see some very interesting parallels between MARY PHILLIPS' husband, JOSEPH EDDY, and the 3 Edie brothers:

1. According to the EDIE book, her JOSEPH EDDY was born in Ireland and died in 1770. We don't know his age at death, but if he lived a normal life span he was probably born around 1700 more or less, and would be of the same general generation as the 3 Edie brothers (David, Samuel and John).

2. He is married in 1837 to Mary Phillips in Vincent TWP, Chester Co., PA about the same time that John Edie moved from Woodbridge, NJ to Pennsylvania. That coincidence suggests that maybe our JOSEPH EDDY also lived in or near Woodbridge, NJ and either moved to the Philadelphia area about the same time, or perhaps met MARY PHILLIPS while visiting his brothers.

3. If the JOSEPH EDDY who married MARY PHILLIPS is my ancestor in 1737, than there was a lapse of some 20 years before my ANNA EDDY was born, and we don't know where her brother, WILLIAM EDDY, was born. Might our JOSEPH and MARY PHILIPS have had a number of children, including WILLIAM, in or near Woodbridge? Or maybe in the York-Gettysburg area? Incidentally, that lapse of some 20 years had always made me a bit leery about whether MARY PHILIPS was, in fact, his wife. Or, to put it the other way, we had to consider the possibility that MARY PHILLIPS married a JOSEPH EDDY other than ours.

Janice Carper, mentioned above, also provided information to us that "it was discovered that a JOHN ADYE was in Burlington, NJ as early as 1682." It is not known if was the same person as, or maybe the father of, JOHN EDDY of Woodbridge, NJ.

Interestingly, Burlington, NJ is only about 15 miles from Philadelphia. That raises the possibility that the EDDY brothers immigrated through Philadelphia with JOSEPH going to Chester County and the other 3 brothers going to Woodbridge, NJ, and later moving back to the York-Gettysburg, PA area.

We don't know if it is the right place, but a map shows a town named STEVENSON on the coast of the Firth of Clyde. (Stevenson is the place from where JOHN'S wife, ELIZABETH EDWARDS, came) Stevenson lies so close to Ireland that an intermediate stop in Ireland would certainly be within the realm of possibility.

It occurs to me that JOHN EDDY and his brothers may also have been from Stevenson, or nearby, and that the EDDY and EDWARDS families may have been in the same immigration group.

I checked the IGI microfiche for Ayrshire Co., Scotland in which Stevenson is located. When I looked for EDDY, it said see ADAM (EDDY is a variation of the name, ADAM). I then looked at ADAM and found several hundred of them, of which maybe 20-40 were in Stevenson spread over a span of a couple hundred years.

There was no JOSEPH ADAM before 1861. I then checked the name of the 3 brothers: JOHN, SAMUEL and DAVID. I found appropriate listings in the late 1600s in Stevenson, but none of all three in Stevenson with the same set of parents. I didn't have time to try matching up sets of JOHN, SAMUEL and DAVID in other towns in Ayrshire County, but I don't know if it would have been profitable since there was no JOSEPH in the IG for anywhere in Ayrshire County until 1861, almost 200 years too late.

Another of my correspondents is Mrs. Caroline Gable, RD 1, Box 1011, Stewartstown, PA 17377. She sent me a Xeroxed copy of a manuscript of roughly 100 pages entitled THE FAMILY HISTORY BOOK, EDIE FAMILY, A GENEALOGICAL RECORD COMPILED BY ROBERT W. PLUMMER. The book is a typed, draft form and does not bear the date on which it was prepared. Caroline relates that she:

"...cannot account for Robert Plummer's interest in the EDIE family. I have asked a couple of Plummers, who didn't know. He lived in West Springfield, VA and died perhaps 10 years ago. He had been incapacitated in some way in the war and had time on his hands as a result. Perhaps he researched for someone else?" On the first page of the manuscript, we find the following:

"DAVID EDIE Sr., immigrant from Ireland, died in 1754 in Gettysburg, PA and is buried in Evergreen cemetery, Gettysburg, PA. He had reached a very elderly age at the time of his death. It is unknown to whom he was married. There is no information about his wife. It is presumed she came to America with the family. David was one of the original taxpayers in the "Manor of Maske," a strong Scotch-Irish settlement near Gettysburg.

His son, David, Jr., states his father was born in Scotland. This is possible and he might have been a very small boy when he migrated from Scotland to Ireland. It would mean, if the above statement is accurate, that the immigration date to Ireland was sometime around 1675."

Maddeningly, Plummer's manuscript says that he did not include in his manuscript any further information about these families since a "most complete detailed listing has been published in John William Edie's book, "The Edie Family and Associated Families."

Plummer refers, apparently, to the 1965 book by John William Edie of Missouri, the contents of which are discussed above. Unfortunately, despite what Plummer says, the 1965 JWE book is not as completely detailed as we would wish as it pertains to the facts of their birth and immigration to America. In fact, what the 1965 JWE book says on page ll is:

"There was a JOSEPH EDIE who settled in Chester Co., PA, not far from York at this time (1700-1725). He lived and died in Chester Co., PA. Even though there is no proof of genealogical connection (with the group from Ireland), all logical reason would classify this JOSEPH EDIE as a brother of SAMUEL SR., DAVID SR., and JOHN SR. (all of whom came from Ireland)." On page 300 JWE tells us:

"There is evidence of close social relationships with the EDIES of the York, PA area."

JWE does not, however, tell us what that evidence is. I've been trying to locate JWE to get more information, but so far have been unable to find any mailing address for him.

Plummer's book then focuses solely on identifying the descendants of WILLIAM EDIE, one of the four sons of the immigrant DAVID EDIE SR.

It seems to me that one fruitful area for further investigation is Plummer's reference to DAVID EDIE SR. as being an original settlor in the "Manor of Maske," a strong Scotch-Irish settlement near Gettysburg. My research experience tells me that immigrant groups from a particular area sometimes cluster together in a new area. My immigrant DEWALD ancestors, for example, came from Losheim, Germany and settled in St. John, IN to which a number of other Losheim families had moved earlier. It may be helpful to learn more about the "Manor of Maske" settlement, and the places of origin of the other settlers since that information may provide additional clues.

Another avenue of investigation that needs to be pursued is to try to locate JOHN WILLIAM EDIE, the author of the 1965 book. His book does not contain a home address. I have determined that his publisher has gone out of business and the successor business has no idea how to contact his predecessors who published the book.

As mentioned above, John Eddy's name is variously spelled in the New Jersey Records. It occurs as EDDIE, EDIE, EDEY, EDDYE, ADIE, AIDE, ADDE and ADYE. The descendants have kept in general two spellings, EDDEY and EDDY. One additional tidbit of information I've received is as follows:

The earliest record found in NJ is in the Burlington (NJ) Court Records (See Stilwell's Miscellany, Vol. 11, p. 19) where JOHN ADYE and others signed a protest in regard to the retention of the vessel MARCY OF FLOWEY, Capt. Wm. Lugger master, which arrived Aug. 15, 1682, and could not unload because of William Pickering...

You will recall that I had mentioned earlier that there was a JOHN ADYE in Burlington, NJ as early as 1682; that JOHN ADYE is probably the one mentioned, above, who signed the protest. Edie's 1965 book said that the EDIE brothers immigrated about 1700. The 1682 date, above is 18 years before that 1700 date, but then maybe the 1700 date was a guess that could be badly off the mark.

Another clue worth following up on relates to the mother of ELIZABETH EDWARDS who married JOHN EDDY in Woodbridge, NJ. She is ALISON NEEL of Stevenson of the Parish of Haddington, Scotland. Henderson's material provides the following additional information about ALISON NEELL. Another of my correspondents, a Mr. Henderson, relates that it is known that ALISON NEELL in 1701 was living in Stevenson, Parish of Haddington, in the southeastern part of Scotland. Thus far (1930), none of these clues has led to anything of value, and they are mentioned here only that they may not be lost.

Henderson also provided an excerpt from the Will of JAMES EDWARDS, husband of ALISON NEELL, which was proved 25 Nov 1719:

On the 15th of Feb. 1700/1, Thomas Cesford gave a receipt to James Edwards of Freehold, NJ for money to be paid to ALISON NEELL of Stevenson, Parish of Haddington, wife of said Edwards. Haddington is a parish to the east and south of Edinboro, not very far distant from the English border.

There were ALISON families in Woodbridge and also in York Co. PA (to which JOHN later moved). Probably they were of Scottish origin.

Henderson's material also had one other tantalizing passage that might offer a clue about the 1737 Philadelphia marriage between JOSEPH EDDY and MARY PHILLIPS:

In 1734, JOHN ADIE, yeoman, of Woodbridge, NJ sold to Henry Moores, yeoman, 67 acres in Woodbridge... It is possible that after selling the land in 1734, the elder JOHN EDDY went further west to York Co., PA and is the JOHN EDDY who died there in 1751.

Now the following is pure conjecture, but one way to fit all the pieces together could be as follows:

The family later moved to Woodbridge, NJ where JOHN married ELIZABETH EDWARDS.

In 1734, the family sold their Woodbridge holdings and moved back to the Burlington/Philadelphia area where they were living in 1737. It was in that year that JOSEPH EDDY married MARY PHILLIPS.

The entire clan then moved to the York/Gettysburg area where they were all living in 1750. By that time, JOSEPH and MARY had children, all born in the York/Gettysburg area, one of whom was WILLIAM EDDY, born about 1740-45. (Vincent Township records show property taxes levied on the property of a WILLIAM EDDY in 1766, 1768 and 1774. If that is the same WILLIAM, he probably would have had to have been at least 21 years to own property in 1766; that would place his birth date not later than 1745. Note that there is no mention of a property tax levy in 1775, the year WILLIAM enlisted, and later. That would be consistent with his death in 1775.)

About 1750-57, JOSEPH, MARY and their family moved to Chester County, settling in Vincent Township. ANNA EDDY was born into the family in September, 1757.

When the Revolution began in 1775, WILLIAM enlisted. Taken prisoner in NY, he was discharged nearly starved and unable to walk. Taken back to the hospital, he died there.

JOSEPH EDDY died there in 1771.

Could it have happened that way? Yes. Can we prove it happened that way? No.

Another interesting bit of information from Caroline Gable: It related to the Marsh Creek settlement where the EDIE brothers LIVED: "As early as 1736, a goodly number of Scotch-Irish had settled here, upon the invitation of the Penns, to take up lands..."

Tying in nicely with that information is material the reference in Plummer's book that: In 1734, JOHN ADIE, yeoman, of Woodbridge, NJ sold to Henry Moores, yeoman, 67 acres in Woodbridge...

It is possible that after selling the land in 1734, the elder JOHN EDDY went further west to York Co., PA and is the JOHN EDDY who died there in 1751.

It may be that there were similar sales in Woodbridge about that time by the other brothers; they likely were not mentioned in the manuscript since it dealt only with the descendants of JOHN ADIE/EDDY.

Another bit of information: I've come across a reference to a WILLIAM EDIE in Hopewell Township, York County, PA who was there prior to 1770. That is an intriguing reference because my JOSEPH EDDY, of Chester County, had a son named WILLIAM who was probably born about 1740-45, but we've not been able to find out when or where. There seems not to be a birth record for WILLIAM in Chester County, and his first appearance seems to be in Vincent Twp. in Chester County on a property tax list in 1766.

It may be fruitful to try to locate a copy of the HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY to determine whether there were any other folks named EDIE/EDDY in Hopewell Township in that early period. I don't suppose we should be so lucky that there is a comprehensive name index to the book; most county histories do not. Preparing one would be a really good project for someone.

Any additional help viewers could provide about the EDDY/EDIE brothers would be gratefully received.

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